December, January & February 2007 Volume 1, Issue 4 Mark Your Calendars! Christmas Parade & Santa Visit Home Decorating Contest 12-09 12-18 a.m. Spring Yard Sale 4-14-07 Tell your kids to start being nice and no more being naughty! Santa is coming to Country Lakes in style. Santa will be traveling in a parade with the CLHA Board of Directors on December 9th. The Parade will start on Yowaiski Mill Road near Anne Court and circle up and come back down the middle section of Asher Road to complete it s trip back at Yowaiski Mill. Santa and his CLHA elves will be handing out candy canes and playing Christmas carols. Our special parade will start at 10:00 a.m. and end around 11:00 a.m. so Santa can get ready to greet his many fans down at the pavilion at Noon. Listen for Santa s approach and make sure you wave as he passes by, then come down and meet him for your gift and a cup of hot chocolate. National Night Out 8-7-07 Fall Yard Sale 9-29-07 Harvest-Fest & Annual Meting Kid s Halloween Party 9-30-07 10-27-07 Santa s Visit 12-9-07 Get ready for the annual Christmas Decorating Contest! Three winners throughout the neighborhood will be selected based on the decorations adorning their homes to celebrate the Christmas season. As long as their HOA dues are current, the winners will have their 2007-2008 homeowners dues paid! Judging will take place ON THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 18! So unroll those lights and get out the extension cords. Winners will also receive certificates and a congratulatory letter.
Page 2 Volume 1, Issue 4 We are proud to report that the entrance gate signs are once again a beautiful and well-maintained welcome to our neighborhood. In addition to touching up the old paint and covering the unfortunate graffiti we suffered earlier this year, we have changed the color scheme just a little. Please help us keep the signs fresh by reminding your children that you, as their parents, are responsible for any damages and liable for any destruction that they may cause. Our Fall community yard sale was our biggest yet. Houses throughout the neighborhood were set up and selling like mad! The Pavilion parking lot was full of great deals, and people from all over the county were stopping by to pick up a great deal. As a service to the neighborhood, all yard sale signs were removed between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. We estimate that there may have been as many as 40 homes involved in the yard sale. Thanks for participating and for your community support. We would like to remind you, once again, that placing signs on the utility poles is against the law and the utility companies can prosecute, if they so choose. PAVILION RESERVATIONS We are happy to report that pavilion reservations have more than tripled since the improvements were completed. However, we have made some changes to the con- tract and would like to remind you that your homeowners association dues must be paid up to date in order to reserve the pavilion. And we ask that you give us as much time as possible in advance of your function so that we can accomplish the necessary paperwork and you can be assured that your desired date is available. Just call 301-884-7297 to make your reservation.
Volume 1, Issue 4 Page 3 Saturday, October 28th was a very scary day here in Country Lakes, with ghosts, goblins, witches and warlocks and the occasional princess. Our kid s Halloween party was a great success. Thirty children and their families joined us in full costume for a wonderful time. We had costume contests, KID S HALLOWEEN PARTY door prizes and a haunted gingerbread house! We played musical tombstones, pin the nose on the pumpkin and spider ring toss. The kids had a great time, even though the wind threatened to blow the entire party across the field. Every child went home with a ribbon, a goody bag and a door prize. We hope that they also went home with smiles on their faces. If you missed the party this year, make sure you mark your calendars next year when we plan to have even more fun. We would like to say a special Thank You to the parents, not only did they dress their kids up and bring them, but everyone gave a hand and had a great time. 10-12 Year-olds costume contest 4-6 Year-olds costume contest 7-9 Year-olds costume contest 1-3 Year-olds costume contest
Page 4 Volume 1, Issue 4 NEIGHBORHOOD TEENS QUESTIONED In response to recent vandalism on Yowaiski Mill Road, the Saint Mary s County Sheriff s Department arrived in Country Lakes looking for several teenage males. Although Sheriff s Deputies were reluctant to reveal the nature of the vandalism or the identities of the teens in question, we do know that at least two young male residents of the neighborhood were questioned at length. A source at the Sheriff s Department has told us that there will be an increased presence in the neighborhood until the culprits are apprehended. So, keep your eyes open and be quick to report any vandalism or suspicious activity that you may notice around the neighborhood. Country Lakes Needs You Country Lakes Homeowners Association may be looking for you. We are asking anyone who has a special skill or talent they would be willing to share to please call us and let us know. No matter how small you think your talent is, we can always use it. Or if you have or have access to special equipment and would be willing to use it to help out occasionally when needed, we d sure like to hear from you, too. Just call 301-884-7297 and leave us a message letting us know your name, your phone number and how you can help. Right now we are actively DUES ARE OVERDUE tively seeking contact information for anyone interested in replacing/ repairing the park fence next spring. If you haven t already paid your 2006-2007 homeowners dues, you have or will shortly be receiving a late notice from Horton Property Management. We urge you to pay your dues, without them we cannot offer things such as the community yard sales, the kid s Halloween party, or even Santa s annual visit. Homeowners dues are our only means of income and we are constantly striving to provide you, our residents, with bigger and better comforts. If you feel you aren t getting anything back from your dues, let us know how you think we can better serve you, we really do want to know. And don t forget, homes that are in default are subject to liens, that means you cannot sell your home until the debt is settled.
Volume 1, Issue 4 Page 5 HARVEST-FEST & THE ANNUAL MEETING While we had a grand time at this year s Harvest-Fest, we did miss lots of our residents. We had hoped to see more of you there to celebrate another year passing for our association. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time and thank all those families who did show up. We want to thank Stephanie s Avon, Southern Maryland Massage, Donna Sherman, Kathleen Stanley, Mechanicsville Building Supply, Mom & Pops Pizza & Subs, Elaine Green & Dean Lumber Supply for their wonderful support and top-notch door prizes. A heart -y thank you to the Health Connections Van and Staff for taking such good care of us. Following the festival, we held our annual meeting complete with elections. Here is your board: President-Elaine Green, Vice President-Jack Estevez, Treasurer-Stephanie Haney, Secretary-Judi Estevez and board members-mike & Karen Beck, Jim Loveless & Kirk Turner. Thanks for stepping up to the plate guys and we hope it s a great year.
Country Lakes Homeowners Association P.O. Box 632 Mechanicsville, MD 20659 Phone: 301-884-7297 BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 15 COUNTRY LAKES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Country Lakes Homeowners Association P.O. Box 632 Mechanicsville, MD 20659 Phone: 301-884-7297 DUES RELATED INFORMATION: Horton Property Management P.O. Box 1237 California, MD 20619 Phone: 301-737-1700 Visit us on the Web! www.clha.org Find copies of the governing documents and all the latest news at the updated website! Visit often! COUNTRY LAKES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION OFFICERS: President Elaine Green president@clha.org Vice President Jack Estevez vicepresident@clha.org Treasurer Stephanie Haney treasurer@clha.org Secretary Judi Estevez secretary@clha.org BOARD MEMBERS: Mike Beck Karen Beck Kirk Turner Jim Loveless