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LODGE LOG Blue Lake Springs Homeowners’ Association Nov. 2016

Holiday Brunch Sunday

November 27, 2016 11:30 am to 1 pm Brunch

Menu

Eggs Benedict

Scrambled Eggs with Cheese

Roasted Red Potatoes with Peppers and Onions

Waffles with Syrup

Bacon—Sausage Links

Spinach Salad—Fresh Fruit Salad

Parker House Rolls

Orange and Cranberry Juice—Coffee and Tea

Adults—$23.00

Children 6-10 Years: $12.00

Children 5 and under FREE

Goody Bags for Children 10 years and younger

Santa will be available for photos

Hosts:

Chris and Tom Gosswiller

Payment is due at the time of reservation and members will be

charged the full amount for cancellations after November 23, 2016 and

for no shows

For reservations call 209-795-2357

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Blue Lake Springs Homeowners Association Presents:

Midnight Masquerade

New Year’s Eve 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Doors open at 7:00 pm at the Snowflake Lodge

Dress your best and join us for the party of the year!

Specialty cocktails * Social Hour

A gourmet 5 course dinner featuring

Hors D’Ouevres * Minestrone Milanese *

Caprese Salad* Bistecca alla Florentina* Coffee

Lemon Mocha Panna Cotta parfait

Champagne for New Year’s Toast

$75.00 per person

Music provided by Sweet Harmony Entertainment

Members Only Guest of Members

Paid Reservations Limit of 2 Guest

Starting November 14 - Starting Dec. 15-28

Dec. 14th Reservations are first

come first serve basis

Payment is due at time of reservation, and members & guests will be

charged the full amount for cancellations after December 29, 2016 and no shows.

Call 209-795-2357 for reservations

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Come in and enjoy dinner at the Snowflake Lodge! With a full service dining menu,

children's menu, and lounge menu you are sure to find your new favorite! Although

alcohol is not served, you are welcome to bring your own with no corkage fee.

Snowflake Lodge always offers complimentary soft drinks to those dining with us.

For dinner reservations please call 209-795-2357. Walk ins will be accommodated as space allows.

SNOWFLAKE LODGE HOURS:

FRIDAY/ SATURDAY 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm

(year round)

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The Snowflake Lodge

The perfect place for a party!

Thinking about having a Holiday Party

this year, but want to avoid the hassle and

clean up? The Snowflake Lodge is the ideal

restaurant to have a party! With amazing

food, and warm friendly service, your guests

are sure to have a good time! Call the business office for more details and to

reserve your date now! 209-795-2357

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Blue Lake Springs is Going Paperless

In today’s time of advancing technology coupled with the need to reduce paper waste and the growing

cost to print and mail Association documents, Blue Lake Springs will be moving towards electronic

communications with the membership. What this means is all notification will be sent by email. This

will include the annual notifications that are sent at the end of each year, the Summer Recreation book

etc.

How to Sign Up

Clicking on the link below will take you to the BLS website where you can download and fill out the

authorization form. Save the authorization form and email it back to the Association at

blsoffice@caltel.com. Once we have received your authorization form, we will send you a

confirmation so you know you are signed up.

Helpful Information

The Association would like to gather some helpful information so it can continually improve the

amenities it offers. You will notice there are a series of questions with the authorization form. Please

take the time to let us know what amenities you like to use and maybe what you would like to see

added.

CLICK HERE http://www.blsha.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/

Paperless-Agreement-and-Information-From.pdf

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2016 Calendar of Events

Tuesday Evening Bridge Every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Bruce Utter 890-7643

Thursday Morning Duplicate Bridge Second Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. Bev Vasquez 795-1356

Friday Morning Bridge Every Friday at 9:30 a.m. Bobbie Neely 795-7815 Debbie Kushnir 795-0600

Bridge lessons 1st and 3rd Wed. at 1 pm Bobbie Neely 795-7815

(Please note for all bridge groups,

please call ahead to save a spot)

Mahjong First and Third Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.

Leni Salayko 795-7166

Texas Hold’em:

Second Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

(September 2016 through May 2017)

Cathy Fitzpatrick 795-4806

Louise Cooke 795-4657

Potluck

Second Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

(September 2016 through May 2017) Chair Harriet

Johns 795-0563 co-chair Jody Raley 795-2876

If there is any member

who knows of someone

who may need a get well

card or sympathy card,

please call the Sunshine Lady,

Joan Shawver at 209-795-5619.

Texas Hold’em Poker

Texas Hold’em Poker started again in

September for

Blue Lake Springs Homeowners

and their guests.

All levels are welcome.

Age: Adult

Check in 1:30 PM

Location: Snowflake Lodge

Date: 2nd Thursday for the Month

Beginners Class: 12:30 pm

Come join the fun!

Reservations required for seating, email Louise

Cooke,

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Pot Luck Dinner

The Blue Lake Springs Homeowners October potluck was a festive fun time for all. Tables were decorated with pumpkins and spooky trick or treat black cats. Many people dressed up in costumes which added to the Boo..tiful evening. The Grim Reaper (Don Fry) with blood oozing down his face, whimsical clowns (Bernie and Patty Tillotson), Oliver Hardy (Jim Allday) which made one take a double take and Dave and Mo Ryniec dressed in matching pumpkin tee shirts. Many others came in black and orange outfits. We had a total of 86 people attending which included many guests. Steve Andrews is a member and this was his first time attending the monthly potluck and he received a Snowflake Lodge Potluck gift certificate for a complimentary dessert for two. We look forward to Steve joining us in the coming months. We were also honored to have joined us, Pete Padelford who was chosen this year as Calaveras County “Senior Citizen of the year” and Laurie Andrade who was last year’s “Senior Citizen of the Year.” Both have done so much for our community and for the county!

Thank you to our Pot Luck callers: Anne Friborg-Evans, Michele Stahlberg, Bev Vasquez, Maureen Dinnocenzo, Marcy Crawford, Kaaren Babb, and Kathy Enea. These ladies are instrumental in making sure we have a good distribution of dishes. Thank you to the Kitchen Committee: Dodie & Brian Raley, Chris & Tom Gosswiller, Chris & Sid Gilbreath and Michele & Ed Stahlberg. They make sure your hard work in preparing the food is presented the way you would like it. Thank you to Sharon Tussey for selling Bingo cards and Bob Doten for selling raffle tickets. Thank you to Vernon (security) for keeping us all safe. Special thanks to John Vasquez and Harry Tittle for entertaining us while they call bingo numbers! And, always a thank you to my co-chair Dodie Raley.

Potluck is always fun and the following are the prizes that were won: Secret sticker: Luanne Baugher....................Complimentary dessert for 2 certificate 50/50 raffle ticket: Michele Stahlberg Bingo games: Callye Caccamo, Debbie Kushner, Pete Padelford, Dodie Raley Bingo blackout: Jack Larmour & Roy Silcox Costume winners: Jim Allday as “Oliver Hardy” and Bernie & Patty Tillotson as “clowns”

If you would like to join our monthly Potlucks held on the second Wednesday of each month September-May (except December) please contact Harriet Johns 795-0563 or Dodie Raley 795-2876 to have your name added to the calling list.

Next month our theme will be “Winter Warmth”. We will feature comfort food and we encourage everyone to wear their most outlandish Christmas sweaters......most of us have one tucked away somewhere! You may win a complimentary gift certificate for a delicious dessert for two at the Snowflake Lodge. Hope to see you on November 9th.

Pot Luck chair person

Harriet Johns

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Hello fellow Blue Lake Springs Members,

Last year at this time the Butte Fire was just wrapping up. There had been more than 4,000 firefighters working in our area and we were all thankful for their efforts in preserving our community and other

communities in our county.

In the months since then your board has worked diligently to protect our community from future natural disasters. We have beefed up our VIP program, established a tree mortality program that rivals any in the nation, and have begun work on a 300’ by 9.5-mile long firebreak around our HOA.

A few days ago we learned that Pete Padelford, our Tree Mortality and Fire Prevention chairman had been nominated for a National Wildfire Mitigation Award from the National Association of State Foresters. Following are a few of the citations listed in his nomination:

1. Coordination of the Volunteer in Protection (VIP) program in Blue Lake Springs, but further to offer assistance and support to many other HOAs in the Arnold area. Recruiting over 50 homeowner volunteers who annually conduct Fire Safety inspections.

2. Training all in VIP and Fire Prevention efforts

3. Working with local web based experts and helped developed an on-line training package and Fire prevention topics, installed on the Blue Lake Springs website blsha.com, with links to Cal Fire and Ebbetts Pass Fire information. Used as a best practice for statewide application.

4. Meeting with homeowners and advising how to make their properties fire safe.

5. Coordinating with Cal Fire and Ebbetts Pass Fire managers for past 6 years.

6. Coordinating Firewise application for his HOA and creating an Hwy 4 Fire wise Committee bringing 10 more HOAs into the Firewise Organization. Organizing Firewise/Wildfire Community Protection Day activities in past 3 years for the Arnold greater community.

7. Surveying and planning SRA Grant applications and then directing field mitigation activities of masticating and Cal Fire hand crews as they clear planned areas.

8. Leading by example devoting more than 1600 volunteer hours to Fire Prevention in each of the past 4 years.

We all sincerely hope that Pete receives this award, but award or not Pete is our hero.

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In previous President’s Messages I have written that there are three projects that we must see accomplished soon for health and safety reasons: dredging Fly-In Lake, expanding our parking lot, and rebuilding our amphitheater. People have been asking me why I think these projects are so important, so I thought I should try to explain.

Chris Gosswiller’s Facilities and Long Range Planning Committee is in process of obtaining bids to dredge Fly-in Like. The Army Corps of Engineers built the lake in the early 1950’s and it was designed so that the lake would be dredged every fifteen to twenty years to maintain its storage capacity and to insure the integrity of the dam. The last dredging of the lake was in the early 1980’s, more than forty years ago, and since that time the lake has begun to fill with up to five feet of silt to the point where it is endangering our outlet valve, the integrity of our dam, and has substantially reduced both the size and water holding capacity of the lake. We are working on ways to accomplish the dredging as quickly and as economically as possible. We hope to have all of the necessary permits in place and begin the dredging about this time next year, and have it completed by Thanksgiving 2017.

Our parking lot currently accommodates only about 70 cars, yet during peak days in the summer and on holiday weekends up to 500 members and guests visit our lodge daily. This results in many cars being parked on adjacent streets, as well as on private property, and blocking private driveways. Also it requires that our members and guests walk along busy streets with their families and carrying their gear with vehicle traffic moving in both directions. This is literally a recipe for a catastrophe. Expanding the parking lot into the area next to the lodge and our existing parking lot, where several Ponderosa Pine trees were removed earlier this year, could potentially double our parking capacity and relieve much of this problem. Plans have been drawn for this project and we are currently soliciting bids for the expansion. As completing this project will require that we utilize some of the fill dirt that will be removed from Fly-In Lake it is anticipated that the project will be completed by opening day 2018

Our amphitheater was built in the early 1960’s, and was constructed using a structure of wooden supports buried in a dirt-filled hill that was then covered with asphalt. As the support wood has been in contact with the ground for many years much of it has rotted and has periodically been replaced. We have now reached the point where we can no longer repair the structure in bits and pieces and maintain its integrity, so the entire structure must be replaced. Our Long Range Planning Committee, working with our Maintenance Dept., has found a way to replace, expand and modernize this structure and give us a much more useable facility with greatly expanded usage potential. And, the good news is, the new plan will be paid for entirely using only the funds that we have set aside for it in our Asset Reserve Fund. Work on the project has already begun and it should be completed prior to our official summer opening in May 2017.

Our mission in life should not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some

passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. Maya Angelou

Mike McAtee, President

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REMINDERS ABOUT THE SNOW SEASON

The Calaveras County Department of Public Works would like to remind the residents of the

County who live in areas subject to snow accumulation about the basic snow removal policies and

procedures. Snow removal services are provided on approximately 150 miles of County roads.

The State (Caltrans) provides snow removal services on State Highways.

The Calaveras County Department of Public Works has adopted the following policy regarding

snow removal and ice sanding on County maintained roadways.

Snow Depth. Snowplowing operations start when there are 4 inches of snow on the roadway.

Timing and Crowding. Once snow removal operations have begun, the County will continue to

plow snow and push it back to the shoulders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until removal is

completed and in preparation for additional storms. During snowplow operations, a berm of snow

is left in front of all driveways becoming the responsibility of the resident to clear.

Priority. During a storm, main roads that provide access to state highways and minor

connections, as well as school bus routes, have priority over other roads.

Sanding. The County does not sand snow. Due to the financial impact they have designated

certain roads which will be sanded in order to maintain the main traffic routes. These include

school bus routes and major thoroughfares.

Chains. Calaveras County Ordinance No. 2519 requires vehicles to have tire chains or traction

control devices whenever necessary in order for vehicles to maintain traction while operating on

County roads.

Parking Restrictions. Calaveras County Ordinance No. 2154 prohibits parking during snow

removal operations and reads:

“The parking or standing of vehicles on the right-of-way of any county road during snow removal

operations conducted by or on behalf of the County is prohibited. ‘Snow removal operations’ shall

be deemed to be ongoing whenever snow is present on the right-of-way of County road.”

This law provides for all such vehicles to be towed (at the owner’s expense) so as not to interfere

with snow removal operations and equipment.

Ice. Ice scraping operations are done only in the daylight hours when the temperatures are

sufficiently high and the snow becomes slushy. Attempts to shave ice under other circumstances

have proven futile and have the effect of polishing the ice making it even more slippery.

Do not shovel snow or put snow from driveways in the roadway as this creates a hazard for other

drivers, a liability for you and is illegal.

Sign up for the Blue Lake Springs email service to get special notifications on snow con-

ditions here at the Lodge. Go to our website home page at www.blsha.com to sign up.

LET IT SNOW!!!

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WELCOME NEW OWNERS

Carol Hutcheson Unit 1

David & Kira Swaim Unit 1

Patricia & Ralph Watkins Unit 1

John & Virginia Staton Unit 2

Pleasant & Donna Huston Unit 5

Matthew & Laura Cashara Unit 7

Lauren Anderson Unit 8

Joseph & Janet Roberts Unit 8

Steven & Patricia Pollock Unit 8

James & Nikki Mastro Unit 8

Shawn & Kathy Horan Unit 9

Scott & Jami Wooster Unit 10

Digby & Sandra Norris Unit 12

Steven & Patricia Pollock Unit 12

Greg & Alison Rice Unit 12

Jonathan Ross & Gordon Ross Unit 13

Robert & Kimberly Verity Unit 13

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VOLUNTEERS IN PREVENTION (VIP)

WOW what a busy month – I feel after a big acceleration of

dying beetle trees through August, September and a little of

October that this death rate has slowed way down. Weather

may be playing a role in this. Please be very careful when

driving and walking around in our BLS Subdivision. PG&E has

brought in many more crews that are working feverishly to try

and get the trees they are taking down onto the ground before winter cold, high winds or wet snow

take them down, maybe on a home. We that live here walk out of our houses and all we hear are

many chain saws running constantly and, quite often, the loud thump of a tree hitting the ground.

Your logs on your property from PG&E taking the trees down may be there for a while. Right now

the most urgent part of this process is to get the trees on the ground. With so many crews working

in BLS to get the trees down we cannot throw more equipment on the roadways or around the

properties to congest the situation more. Someone will get hurt for sure. This is an extraordinary

event and we are all going to have to be patient and tolerant of the changes of life style here for a

few more years.

Starting Saturday October 26th volunteers will be all over our subdivision doing a count of dead

trees and stumps from dead trees on your property for at least a week. They will be traversing your

property, front and rear, to get these counts. This project is very critical to our success with

applications for Grant Money to help out our HOA members with the cost of the removal of these

trees and to make Sacramento realize the amount of money that is needed in these Grants. We will

appreciate the cooperation from all of you with this very important project.

On a very positive note: We started work on our Fire Break September 22nd and it has been a

very exhausting, but fun time. So much work getting done. The LARGE Masticator machine lowered

the fire fuel on 33 acres of perimeter property around BLS working from October 3rd to October

22nd. This machine is done for this year. California Department of Correction, (CDC), hand crews and

chippers started work on September 22nd and will be finished on October 31st. These crews work in

the areas that the large Masticator machine cannot work. Fire Fuel reduction is almost completed

on 9 acres of the Jennings property behind the homes on Patricia, Polly Court, Stephanie Court and

Marti Court area. Spring Valley road from the edge of the road to Moran Creek Fire Fuel reduction is

completed. We have completed Fire Fuel Reduction, which created a Fire Break on the 2 Demuse

properties, the Plicka property and the Howley property which covers 33 + acres.

Continued on the next page

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This draws a fire line for any fire coming up from the lower parts of Moran Road below Calaveritas

and Flanners Drive Area. With the work SPI has done we should have a very good chance of survival

of a fire from the South West or Love Creek Lower Moran Road areas. We are hoping our Grant Appli-

cation to finish this almost 3 year planned project will be accepted so we can start the second and

last phase of this project around March or April. I am told this is one of the largest single projects ev-

er attempted in Calaveras County and we are getting 'er done.

Pete Padelford

CALFIRE BLS Coordinator

Blue Lake Springs CALFIRE Volunteers in Prevention

The winter rains have come. As the fire season diminishes, we still need to be conscious of fire safety with our fireplaces this winter. With the wind we have had, and the amount of dead pine needles on the roofs, think about cleaning your gutters.

The office staff at Blue Lake Springs will be replying to all emails that have to do with VIP and dead trees. Any specific questions you may have that the staff can't answer will be directed to me and I will personally follow up. And, if necessary, get together with you at your home to clarify the CALFIRE PRC 4291 code.

A big thank you, and our appreciation to Pete Padelford and Doug Nunes for all their hard work...many hours and the many miles they have devoted to keep this CAL FIRE Volunteers in Prevention program that has been developed here at Blue Lake Springs what it is today.

This month, Pete Padelford was honored by the Calaveras County Commission on Aging and received an award for the Senior Volunteer of the Year 2016.

Jimmy Cooke

Your CALFIRE VIP Coordinator

Attention Owners

As most of you are aware of there has been extensive tree cutting due to the bark beetle. The

problem that you may not be aware of is the due to the removal of these trees there is the

potential for erosion on some of the properties, so please check to ensure you are not having

erosion problems.

Also during this time of year it is very important for owners to ensure that the drainage

culvert that runs under your driveway is clean and free from any obstructions that could

potentially cause flooding of water onto the roadway and neighboring properties.

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Street Address Signage

Each year as we plan and conduct VIP Cal Fire Property Fire Safety Inspections we have emphasized different parts of the State PRC 4291 rules and/or Calaveras County Codes. This year we choose to give special attention to street address signage.

Over the past few years, Ebbetts Pass Fire and Cal Fire have encountered problems at times in locating an address in an emergency. If there is a fire, they have no problem locating the source of the smoke. However, when it is a call for emergency medical attention the posted clearly identifiable address will best assure you will get help when you ask for it. The address signage is critical.

This year we had over 300 Inspections with “address” marked. We got over 140 e-mails telling us that there is an address on the property. The item was marked if the conditions listed were not observed. Did your address signage comply with the County Code?

“Calaveras County Code 12.04.070 - Numbers—Specifications.

The numbers to be displayed in accordance with the county numbering system will be as follows: not less than three inches in height, of a metallic and/or reflective

nature, and impervious to weather…..posted at each driveway entrance”

On the back of the Fire Safety Inspection Notice was address guidelines. The State recommendation is 4” and County is 3”, either is recommended. Numbers smaller than 3” are not recommended. Cal Fire does not issue citations for address issues

In Blue Lake Springs we have some beautiful address signage from Golf Tee routed and carved formats, numbers nailed to a tree, numbers on the roof trim, on the front porch supports, sideway, up and down, brass letters screwed into the garage door or along the trim edge, mounted on the fence or not posted at all. Many realtors present very nice customize address signs when a sale is completed. Add numbers at the driveway entrance.

There will be no enforcement of the address code in Blue Lake Springs, this notice is given to enlighten our owners and share guidelines for life safety issues, so emergency responders can locate you easily, when you need help.

R Douglas Nunes

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Winter Storm Warning

The following information is advice from the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office.

Preparing in advance for winter storms:

Load up on potable water, live batteries, a battery operated radio, foods that can be eaten

without cooking, medical supplies and prescriptions, warm clothes, blankets, firewood,

generator fuel, pet food, etc. Have at least three days’ supply of food and water for every

person in your household. If you don’t have one, purchase an old fashioned phone (the kind

that doesn’t need electricity to run) and plug it in. Roam phones and cell phones can have

their power knocked out as we have seen in past storms.

Once the storms hit, unless it is an emergency, PLEASE stay home! Park your cars out of

the roadways and road right of ways so that the snow plows can come through unimpeded. If

you must travel in areas impacted by snow fall, drive only with chains and/or 4WD.

If you need to get out, be patient. Wait for the road department crews to clear the road rather

than trying to ram your way through the snow. This causes unnecessary accidents and more

work for our emergency response crews that could have been avoided. As always, please

report any emergency situations via 9-1-1, and do not attempt to drive over, near, or around

any downed power lines.

Useful public information points for Calaveras County:

Calaveras County Sheriff Non-Emergency 754-6500, Emergency 9-1-1

County Roads Lane Blockages/Other Road Issues 754-6402

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BUSINESS OFFICE

CLOSED

Thurs. Nov. 11, 2016 Veterans Day

Thursday November 24, 2016

Sat. December 24, 2016

Monday December 26, 2016

January 1, 2017

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Administration

General Manager,

Tony Abila

Assistant General Manager

Amber Meyer

Office Manager

Leah Springman

Snowflake Lodge Restaurant

Lodge Operations Manager,

Amber Meyer

Snowflake Lodge Chef,

Marc Kirby

Facilities

Facilities Manager, Mark Owens

Summer Recreation

Summer Recreation Director,

Judith Anderson

Assistant Recreation Director

Veronica O’Boy

Security

Vernon Nicholson

The Lodge Log is published by the Blue Lake Springs Homeowners’ Association in accordance with the By-Laws of

the Association. Manager: Tony Abila Production: Blue Lake Springs HOA Staff

Blue Lake Springs Homeowners’ Association

Office Hours

Tuesday-Saturday ~ 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Office Phone: (209) 795-2357 ~ Fax: (209) 795-4438

Email: blsoffice@caltel.com

Post Office Box 712, Arnold, CA 95223

Web Site: www.blsha.com

Snowflake Lodge Restaurant

Friday and Saturday 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Please Call for Reservation (209) 795-2357

Summer Recreation (Memorial Day to Labor Day)

Recreation Office Phone (209) 795-4009

Email: blsrecreation@caltel.com

Board of Directors Meetings

Third Saturday, 9:00 a.m.

Your Association welcomes letters from members and well

publish them in the Lodge Log on a space available basis.

If necessary they will be edited for style and shortened to

200 words. Letters will not be returned to author. Formal

policy is on file at the Association office. Members should

request a copy of the policy If they are considering

submitting a Member to Member letter

Board of Directors

President, Mike McAtee

Vice President, Chris Gosswiller

Treasurer, Guy Pollak

Secretary, Linda Penney

Director, Jimmy Cooke

Director, Robert Podesta

Director, Bev Vasquez

Blue Lake Springs Mutual Water Company

Board Meetings: Second Saturday, 9 a.m.

Office Phone: 209-795-7025 Emergency: 209-795-7030

Post Office Box 6015, Arnold , 95223

Office is located next to the Arnold Post

Office at 1011 Blagen Road