sequent approval. The contracts were let and

the clubs were notified the clubhouse would

be closed for renovations from the end of

June until August 31st.

My thanks to Melrose Gardens who gra-

ciously provided use of their facilities to the

bridge and card clubs as well as to other as-

sociations for their meetings.

The renovations included a complete upgrade

of the kitchen area including new appliances,

cabinet faces and granite countertops, both

women’s and men’s lavatories were likewise

upgraded, lighting was improved and hall

ways eliminated. Doors were replaced, mold-

ings added, tile and carpeting replaced and a

new color scheme introduced. While not visi-

ble the alarm system was upgraded, a neces-

sity fostered by an antiquated system which

caused many false alarms. Lastly the en-

trance sign to the clubhouse was literally fall-

ing apart and has been replaced.

Of importance to all members is the entire

renovation has been funded by allocated re-

serves.

Lastly I would be remiss if I did not express

my sincere thanks to the following members

of the Berkshire Lakes Women’s Club for

their advice and assistance in color, tile, car-

peting and granite selection: Minnie Long-

mire, Judy Gaffney, Betty Wright, Gloria

Andrade, Maria Schoenfelder and Delayne

Fleming.

The “new” clubhouse is one that prospective

property owners will be impressed with and

that we all can be proud of as an important

asset of the Berkshire Lakes Complex.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert (Bob) Luparello, President.

S eptember already and fall will

soon be upon us, the weather

up north starts to turn a bit

cooler and the greenery will

turn from green to brilliant crimson and

yellow and with that we’ll see the return

of our seasonal residents with our best

wishes for a safe journey back to Berk-

shire Lakes.

This newsletter serves many purposes,

one of importance is to inform our

members of the actions your Master

Association undertakes to maintain the

ambiance and quality of the associa-

tion’s assets. When individuals are in-

terested in purchasing a property they

carefully examine the available individ-

ual units but also the surrounding prop-

erties and the maintenance of the associ-

ation’s assets; i.e. the tennis courts, pool

area and the clubhouse.

Your Board of Directors were elected to

ensure the association’s assets were

properly maintained, upgraded as neces-

sary while ensuring financial stability, a

responsibility they seriously abide by.

To that end reserves were established to

provide the necessary funding for major

renovation projects; one being the Mas-

ter Association clubhouse.

The clubhouse is just about twenty two

years old and while it has been well

maintained, it was time for a major up-

grade. Last June the BLMA board ap-

proved a plan to upgrade the interior of

the clubhouse, bids were solicited and

then reviewed by the Finance Commit-

tee; their recommendation was present-

ed to the board for their review and sub-

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Berkshire Lakes Master Association

SEPTEMBER 2014

VOLUME 11, ISSUE 3

Berkshire Lakes News

IN THIS ISSUE

The President’s Message 1

Spiders 2

The Great Wall 2

Scofflaw Consequences 2

In Your Garden 3

Berkshire Lakes Women’s Club

3

4

Editor: Fred Rogers

YOUR COMMUNITY

NEEDS YOUR HELP Berkshire Lakes needs the

assistance of volunteers in

various committee positions.

Can you spare a couple of

hours per month to assist in the

management of our communi-

ty and its maintenance as an

outstanding place to live and

ensure the ongoing ambience?

Contact Alexis at 353-7633

for details of the many availa-

ble volunteer opportunities to

help our community.

Use the above link to access

our web site and all the infor-

mation it contains on your

cell phone.

The web site also contains

the Newsletter. Please advise

the office if you elect to re-

ceive these electronically

which can assist us to keep

costs down.

IN THIS ISSUE

The President’s Message 1

Smart 911 2

Identity Theft Precautions 2

811 Call before you dig 2

Clubhouse Renovation 3

Berkshire Lakes Women’s Club

3

Interested in owning a Dog?

4

SMART911 MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE

Page 2 BERKSHIRE LAKES NEWS

Thinking of taking advantage of the weather to plant, we would like to remind you that safe digging practices must always be followed. In fact, in many states calling 811 before you dig is not only recom-mended, it is the law! 811 Call Before You Dig and the Common Ground Alliance celebrated Monday 8/11 as National 811 Day, which serves as a convenient reminder to homeowners to always make a free call to 811 to reach their local utility notification center before starting any projects that require digging. The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is a stakeholder-supported organization fo-cused on protecting under-ground utility lines and the people who dig near them. A recent study revealed that nearly half of homeowners who plan to dig this year won't call 811 to learn the approxi-mate locations of buried gas, electric, communications, wa-ter and sewer lines before dig-ging, putting their safety and the safety of others at risk. According to data collected by CGA, when an individual makes a call to 811 before digging, damage occurs less than 1 percent of the time.

To learn more, please read Call 811 Before You Dig.

W e all hope and maybe pray that we will never need the urgent response to a medical situation that is provided in our 911 system. When we have to, our taxes pay for an excellent First Responder system that sends emergency services to our location be it at home or elsewhere for medi-

cal and other emergency needs. The system works well and response is started imme-diately upon a dispatcher receiving our cry for help.

In a medical emergency situation the responders are seeking as much information to assist you as they can via the dispatcher as they make haste to your scene, but the sit-uation can be far more complex when they have to consider any prevailing medical or physical conditions you may have and medications you may be taking in considering the actions they may need to make and time is always a commodity we can never have enough of. A system has been in place for some time whereby one can accumu-late important pertinent data on your state of health, medications you are taking and existing conditions called The File of Life. This is a magnetically based container which can be placed on your fridge into which you record all this data and it is availa-ble to any responder upon arrival at your site. There is also a portable version you can carry on your person when away from home. While very helpful to first respond-ers to conditions which may be affecting your current predicament, it has the draw-back of taking their time to get up to date with things after they arrive at the scene and delaying critical action.

Did you know there is an electronic system to provide first responders with critical information about you or your family before they even arrive at the scene of an emer-gency? It’s called Smart911. All residents need to do is go online to www.smart911.com and create a profile. Taking five minutes now to create your profile can save your life or the life of a family member in an emergency. The profile asks you to register your name, address, medical history and other important infor-mation. The next time you call 911, all that information will immediately be available to dispatch, providing critical information to be relayed to first responders.

The information you provide will only be used in the case of a 911 emergency. Infor-mation is stored on a secure, protected server, only accessible to the Smart 911 sys-tem, literally the 911 Call Dispatcher who can access the data and relay it to the re-sponders as they travel to your location. Registration is free, no fee for this service.

As always, the County Health Department, Emergency Management, and the Red Cross are always available to assist you with your preparedness efforts .

Call 811 Before You Dig

Y ou may not realize how

rampant and easy it is for

hackers to steal your mon-

ey, your reputation and

your credit in today’s electronic world.

A recent series of presentations was a

real eye opener for those who attended.

Several attendees attested to having had

a brush with identity theft in its many

and various forms and the complica-

tions of dealing with the resultant time

consuming chaos that follows as one

attempts to clear their name. It follows

that we must be alert to any early signs

which may show up in our day to day

protection. A particularly nasty scam

can be observed whenever you buy gas.

Look for the unbroken red seal tab over

the door or card entry that ensures a gas

dispenser is not trapping your card details.

Careful observation in the use of credit/

debit accounts can avoid blatant public

theft. Debit cards are particularly vulnera-

ble as they provide direct access to your

bank account. Keep a close eye on your

credit reporting companies, often the first

news that someone has cracked your cred-

it. You are entitled to a free annual credit

report from all of these companies:

www.equifax.com www.experian.com

and www.transunion.com

CHECK AND RECHECK ALWAYS!

IDENTITY THEFT PRECAUTIONS

A REMINDER:THE ALL

ROADS SPEED LIMIT IN

BERKSHIRE LAKES IS

25 MPH

VOLUME 11, ISSUE 3 Page 3

B.L.M.A. CLUBHOUSE RENOVATION

BERKSHIRE LAKES WOMEN’S CLUB

Dear Ladies, Welcome back to our 19th year of BLWC. Our new officers and chairpersons of different committee's have been work-ing very hard to bring you a year full of exciting programs and luncheons. Our first meeting is scheduled for September 15th: 6:00 pm in the clubhouse. You will be wowed by the New Look of the Refurbished Clubhouse. It has been completely remod-eled. New kitchen, floors, restrooms, painted, and new car-pets. Awesome is the only way to describe it. Our new Di-rectory for the year has been finished and many have al-ready been delivered. Our thanks to Sharon Miller and her Elves. Meeting Dates and Programs : September 15th: Dinner 6pm, $10, Contact Maureen Baker; October 20th: 7pm, Friends of the Library; Novem-ber 17th: 7pm Rookery Bay; December 15th: 6pm, Christmas Party, $10 per person. Contact Maisie McCann

Display of food prepared by Helping Hands Members for sale in

support of local schools. New Volunteers Welcome!

354-2417. Luncheon dates and locations: September 4th: D'Amicos 4691 Tamiami Trail North, Neapolitan Way. Welcome Back! Contact Sue Todaro 352-2979 by 8/27/14 (SEPARATE CHECKS) October 2nd: $25, Er ins Isle at Hibiscus Club 5375 Hibiscus Drive, off Rattlesnake Hammock Road, Dr.Corey Howard (Healthy Habits) Checks to Sharon Kaylor December 4th: $25 Royal Wood Country Club. Off Rattlesnake Hammock Road. St. Elizabeth Seton Chil-dren’s Choir, Checks to Sharon Kaylor by 12/1 This is but half of our scheduled year, with many more exciting events to follow. Board meeting September 12th: 9:30 a.m., see you there. Come join us in yet another exciting year with fun fac-es. NEW MEMBERS WELCOME! COME JOIN THE FUN! MEMBERSHIP: Betty Wright 354-0317

CLUBHOUSE INTERIOR—WORK IN PROGRESS!

Chris & Ricky Soule enjoying Valentine’s Day Dance & Comedy Show.

COMPLETED, AWAITING SETUP FOR ELECTION

INTERESTED IN A PET DOG?

WE’RE ON THE WEB

http://berkshirelakes.org

Ability Management Office 591-4200

Allen Bouley , C.A.M.

Office contact: Alexis Lassow

Office telephone (239) 353-7633

Office Fax: (239) 353-3770

Office hours: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

E-mail: berkshirelakes@embarqmail.com

Web Site: http://berkshirelakes.org

COACH HOMES WEBSITE:

http://berkshirelakes.org/associations/

coach homes

PARTRIDGE POINTE WEBSITE

http://www.partridgepointe.org

NEW WATERFORD WEBSITE:

http://berkshirelakes.org/newwaterford

WINDSOR PLACE WEBSITE:

http://www.windsorplacenaples.com

495 Belville Boulevard

Naples FL 34104

Tel: 239-353-7633 Fax: 239-353-3770

E-Mail: berkshirelakes@embarqmail.com

President

Bob Luparello

Vice-President

Tony Maro

Treasurer

Orie LaCroix

Secretary

Maureen Richards

Director

Bob Pacquin

Director

Fred Rogers

Director

Joe Schoenfelder

Berkshire Lakes Master Association, Inc.

FIRST CLASS

MAIL

PRESORTED

US POSTAGE PAID

NAPLES, FL PERMIT NO. 28

B.L.M.A OFFICE INFORMATION

IMPORTANT IF PLANNING YOUR SUMMER

TRAVEL PLEASE MAKE SURE

THE OFFICE HAS UPDATED

INFORMATION OF WHERE

TO REACH YOU AND YOUR

RETURN TIMETABLE .

I nterested in rescuing a puppy? Buying your first puppy can be a daunting task, Don’t neglect the animal shelters as a great

source for lovely animals waiting to be rescued. Questions to ask when choosing a puppy whether from a Breeder or the Animal Shelter:

What kind of lifestyle does this breed require?

What personality traits should I be informed about?

What grooming requirements are there with this breed?

What type of exercise does this breed require?

Are there any common health problems associated with this breed?

May I see / visit where the pup-pies are raised?

How many litters do you have per year?

What happens to your retired breeding dogs?

How many different breeds do you breed?

What is the average lifespan of

the dogs? What type of food do you feed

your dogs?

At what age can the puppy go to it's new home?

What immunization protocol do you follow for your breeding

dogs and your puppies? Do the animals have any type of

socialization prior to being sent to their new home?

Do the dogs have any type of training prior to being sent to their new home?

Are you affiliated with any breeder associations? Do you have references?

What guarantees do you offer with your puppies?

Do you require spay/neuter con-

tracts on your pet quality puppies?

If, for any reason, I am unable to keep the animal, what is your policy?

Most breeders are more than happy

to answer questions related to the purchase of one of their puppies. The Animal Shelters are staffed with careful and knowledgeable person-nel/volunteers who can assist you to make a selection. It is up to both the Buyer and the Breeder/Shelter to

be comfortable with one another and to ensure that the puppy will be treated properly.