Normans News FALL/WINTER 2013 Edition

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Normans News
FOR AND BY OUR RESIDENTS OF NORMAN DOWNES

The Presidents Corner

The 2013 Annual Norman Downes Home Owners Meeting will be held Tuesday, December 3rd 6:308:30 PM at the Bunten Park Community Building

Let me catch you up on some of the positive things happening in Norman Downes! Entrance & Street Signs
Sam Carr has replaced the street signs with long-lasting types and posts where necessary. Our Entrance signs are still in pretty good condition, so had them professionally painted to brighten up our entry.

Meet your representatives Hear your annual report Voice your concerns Support your community
Whats Up in the Downes?

Pool
It seems that on every street someone is painting, remodeling, or adding a bit of color to their homes and yards this year. Many thanks to our yard of the month crew, Helen Jones & Sherry McCann for making the awards. Congratulations to following households! April: BackyardHarris, 3183 Brookshire Way; BackyardCook, 2792 Norwood Way; Roberts, 3154 Brookshire Way; Blanca, 2618 Kensington; Krause, 2674 Heath Lane May: Baggett, 2725 Kenwood Court; Beall, 2725 Kenwood Court
(winnerscontinued on page 2)

Security CamIn place to help with potential safety issues. Not monitored, but recorded if review is required. Most neighbor and municipal pools have them. One example of a dangerous situation is where youngsters were jumping or diving off of the lifeguard stand , after dragging it to the edge. We are taking steps to avoid this in the future.

Tennis & Lake

A new resident commented that Norman Downes is beautiful and very peaceful. His outing that day was to learn how to handle and navigate with a kayak. He asked if there is a public access; I said yes, but it needs work. He expressed interest in helping with the effort and being part of a committee to organize the project making the lake access more accessible.

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(Presidents Corner continued) Some of the is-

sues that we are addressing in 2014 are more security and erosion control. Additional Security Camsare to be installed in the tennis and lake access areas. Fencing will have posted notices. Duluth Police will continue to patrol. Erosion ControlThe driveway and parking lot need re-structuring to help keep them in place. A budget item for next year will be runoff channels and energy breakers. The City of Duluth Engineers may help with planning and financial assistance may be sought from the city. Boat Rack and Lake ChannelThanks to Rob Welch for spearheading the boat rack project. We are happy to say that it is being used to keep boats off the ground, and keep them secure. We are proposing Norman Downes stickers to show they belong to ND residents. Norman Downes NatureTake a Closer Look! As the new resident observed, we have a World of Wonder right here in ND with the wildlife and plant life; duck and geese, along with various interesting bird species. Among them are the blue and green herons and the osprey recently spotted. Ask how you can be more involved with the development of this resource! By Barry Smith, HOA President

(Yard of the Month winners continued)

Dashner, 2792 Kenwood Drive; Austin, 3083 Brookshire Way; Rhea, 2736 Saxon Drive June: Backyard-Hindes, 2879 Baronet Court; Becker, 3124 Brookshire Way; Livingston, 3307 Leeds Way; unavailable, 2709 Kenwood Drive; July: Saye, 3023 Brookshire Way; Ashbury, 2582 Kenwood Drive; Adams, 2642 Heath Lane; Mondl, 3257 Victoria Way ; August: Backyard Cromer,3263 Brookshire Way Vasquez, 2714 Kenwood Court; Zayas, 2689 Kensington Drive; Smittcamp, 3284 Leeds Way; Mauldin, 2732 Kenwood Drive September: Backyard-Muir, 2758 Winston Way; Zema, 3293 Leeds Way; Mumme, 3064 Brookshire Way; Brown, 2703 Heath Lane; Martin, 3164 Brookshire Way

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Please take a moment to label your boat clearly with your name. That way, we know who to call you if there is any problem with your boat.
Norman Downes welcomed new residents with a picnic on October 4th. Many thanks to Diane Womble and Lisa Smith for preparing the welcome baskets for the families. They were standing in for newlywed and former HOA treasurer Yvonne Hunter-Cabell. Congratulations Yvonne on your new marriage!

Norman Downes is much sought after as a residence for young families and couples. Homes are now selling quickly and often multiple offers are brought to the table. As of this publication, there is only one home for sale. And home values are rising again as the economy improves. Thank you Susan Welch for taking care of the flowers at the pool once again this past season. Susan also very kindly put the flowers out for other homeowners to take and enjoy once the pool season was over. We appreciate you Susan!

Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.
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How To Siphon A Lake

How do you siphon water out of a lake? Why would you want to do such a thing? The recent deluge of May 19th provided an opportunity to understand the power of the Lake Norman siphon system. Lake Norman uses a siphon system to remove excess water as the water level rises. The system on Lake Norman has multiple activators depending upon the water level. As the water level rises more siphons activate. The following diagram illustrates the siphon system and is very similar to the system in use at Lake Norman.

The siphon causes water to be pulled from deep in the lake and continues to remove water until the level is back to normal. The flood from May 19th caused all of the siphons to engage and the photos on the next page show the amount of water being discharged that day.

It was reported that we received 6 inches of rain in about 7 hours on May 19th. The water raised at least 4 feet in a short amount of time as evidenced by the photos at the top of the next page.

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For more photos of the flood waters, see www.normansdownes. com. Article and photos courtesy of Rick Austin

17-year old Varsity Cheerleader, Brittney Youngblood, is available for CHILDCARE after school and on weekends. Your children will be well cared for and have fun! Norman Downes references available on request. Call/text 678-643-2849.

One neighbor asked us to print this reminder! Please park in your driveway. Please do not park on the street or in your yard.
Help keep us all safe & our community beautiful too!

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Question: I live in
Norman Forest and pay a fee yearly to use the Norman Downes amenities. Our communities are physically linked and I want to volunteer to help with events. Is this possible?

We have fun playing with other women in our community !

Call Carol Vidyasagar

to get on our monthly invitation list.

(770) 476 5799

carolvidya@bellsouth.net

Answer: Absolutely!

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(Norman Forest continued) Please volunteer! The only differences are that since your home is not legally within the Norman Downes boundaries, you can not hold office, vote on HOA matters, or share ownership in the amenities. The entire Norman Forest community would have to petition Norman Downes to merge the two communities to change this.

Styles By Amber

Pamper Yourself With fabulous hair Total family service in the privacy of your own home!
Call or Text: 678-643-3092

Comments? Send them to: normansnews@gmail.com EditorCheryl Smith

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From your editor You may have noticed that the number of Normans Newsletters have dwindled this past year. Now that we have message boards at our entrances and the Norman Downes website is up and running effectively, communication with the entire community is more cost and time effective using these methods. As the year ends, it is an appropriate time for me to pass the hat to the younger generation for continuing some of the activities and traditions in Norman Downes. If someone would like to help with the composition and editing of Normans News, please contact me or one of your board members for more details. Most of the community now receives this letter electronically, but there is still the need or paper copies for those who are not connected to the worldwide web or for who we have no email address. I really appreciate those who have contributed to the newsletter in the past and hope it will continue to be published at least a few times a year. Volunteers are also needed to continue the events below! None of the activities are difficult to set up if several folks volunteer to help with each one. A lot of the needed items are in storage for most events and those volunteering are not held to doing things as they were done in the past. You can be as creative as you wish. These activities are funded by our HOA assessments, so there is no out of pocket expense either. All it takes is a little of your time. Easter Egg Hunt for Children Community Garage Sales July 4th picnic at the pool & childrens parade Childrens Halloween Table & Games Decorating Entrances for the Holiday Norman Downes Christmas Party Again, many thanks to those who have helped in the past! Cheryl Smith Normans News

New to our community? Welcome to Norman Downes!

I will send you an updated directory!
Please email your info to: normansnews@gmail.com Name(s): ________________________________________________________ Phone : _________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________ *Email: (will not to be published) _______________________________________________________ *How many children under 13 years in the home: ______________________

Starred information is used for Normans News distribution, the COPS program and event planning
only. Did you receive a welcome basket? Yes ___ No ___