Earth Day 2012
Stoneybrook Pelican
This last winter an injured white pelican was captured on the lake by the 18th hole of Stoneybrook Golf Course with the help of Betsy and Woody Chartier. The pelican has been in rehab at Save Our Seabirds in Sarasota for the past year.
The bird appeared fully healed and was held until white pelicans returned to our area this winter. Recently white pelicans were seen on Anna Maria around the Cortez bridge and the bird was released to the flock. She could not wait to get out of her crate and rejoin her kind.
Congratulations to Betsy and Woody for saving this magnificent bird. The last two pictures in the slideshow are the pelican rejoining the flock.
POTLUCK JANUARY 13TH
Friday the 13th was definitely not an unlucky day for 80 Potluck diners. We welcomed families from Long Island, NY and Germany that joined us for the first time. The White Elephant offerings ranged from artificial flowers, baseballs, calendars, jewelry mannequin, English Tea, cell phone slipper charger, wine cooler/warmer; place mats, golf book, golf balls, seashells, and the unique “Chocovin” wine. Sally Shallot, the reknown doll, made her second White Elephant appearance. Will she be back next year????
Join us for the next Potluck dinner on February 10th. Sign up at the Rec Center. Ask at the desk if you would like to be on a Potluck Committee.
Afghanistan News
We have run several stories on our son's experiences in Afghanistan. There is little news in our own newspapers about whats going on over there except when something bad is reported.
Attached is the newsletter that was recently published by the Kandahar group our son is with. It presents an interesting picture. If you get to page 12 please note that our son received special mention (proud parent).
January 2012 Outing for Harbour Hatties
The first outing of 2012 for the Harbour Hatties was a trip for the ladies and two gentlemen to the Country Pancake House in San Marco Plaza in Lakewood Ranch. This was a Thank You to the owner, Nada Pavlovic for her donation of pancakes for the annual breakfast with Santa. As usual, most of us left with “doggy foam cartons”
After a VERY hearty breakfast, we drove south on Lakewood Ranch Blvd and made our way to the Cancer Support Center on Communications Pkwy. It is a Gold Award Recipient as a Green Facility.
Diane Whitten Outreach Coordinator led our tour after giving us a history of the facility. She explained the history of the facility and all of the free programs to cancer patients, survivors and their families. Any person who fits into any of those categories is welcome to attend any of the informational, wellness, exercise and craft sessions. For those of us who had not previously visited the facility, we were totally amazed at the tranquility of the facility and the setting. The grounds actually emitted a feeling of peace.
We were delighted to find our gold leaf engraved plaque as a thank you for choosing the center as the recipient of the proceeds of our Fashion Show.
Please visit their web site at: http://www.cancersupportsuncoast.org and research all of the programs offered.
Annual Heritage Harbour Community Garage Sale Saturday, February 4, 2012 8 am - 2 pm
It is time to start thinking of what you want to dispose of around your house and in your garage. This is a monstrous event and it attracts a huge crowd of buyers. Cost is $10 per space which allows you to park your car snd set up right behind it. Applications are available at the Rec Center.
If you have been delaying your decision to rent space, now is the time to act. The big event will soon be here and as of today (Jan 9th) approximately 26 spaces are still available. If you have questions call Anita or Lan Janecek at (941)746-3730.
Walk The Walk
As we have reported in previous stories our son is currently serving in Afghanistan as a NATO advisor training Afghan military personnel in basic construction. Pictured is a class exercise on building saw horses.
Each Afghan is given their own tool kit for the six plus month class which is often the first set of tools they have ever owned or used. Our son called us the other day and asked if we could get him 24 sets of safety glasses and work gloves since their standard tool kit did not have these. He suggested we ask a company to donate them.
Reluctantly my wife and I went to the Home Depot on University Parkway and asked to speak to a manager. Frankly we don’t like asking for things and expected a cold response. We met with Steve Giannakopoulos, an Assistant Manager, at the store. After we gave Steve a 3-minute explanation his response was simple and straightforward. “Okay, we can do that. Let’s get a shopping cart and get those.” Ten minutes later with Steve’s help we had everything on our list including Home Depot tee shirts.
Before we left we met the Store Manager, Dan McDevitt, who explained that his company with little fanfare does whatever it can to support our troops. Home Depot asked for nothing for their contribution and expected no publicity.
Everyone talks the talk about supporting our troops. Home Depot walks the walk and made me proud that America has companies like that.
Men With Machetes
At a recent social event a Stoneybrook resident commented with a slight alarm that she had seen four men emerge from the preserve behind her house carrying machetes. There are two plausible explanations for this.
Either the revolution has begun or Eco Consultants was killing invasive vines on the trees behind her house. Since Eco has a current contract to kill the vines in our 550 acres of preserves and wetlands I would go with the vine explanation. This work is funded by the taxes we pay to the Heritage Harbour South CDD.
These vines can easily grow thicker than a man's thumb and grow from the forest floor to over 100 high. Ultimately these vines will "girdle" a tree and kill it. The picture shown is of an oak tree near the main gate of Stoneybrook. Most of the green shown are vines. The gray matter is Spanish moss that generally will not harm the tree. After treatment it takes 2-3 weeks for the vines to die.
Each vine is cut twice and then chemically treated. This work has not been done on our lands for at least 10 years and will require less effort in future years.
Men With Hammers
As we move through the holidays it is often easy to forget that we have men and women in harms way in Afghanistan. Pictured is a group of Navy Seabees (sand fatigues) working with their Afgan counter parts on a training exercise.
Pictured with his face away from the camera is Matthew Lee Bettes, son of Stoneybrook residents. Matthew has a wife and 3 year old son stateside who are being well taken care this holiday season. As each of us have the opportunity we should reach out and support our military and their famiies.
Santa Comes To Stoneybrook
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus recently visited the Stoneybrook Recreation Center. Many volunteer ladies from the Harbour Hatties and Helping Hands worked very hard to make it a great success for the 67 children who attended.
The children enjoyed pancakes, sausage, corn bread and juice while their parents had donuts and coffee.
Each child had their picture taken with Santa and received a candy cane (pictures are now available to be picked up at the Recreation Center). There was also story time in the Library and a craft table. As the children left, they received a wrapped present compliments of the Helping Hands Committee. Many thanks to the parents who participated with their children and to the many Santa “elves” for a delightful morning!
January 11th has been designated Country Pancake House Day. Please visit the restaurant and tell them “thank you” from the Heritage Harbour Community for their generous donation.
Snowbirds
On the day after Thanksgiving hundreds of Hooded Mergansers arrived to spend the winter in Heritage Harbour. These small and often overlooked cousins of the wood duck lives most of the year north of us but comes down to avoid ice covered lakes. They eat a wide variety of small pond creatures but prefer small fish that they dive for in our lakes.
Because of their small size they are often over looked but are one of the most highly decorated of our snowbirds. These are nervous birds and are best seen at a distance with binoculars as they swim and dive in small groups on our various lakes. Other Heritage Harbour birds.
Emergency Training
Five members of the Stoneybrook Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) completed their training on Saturday, November 12th. Classes were held at the Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, the Gold Coast Eagle Distributing Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park and the East Manatee Fire Rescue Administration Building.
Various instructors from the Lakewood Ranch CERT, Manatee County Emergency Operations, Manatee County EMS and East Manatee Fire Rescue provided 17 hours of training over four separate days. The training covered subjects such as "Disaster Preparedness", "Disaster Psychology", "Disaster Medical Treatment", "Terrorism", and "CERT Organization".
This training and the equipment provided, at the end of the classes, did not cost the Stoneybrook CERT a single dime. Tony Iannacone, the Stoneybrook CERT leader, stated "that working with the Lakewood Ranch CERT organization has been a real benefit to helping us get this valuable training". We are planning on getting more of our members trained in Feb. of 2012. Tony expressed "
We have a good start with 15 members, however we are going to need a least 15 more members to create sufficient teams to cover our community". This training is very valuable in that it teaches you how to take care of yourself first so that we can help your neighbor second.
IRRIGATION WATER – CITATION WARNING
Manatee County Utilities Department must and will start enforcing the rules regarding the use of irrigation water. Code Enforcement will start issuing citations to citizens who are in violation of the rules. If you are observed watering between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. you will be subject to a water violation citation. Citation costs start with a $100 fine, plus costs.
The following lawn watering schedule and times are to be enforced:
- Lawn watering is limited to two (2) times per week.
- If your address is EVEN (the last digit is 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8) you may water on Thursday and/or Sunday
- If your address is ODD (the last digit is 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 or the property has no address) you may water on Wednesday and/or Saturday
ALL watering must be between the hours of midnight to 10:00 a.m. or between the hours of 4:00 p.m. to midnight.
If you install new sod, seeds, plugs, new plants, trees or shrubs you are entitled to an establishment period of sixty days. Please contact the Water Conservation Office at 941-792-8811, ext. 5327 for more information and your allowed watering schedule. (Information in this notice was copied from the Manatee County Government Web Site.)
Master Naturalist Class Tours Our Wetlands
ByLinda Buxbaum
It was a clear breezy day when 16 members of the Master Naturalist Class came to call on our wetlands. They arrived mostly by bus from the Manatee County Extension Office in Palmetto, where our Extension Agent Lisa Hickey is teaching them the ins, outs and downs of our natural places.
They were welcomed by Larry Eichert, who showed them a map of the locations of the various wetlands, retention ponds, and water meadows in Stoneybrook and who discussed the status of each of the places.
Then Larry led them on a tour, showing off places where natural drainage had been restored, thanks to the efforts of our wetlands management company and a few volunteers. He showed them before, after and work-in-progress sites. He discussed the various specialized herbicides and chemicals that help turn a bog choked with weeds and invasives to a wetland with clear water, fish, small mammals and lots of birds. The group slopped through some squishy places. Rarely was Larry stumped by their questions.
The students came from all over Manatee County. They were gardeners, bird watchers, interested citizens seeking to make a difference. They asked questions about the plants and the soil and about our plans to continue to improve our wetlands.
They also asked us if we had plans to involve more of the folks at Stoneybrook in maintaining the wetlands. They asked if we participated in the Audubon Society annual bird count or if we had an active volunteer program to work with the youngsters of our community on wildlife projects. Lisa Hickey has offered to help us get a volunteer program going or to talk to us about how other communities use volunteers.
The Master Naturalist program sponsored by the Florida Institute of Agriculture is designed to train people who in turn will educate others to the issues of sensitive wetlands. They learn biology, botany, soil and water science, insect and animal life, all relating to our natural Florida habitat. There are three semesters in the program, about wetlands, uplands and coastal lands.
STONEYBROOK MEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Stoneybrook Men's Golf Association is back, thanks to residents Lou Brodersen and Bill Landon along with Stoneybrook Golf Club's GM Chris Brandt and Head Pro Todd Pyle.
Beginning Sunday, Sept. 18 and every third Sunday of the month, the golfers will play with a beginning tee time at 8:30-9 AM. Stoneybrook will charge the group rate, while members will pay their regular rate.
The golf format will be Stableford with the pro shop handling everything from pairings to handicaps. Prizes will be awarded to the 4-person teams in flights. Also, there will be prizes for low gross and net individuals in each flight.
On March 17-18, the Heritage Harbour Stoneybrook Championship will take place. It will be 36 holes with a low gross winner and net winners in the other flights. On the 18th, there will be an outdoor patio party for players and spectators. The 9th hole will become the 18th hole on the final day.
On April 14-15, the Heritage Harbour Cup, pitting Stoneybrook's top 12 against River Strand's best dozen in a Ryder Cup format. A ladder system will be used to determine the Stoneybrook players from the monthly Sunday play. Both courses will be used (one Saturday and one Sunday).
FOR BOTH THESE EVENTS, STONEYBROOK GOLFERS MUST HAVE PLAYED IN AT LEAST TWO PREVIOUS MONTHLY SUNDAYS.
Finally, the association will be limited to only Stoneybrook (that's inside the gate) residents and members, who could be from the outside.
If you are interested in playing (joining is free), contact Brodersen (746-4693 or loubrodersen2@gmail.com), Landon (748-5337 or hopelandon@yahoo.com) and the pro shop.