NORMANS NEWS

For and by our residents of the Norman Downes Neighborhood May - June 2011

I dont agree with some item(s) in the new updated covenants document, why should I vote yes on my ballot?
This August our 20 year old covenants for
Norman Downes expire. Your NDHA has been working diligently with the proposed new covenants trying to educate residents and ensure that every property owner has the opportunity to vote. This is an issue that could impact our quality of life in Norman Downes. If the updated covenants pass, they will become our permanent foundation and ByLaws document. We wont have to go through the renewal process again. If the updated covenants are rejected, we revert to the old covenants and start the entire process all over again. That will waste time, money, and energy. Also, there is no way all 266 of us are going to agree with every item presented if we are forced to go back to square one. I urge you not to get caught up in details like, What diameter can tree trunks be cut before consulting the Board?, If there is an increase in maintenance costs, will that affect the budget and dues?, Why arent the architectural standards specific?, What about the enforcement of those standards? The fact is, we can and will continue to hammer Peachtree Ridge High School
Inside this Issue: Announcements . Pool News .... The Blue Heron .. Pool Opening Neighborhood Watch ... Upcoming Events .. Garage Sale . NDHA Board lights Thank You! . Yard of the Month .. Egg Hunt .. Upcoming Events . Photo of the Month .. Board Meeting, etc. . 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 8 8 8

Support your local downtown merchants and the

Duluth Arts by attending the Duluth Art Walk
scheduled for June 3rd from 6PM9 PM!
Over 30 pieces of original art will be given away,
by finding tokens hidTowne Greene, includknown artist living right Norman Downes!!! Do Youll have to attend to artists will be demonden in and around the ing work from one well here in our very own you know who it is??!! find out. Other local strating their crafts too.

Im hoping to find one of those tokens to win an original art piece. Maybe you can too!

Nan McMillan Jeffrey Durham Jack Ridderhof Michael Taylor

Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology Sarah Lawrence College GSU December Grad Providence Christian Academy

Katelyn Mooney Wesley Edenifield

NORMANS NEWS (covenants cont) majority wishes. Your elected board members have done their best to represent the best interests of the entire neighborhood. There are truly only a complaining few who fear change and refuse to look to the future. Too bad their voices are the ones we hear most. We are fortunate to live in a covenants neighborhood. Look at some of the surrounding areas right in Duluth! Around the corner, Peachtree Walk has multiple families moving into homes, no one tending entrances, and homes in disrepair. This encourages the wrong type of buyer to move in. The deadline to send in your ballot is July 31st, but please dont wait until the last minute to vote. The board members need to get on with the business at hand and quit worrying over having to go door to door to solicit the final votes needed for the covenants to pass. I urge you to vote yes and accept the revised update covenants as written. As of now, only about 40 more yes votes are needed. Make sure your vote counts! By Cheryl Smith New Block Captains: Announcing!

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Kathy Mumme (770)497-0957 Toby Stewart (678)417-1786 Susan Penning (770)623-1355 Tammy Tafoya (770)497-9989

3043-3103 Brookshire Way kathymumme@att.net 2611-2563 Kenwood Drive toby_stewart@hotmail.com 2684-2648 Kenwood Drive susan.penning@gmail.com 3226 3277 Victoria Way tammy1958@gmail.com

Still need 2 volunteers for Kenwood Drive (2647-2612) & (2722 2690) Norman Downes Directories are available for pick up from your block captain. See the previous copy of Normans News for a complete list. Welcome to the neighborhood! Add to your directory

Jonathan Silver & Elyse Sims 3276 Brookshire Way

(678) 643-1623

Private parties may be arranged by contacting Suzette Reeves. As a reminder, recreational facilities are maintained by dues paying members of the Association. Households that are in payment arrears are asked to refrain from using the recreational facilities until their assessment is paid in full. Member keys for pool and tennis are available by contacting Peter Van Arsdale. The pool opens for the summer officially beginning Memorial Day weekend.

Swimming Season Begins!

By Peter Van Arsdale Please be reminded that lifeguards are for safety and are not babysitters. Parents of children who need adult supervision for swimming or behavior are responsible for their children at all times. The pool is maintained and operated for members, residents of their household and guests. Members of the Association are those persons holding title to their property. Members may invite their guests to use the pool providing a member remains at the pool while a guest is present. A good rule of thumb when using the pool facilities is to treat the area as if it was your own property. We are in fact all joint owners who share responsibility for the safety, orderliness and respect for others, so that there will be a summer of fun at the pool.

Note:
Pool hours 8:00 AM-10:00 PM Guard hours 11:00 AM 7 PM Persons under 16 not permitted to swim without adult or guard supervision. Persons under 21 not permitted to swim alone without a guard on duty.

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The Great Blue Heron

tree and back again.

The Blue Herron is frequently seen on Lake Norman!

Great Blue Herons are frequently seen on Lake Norman fishing in the shallows or flying overhead from water to

They eat primarily fish but can also digest small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Often found along calm freshwater and seacoasts , the Great Blue usually nests in trees. Most nest in colonies near wetlands, but sometimes a lone pair will nest, as a pair did here last year, in a very high and large tree. They lay 2-6 eggs which are a dull pale blue which hatch in around 28 days. The nest is arranged in a large platform of sticks, lined with pine needles, moss, reeds, dry grass or twigs. Often nests are abandoned if disrupted by human presence. No hatchlings have been spotted on Lake Norman. They feed their young by regurgitating food. Herons walk very slowly and stand and stab prey with a quick lunge of the bill. They locate their food by sight and usually swallow it whole. They have been known to choke on prey that is too large. Although they feed in shallow water day and night, dawn and dusk are the favorite feeding times. Adult herons, due to their size have few natural predators but can be taken by bald eagles, great horned owls and red-tailed hawks. Their eggs are prey to raccoons, hawks, bears and turkey vultures. Their wing span is huge, from 65 to 79 inches. You are invited to watch the heron most any day on Lake Norman!

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Over a dozen concerned Norman Downes residents attended the

meeting led by Duluth Police Officer Matt Baker of the C.O.P.S. Division Monday evening, May 16th. Even though several break-ins occurred this spring, we were happy to find out that Norman Downes is considered to be a low crime subdivision. Here are some of the noteworthy suggestions:
Keep outside lights in working order. Call Georgia Power to report any street lamps that need to be replaced. Leave vehicle doors locked and nothing in the open like a GPS that may give opportunity for theft. Do not give anyone a copy of your keys. Remove other keys when having a vehicle washed, especially if the car is taken out of sight. House keys could be copied.

At ATMs, do not walk out with a money bag showing. Do not count your money in plain sight. Have a neighbor collect your mail when you are out of town. Tell your children not to announce that you are leaving on vacation to their friends on Face Book, Twitter, or My Space. Request a daily inspection of your property by officers when you are out of town (call the Duluth police department or register on the Duluth website).

Call the Duluth police 1st, instead of 911 to save time when reporting a crime. (770) 497-5339 Using Craigs list?Do not buy or sell items from your home. Meet in a populated, public place. (cont. next pg)

NORMANS NEWS (Officer Bakers C.O.P.S. Meeting cont.) Put a loud speaker on your alarm system, even outdoors to alert the neighbors. Burglars are afraid of big dogs. Consider having one as a pet.

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If you are comfortable having a gun, learn to use it properly and teach your children the dangers of the gun. Tasers, as an alternative, will disable a person, also. Consider getting one.

F.Y.I.Most home burglaries occur during the day when no one is home and most commercial burglaries are at night.

Never leave your doors unlocked. The back door and basement are the prime entrance areas for burglars. Make sure these areas are protected at all times. Have a lockable basement door from the house to the garage.

Report any suspicious vehicles or persons or noises. Do not worry that you are bothering the police! It is their job to check these things out.

If rental homes are in your neighborhood, encourage owners to keep rent prices up. Cheap rentals open the door to people who do drugs. If you suspect drug traffic, report it and keep reporting it until the traffic is gone. Note that sometimes the police can not share information until an investigation is completed.

Always be suspicious of anyone walking around your back yard. Be wary of solicitors. Fences, alarms, gates and cameras all help deter crime, but mostly watchful neighbors are the key. Take down or memorize license numbers. Make a list of your valuables with serial numbers and pictures on file in case you are the victim of theft. Several of those present were shocked to know that a number of drug arrests had taken place around our

tennis area! The consensus of opinion at the meeting was that homeowners would like a lockable gate with a pass key to this area at the top of the driveway just as we have for the pool area to discourage undesirable traffic in

this area. In conclusion, Officer Baker emphasized that it is up to each of us to prevent crime in our neighborhood.

Picnic Table Building Party Saturday June 4th!

Gentlemen & ladies, grab your power tools! Were building 5 picnic tables for Norman Downes. Meet Doc Watson at 3300 Leeds Way. Time: 9:00 AM

Childrens Parade & Family Ice-Cream Social at the Pool June 12th at 3 PM. Meet your Pot Luck at the
board members and get your questions answered about covenants and what is in the works for Norman Downes in the future.

Pool! July 4th Join your

neighbors for an old fashioned parade and family celebration of Independence Day.

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Are you a Mom with small children? Do you sometimes need time without the kids to run errands, visit the doctor, get your hair cut or just have a coffee and chat with your friends? Do you have elementary school aged kids who need homework help or a sitter?

Master Cutter

Stylist

Color Specialist Make-up Artist

Norman Downes residents Emily Colker, a 17 year old home schooled high school honor student and her sister, Jenna, a 15 year old honor student at PRHS, are available to provide childcare in your home in the morning, afternoon or evening.
We have considerable experience with children of all ages. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you. time4moms@gmail.com

Daughter of Cheryl & Barry Smith of Norman Downes

Call (678) 643-3092

Expertise to you in your home at your convenience! Norman Downes client references available on request.

The Spring Garage Sale was a big hit with over a dozen families participating this past weekend. The NDHA sold hot dog plates and collected covenants votes.

NDHA Board Highlights

Compliance Letter The NDHA has finalizing the format of the compliance letter (see www.normandownes.com) to be issued to residents who have gone beyond the usual grace period for situations outside of our acceptable appearance guidelines. While its true that the Board hasnt published any specific architectural standards for the dwellings, the yard and street conditions are well established. Some of the rules closely follow those of Duluth City, and some are specific to Norman Downes. Specifically, overgrown yards; blatant disrepair of the home; illegally parked boats, commercial vehicles, and RVs; and other eye sores are what we are addressing at this time. To keep Norman Downes looking like a first-class neighborhood, lets take the initiative ourselves before we are reminded with a compliance letter! Tennis and Lake Access Security From the Neighborhood Watch meeting hosted by the City of Duluth, the number of arrests at the tennis court lake access area for drug related offenses has us concerned! The suggestion is to have a keyed (cont. page 8)

The new Directories are available to pick up from your block captain One to a family captain.
please. Any directory corrections can be sent to normansnews@gmail .com or put in one of the suggestion boxes. We will print them in the next issue of Normans News.

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We would like to thank All the residents in Norman Downes Who through the last 20 years Have given outstanding service to our community. We appreciate our volunteers!

Congratulations April Yard of the Month Winners!

May winners will be posted in the next Normans News

Y.O.M.2776 Saxon Drive

Y.O.M.3144 Brookshire Way

Y.O.M.2725 Kenwood Court

Y.O.M.2674 Heath Lane

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We are proud of our beautiful neighborhood!

Y.O.M.3024 Brookshire Way

The Norman Downes Easter Egg Hunt was a big success!

Afterwards, over a dozen children enjoyed the birds, turtles and fish on Lake Norman from the Smiths pontoon boat!

Thanks to Suzette Reeves, Jody Zias and Janet Vastakis for preparing the eggs for the hunt.

NORMANS NEWS

PAGE 8 Submit your photos to normansnews@gmail.com

ND photo of the Month by Rick Austin

The next NDHA board meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 13th.

Neighbor puts fake coyote in yard to frighten geese. Nesting goose is nobodys fool!

Like to write? !
Normans News is looking for folks who would like to contribute articles or other information to our newsletter. Next issue deadlineis June 15th.. (Board Highlights cont. from page 5) Tennis and Lake Access Security entrance at the top of the driveway a discussion weve had before to eliminate the vehicle-based problem. Of course, were still working on a backside fence solution for the foot traffic that may continue, but this would be a start. The downside is the inconvenience of having to get out of the car to unlock the gate, unless we have a keypad on a post, reachable from the car window. We need your thoughts and input for other possible solutions. Pool Opening and Adult Swim Nights Everyone knows the pool opens Memorial Day weekend. We are still discussing implementing adult swim night(s) age 21 and over. Were talking about 7:00 PM until close, and no one under the age of 21 inside the pool fenceperiod! The requests are for weeknights (Tu, Th?), because the kids always seem to dominate the pool activity and there is no quiet, relaxing time for the adults to swim or just sit and socialize. We have heard that several folks would probably use the pool area (many for the first time!) on some of these balmy evenings, if they knew the facility would be truly adults only no running, jumping, or otherwise distracting and disturbing activity. The rules for the adult night(s) would be simple no boisterous behavior lets keep it calm, collected and actually be able to enjoy adult company. Give us your preferences.

the sitter mrs mctwitter the baby sitter i think shes a little bit crazy instead of baby sitting she sits upon the baby
Poem by Shel Silverstein 15 year old, Peachtree Ridge cheerleader, peer leader & aspiring model- Brittney Youngbloodis available to put fun in your childs summer And...she wont sit upon the baby! Call (678)643-3092

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