It's Been a Good Year for Us
by Ann Guardino

A short recap of our activities and then a look forward to the year 2000:

Two new parks!  Officers’ Park as it is commonly called (because the police officers train their dogs there) is scheduled to open in about a year. It is across from the U-Store It on the northwest corner of Riverland and Tortugas Lane. This small park is to have a picnic pavilion, a “kiddy play area, and an exercise track. Riverland Woods, running on the east side of the 441 overpass between the New River and old Riverland Road is scheduled to open in about two years. Comprised of approximately 5.2 acres, it will have a boat ramp for small boats up to 25', a small playground, picnic tables, and a bike path. Ostensibly a “passive park”, we expect to conserve most of the old oak trees and have it open during limited hours.

New Police Chief!  BSO Chief Steve Canfield introduced himself at our September meeting. Chief Brennan transferred to the Pompano Beach district. In addition, we met our new deputy Deputy Dave Currie who has already addressed the issue of the illegality of posting signs on the swale along Riverland Road.

Annexation Report Update  We will be sharing the report to be prepared by PMG Associates, Inc. with the following unincorporated areas: Chula Vista, Rohan Acres, Riverland Village and miscellaneous areas along Riverland Road.  The report should be ready before our May 2000 meeting.

Storm Drain Relining  All of the lanes had had their storm drains relined before Hurricane Irene.  Hopefully it helped. Nevertheless, both Sugarloaf and Okeechobee Lanes flooded, damaging some of the homes.

HOW IMPORTANT IS CLEAN DRINKING WATER TO YOU?

 We learned that the Dixie-Peele wellfield (where most of our drinking water comes from) could become contaminated by carcinogenic solvents and petroleum products from the defunct Florida Petroleum Processors site. That site is in Davie, just east of 441 and south of the Turnpike. Toxins have already spread into over 840 acres of water near us and underneath the New River. Due to the severity of the contamination, the site has been designated an EPA Super Fund site and is scheduled to be cleaned up. The extent of the clean up will depend on us.  HOW IMPORTANT IS CLEAN DRINKING WATER TO YOU?  It is important to me. If you want to hear more about this issue, please attend the meeting at the West Lauderdale Baptist Church (3601 W. Davie Blvd. next to the new Eckerd’s) on November 15th at 7:30 PM.  The types of contaminants and how they can affect us will be discussed. The EPA hopes to have a report at the Riverland Library recommending the type of remediation (i.e. cleanup) they intend to require at the site. We can influence their recommendations so please ask for the report at the library if you want to have a say in this matter.

Come to the meeting  I would love to see some new faxes at the November 18th meeting at the Yacht Club. Come and hear what is happening in our area. We need some fresh ideas about the direction you would like your association to take. It will also be our election meeting and the first meeting of our new year.

Annexation Antics
by George Counts

 Annexationists managed to divert attention from our real neighborhood needs at a General Meeting to their alleged wonder drug for urban ills.  Only this time you paid big bucks for it.  
    An Isles committee finally selected a consultant to collect this county money for studying which cities extra layer of taxes, bureaucracy & rules would be the least offensive to us.  It appears they did about as well as they could under the circumstances. At least no former city managers appear to be associated with the consultants, as yet. PMG Associates, Inc. of 3880 NW 2nd Court, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 was selected. Their vice president, Philip M. Gonot spoke at our 9-16-99 meeting. His business card lists the firm as “Economic, Marketing & Management Consultants.” When asked why he was qualified to do such a study, he said he has a masters in finance. Have concerns you would like checked out?  Call him at (954) 427-5010.  His fax no. is (954) 480-8836.
    He and his assistant are supposed to examine the pluses and minuses of annexation for the Isles area.  He is being paid by the county at the request of our county commissioners and state legislators who are pushing this big brother approach to neighborhood planning. While neutrality is not an impossibility, it certainly isn’t a foregone conclusion under such circumstances.  We should get the result of this not so judicious use of taxpayer money in several months. Incidentally, not one county commissioner lives in the unincorporated area. They just raised the taxes in the municipal services district to which we belong 10%.  Talk about taxation without representation. It is almost as if the League of Cities is running the county. Let’s hope unincorporated area residents get a representative when the single member districts are drawn up. Oh well, the thousands being spent on these annexation studies, the $186,300 stick man in front of the Broward Blvd. public safety building and incinerator fiasco etc. are in good company. No wonder there is never enough money for roads, jails and public works, etc.

Peele-Dixie Wellfield Mitigation
by George Counts

This is another in a series of updates about all the EPA hearings on the contamination of our major wellfield. Our drinking water comes from a plant on 441. Its main wellfield is east of the turnpike between Broward Blvd. and I-595.  From 1978-1992, a waste oil facility operated on 1.25 acres east of the turnpike and south of 1-595 at 3211 SW 50 Ave., Davie. It processed millions of gallons for prominent businesses and governments, which were unaware that much of it was getting into the soil and groundwater. The law says they must help pay for the cleanup anyway.
    In 1981, what is now the FL Dept. of Environmental Protection, FDEP, determined the site’s soil and possibly groundwater were contaminated.  Improvements allowed operations to continue.  By 1984, FDEP discovered chlorinated volatile organic compounds VOCs (solvents etc.) in 2 monitoring wells and oil floating on the groundwater. In 1986, Ft. Lauderdale found high levels of VOCs in the wellfield’s southern part and closed it. EPA investigated and in 1995 traced the contaminants to the waste oil facility. It was declared a Superfund site in 1998.  
   The plume spread to 800+ acres and penetrated the Biscayne Aquifer.  The worst contaminants are in the top 12 feet. Much soil and oily water has been removed. In 1995, under EPA supervision, Lauderdale began a system to keep VOCs out of the closed part. A 40-foot tower was also built to strip VOCS before water goes to our plant. Samples are tested regularly before water leaves the plant and at random in homes it services.  EPA, the state, and Lauderdale say our municipal drinking water is safe. 
   A Florida Dept. of Health FDOH toxicologist’s public assessment of the problem indicates, that after contamination was identified in the south Peele-Dixie wellfield, the city closed it down reducing the duration of any possible exposure. It goes on, “Past exposure to chemicals at levels of health concern from municipal water was unlikely because the city blended south Peele-Dixie groundwater with uncontaminated water from its northern fields. This decreased the concentration of chemicals to below health concern.”  It continues, due to a natural breakdown of the contaminants a change in groundwater flow has reduced contamination of the Biscayne Aquifer since 1992. EPA says these contaminants will continue to breakdown and be gone in 20 years. It also tested two samples from the North New River Canal and found no organic chemicals, elevated metals, pesticides or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s)...  toxic chemicals in electrical transformers, capacitors, etc.
    Upon my recommendation, your civic assn. agreed to pay a private lab to try and replicate the city’s findings about our drinking water. Pres. Ann Guardino is taking care of this now. An October 18 hearing at the W. Lauderdale Baptist Church on Davie Blvd. focused on citizen involvement in remediating this problem. A Masters level GA Tech geologist & planner gave advice through the Technical Outreach Services For Communities TOSC program.  Call them at 1-888-683-5963. Also there was Brad Jackson, EPA Remedial Project Mgr., JACKSON.BRAD@EPAMAI.EPA .GOV, 1-800 -435-9234, or write him at USEPA, 61 Forsyth St. SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. Studies on this wellfield are in the Riverland Library.   
   At issue is whether to spend millions to try and completely clean up and contain deep contaminants in a difficult area or to remove the major surface contaminants to minimize further leaching into our aquifer, partially contain the deeper, disappearing lower level ones that will break down in 20 years and continue stripping and monitoring the water. It appears EPA, state & local health and environmental agencies are doing about as well as can be expected. We just need to monitor them. It appears our tap water is as safe as that from the county’s purest wellfield. Watch the activities section of your newspaper near the end of January or early February for another hearing and attend it.  You may also call the 800 numbers or me at 584-4926 after 4 p.m.

Grandparents Fight Drugs And Grandkids Cope With Peer Pressure
by Liz Filler

With more than 5 million children living with a grandparent, the Office of the National Drug Council Policy has launched a campaign to encourage grandparents to talk with their grandchildren about drugs. The average age of first-time drug use is now down to 13, and in some cases 9 years of age.
    The Office has a publication called Keeping Youth Drug-Free to help grandparents discuss this subject (1-800-788-2800.) In Broward County, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, the South Florida Chapter of Grandparents United for Children’s Rights, Inc. has created a program—C.E.A.S.E (Coalition to Erase All Substance [Abuse] Early)—for grandparents fighting drug use by their grandkids. 
     This program will be included in COOLG’s (Children of Older Loving Grands) which has been submitted to the School Board to help grandkids overcome and/or deal with the peer pressures of being raised by grandparents. What may not seem like a problem, turns out to be when, for instance, a grandchild is 10 and his/her non-traditional “parent” is in his/her 50’s or 60’s; or when a grandparent raising a grandkid on a fixed income cannot afford all the perks, activities, or clothes which the traditional parents of his/her peers can.
    Drugs and peer pressure are but the tip of the iceberg for grandparents raising grandchildren, the fastest growing segment of our population today.  For additional information about our organization, services, and programs, please contact: Liz Filler at 321-9193/584-2926; e-mail address: beaglad@aol.com.

Quick Thinking Averts Flooding
by George Counts

Irene struck out on Nassau Lane because longtime resident Conley Smith, a retired banker, took action. As the rains came down in torrents, Smith noticed water rising rapidly in the street.  He put on his foul weather gear and headed for the nearby drains. Despite the whistling winds and rapidly strengthening squalls, he cleaned both drains on each side of the road. Afterwards, the relined one worked well, as a whirlpool formed above it, draining the east side of the street quickly.  The other one started to drain, but at a much slower rate.  As a result, the street soon cleared of water and only had minimal flooding.  Thanks, Conley, for a job well done. 

Volunteer Typists Needed

BSO Chief Steve Canfield has asked for our help in entering information from cards into the police database on criminals.  He would love to have someone for 5 to 10 hours per week who could type this information up for the department.  They are sorely behind on this and don’t have the funds to pay for additional help. A retired police officer helped him out in Pompano Beach but you don’t need to have that kind of background.  Just a quick typist is what they need.  You will get on-the-job training.  Students are encouraged to apply to work after school. If you are interested, call him at 321-4800.

Condolences

Isles Drainage Pipe Project Almost Finished
By Terry Simonds

 There are just a few minor problems to iron out, and then the pipe-relining project will be finished. Considering the amount of work that was done, it all went rather smoothly.
    There was one complaint of very nasty water out of the tap from one resident. Other than that, it went well.     
    Four small sinkholes were observed around several drains and the County will inject concrete grout to cure this. The locations of the sinkholes are Tortugas, Okeechobee, Key Largo, and Riverland Rd.
    Lonzo Lining Services, the contractor who did the work, still has one foot (yes, one foot) of lining to add to the pipe at 2690 Key Largo. Would you believe they came up 12 inches short!
    After all this is done, we can consider the project completed. The repairs should last for decades at least, and maybe longer!

Your Newsletter Needs YOU!
By Ollie Kollman

I’ve been reading lately about planned communities that are trying to revive the sense of small town living by building houses with front porches and drug stores and ice cream parlors within walking distance. Whenever I read about one of these communities, I think of the small rural town where I grew up. It was a poor town and most of the residents were lucky to have a roof over their heads let alone a front porch, and there might have been ice cream parlors and drug stores but very few people could afford to while away their time in them, but there was a deep sense of community. Everyone knew each other and cared about what happened to their neighbors. So, it doesn’t take ice cream parlors and front porches to create an old fashioned caring community. It simply takes caring people. 
    Lauderdale Isles is full of caring people, at least the ones I’ve met have been helpful and friendly, but that’s the problem. In the ten years that I’ve lived here I’ve only gotten to know about a dozen of you. I know you’re busy and I’m busy. Computers, tv, jobs, household chores, family responsibilities and dozens of other activities keep us from getting out and meeting our neighbors.  Even when we walk through the neighborhoods we can’t take time to stop and chat. We have to keep those pulse rates up! So how can we take the caring individuals that live in the Isles and turn them into a caring community if we don’t take time to know each other? Well one way is through this newsletter.
    The weekly newspaper was an integral part of that old fashioned community. It not only kept people informed about the important events in their community but it introduced the newcomers, and told about the everyday type events that occurred in the community. Now, this newsletter only comes out four times a year but it can become an important tool in getting you acquainted with your neighbors, but it needs YOU to do that. YOU have to submit articles about the neighbor that helped you when you were in a bind, or introduce the new people on your block. Or even tell us about your daughter’s wedding. The newsletter does a good job of keeping you informed and it gives you a forum for airing your gripes, but it needs YOU to make it truly a  newsletter for your community.

BSO To Give Us The Club
by Terry Simonds

In an October 10 memo to President Ann Guardino, Lieutenant Laureano A. Varona, Executive Officer with BSO Central Broward - District 5, stated that the Broward Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with the communities it serves, will give “The Club” auto steering wheel lock device free of charge to qualified residents.
    The Club will be distributed at the November 18th, 1999, Lauderdale Isles Association meeting on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals not able to attend the general meeting can call Deputy David Currie after the November 18th meeting at 321-4800 to arrange for an appointment to pick-up ”The Club” from the District 5 Station.
    To be eligible, the recipient must be a resident of Lauderdale Isles and be the owner of one of the ten most frequently stolen vehicle. Residency within Lauderdale Isles will be verified by the address listed on the individual’s Florida driver’s license or vehicle registration card

Top Ten Most Frequently Stolen Vehicles

Acura Legend
Buick Regal
Cadillac De Ville
Chrysler / Plymouth / Dodge Vans
Honda Civic
Honda Accord
Oldsmobile Cutlass
Saturn (all models)
Toyota Camry
Toyota Corolla

Limit of one “Club” per family.

 

Support Your Neighbors

There’s lots of talent right here in Lauderdale Isles so the next time you need a plumber, realtor, pet sitter etc. don’t reach for the yellow pages before checking your newsletter. The service you need might just be available from one of your neighbors. If you are a business owner, why not promote your business and  support the newsletter at the same time. It’s a $25 donation per issue or $100 a year (4 issues). See the refrigerator list (on the last page of your printed copy) for more details.

The Environmental Corner: Coconut Trees...and How to Keep Them Healthy
by Gary Starkweather

The wind blows gently through the branches of the coconut trees.  A soft rustling noise mixes with the moonlight, and before ya know it, you're hooked on the barometer soup of South Florida. Coconut trees are one of my favorite things about South Florida.  It's hard for me to imagine South Florida without them.
   But to enjoy this particular tropical delight you have to actually have coconut trees.  As a note of precaution I don't suggest that you sit directly underneath one or put things you care about directly underneath them, like your car.  Nuts!  But that's another story.
   No picnic would be complete without flies and coconut trees have their problems too.  In the 1960s, South Florida saw the introduction of a disease called lethal yellowing that kills coconut trees.  The disease threatened to wipe out Florida's coconut and Christmas palms.  In fact, most of the coconut trees in Dade and Monroe counties were wiped out.
    The good news is that a treatment program has been developed that can keep your coconut trees from contracting lethal yellowing.  There still is no cure for lethal yellowing, and an infected tree, even with treatment, will probably not survive.  However, you can treat healthy trees so that they won't contract the disease.
   There are many species of coconut trees.  Some have been labeled as "resistant" to lethal yellowing.  A resistant species means that the tree may be slightly less likely to contract the disease but all untreated coconut palm species can become infected.
    Let's start at the beginning.  It all starts with a bug.  Big surprise right?  In South Florida everything involves bugs, eventually.  There is a specific bug at the root of this situation (pun, sorry).  The culprit is a leaf hopper named Myndus Crudus which is a technical name for "Rotten Little Bug."
   The leaf hopper spreads the disease by eating an infected tree and then a healthy tree.  The leafhopper is the sole mode of transmission from one tree to another.  This explains why it is common to see one coconut tree among many suddenly become infected while others never get sick at all.
    In general, when there is a sick or infected tree, there is an increased likelihood that other trees in the area will become infected.  This is because the Myndus Crudus, and a few thousand other bugs, are attracted to sick and or diseased trees.  It's like when you're standing in an ant pile when suddenly one ant blows the whistle and they all commence to biting at the same time.
    The treatment program I mentioned earlier has proven to be highly effective and very affordable.  If your trees are not in a treatment program, it's a roll of the dice as to whether or not your trees will get lethal yellowing.
    Did I mention affordable?  The "do it yourself' tree treatment program costs about $5.00 per tree per year.  That's affordable.  And it's simple too.  Healthy trees can be treated with the antibiotic oxytetracycline three or four times a year.
    The treatment procedure requires a drill, a hypodermic needle, and a simple insertion tool.  The budget priced insertion tool is an empty bullet shell casing with a silicone plug at the base.  This casing is hammered into the hole drilled into the tree.  The antibiotic is then injected into the bullet casing.  The casing also seals the damage to the tree caused by the small drill hole.  The instructions are easy to follow and the whole procedure takes just a few minutes.  This simple treatment will keep your healthy trees from catching the disease even if Myndus Crudus stops by for lunch.  A treated tree has very good odds of never developing the disease.
    The antibiotic is a controlled substance so you'll need to obtain it from a licensed provider.  I found one such vendor in West Palm Beach who is licensed by the State of Florida.  He is Richard Maxwell and his company is called the Tree Saver.  Phone 1-561-655-6940.  Richard is a Certified Arborist and specializes in treatment and care of coconut palms.
    Richard Maxwell is a good contact for a treatment program and supplies.  You can also contact your county agricultural extension or one of many palm tree societies.

The Environmental Corner published in this newsletter is committed to raising people's awareness of how our behavior can impact our environment. Ft. Lauderdale is a community that is dependent upon its marine environment, economically and recreationally. If you would like more information, contact the Department of Planning and Environmental Protection at 519-1400, or write your Civic Association at LICIA, 1300 Riverland Rd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312.