A Tree Grows in...Palm Beach?
By Neil Leibowitz

On a sunny day in August, there was a buzz of activity on the Albacore Canal (the waterway that lies between Andros and Bimini Lanes). It seemed that a lot was happening right that day, in a somewhat bizarre chain of circumstances. 
    Over the past 10 years, our neighborhood has lost quite a bit of its mature tree canopy, due mainly to Hurricane Andrew, and the "Storm of the Century" (a.k.a. Son of Andrew) the following March. With the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Andrew just having come and gone after a minor storm scare that never materialized, my neighbors on Andros Lane apparently became concerned that the 55 year old banyan tree that towered above their house was very large, and the house was relatively small. If another powerful hurricane were to topple that tree onto their house, it could be a very dangerous situation. Due to the size of the tree, having it cut back, or cut down, was a very expensive proposition indeed. Here is where an unusual and unique solution came knocking on our neighbors' door, and its name was Walter. 

Walter comes calling
    Walter owns a company called "Tree Integrities" The mission of this outfit is to put the right tree in the right place, thus preserving trees that have grown too large for their current surroundings. Walter was commissioned by a wealthy estate owner in Palm Beach County to find a few large banyan trees to adorn his property. While driving around our humble neighborhood, he noticed this very large tree dwarfing the much smaller house on Andros Lane. It was obvious to Walter that the tree was too large for the property, and because it was so lush, was an obvious hurricane hazard. He "bought" the tree from the homeowners, in order to sell it to the estate owner, while at the same time preserving this beautiful tree which will most likely grow much larger over the next few centuries.
    A small crowd of onlookers gathered on both banks of the Albacore canal, as boats were moved out of the canal to make way for a construction barge being pushed by a small tugboat. On the Andros Lane side of the house, a very large construction crane was assembled. Weeks earlier, crews had started to dig down and prune the roots of this 60 foot tall tree and thin the branches, in order to prepare the tree for its move to Palm Beach. Now, the construction crane lifted this mighty tree out of the ground, and moved it on to the barge, while workers wrapped the root ball and watered it down. Once the tree was secured to the barge, the tug pulled the barge out of the canal with the banyan tree upright upon it. I can only imagine what it might have looked like to condo-dwellers living on the 3rd floor in some high-rise, as they gazed upon the middle of a huge tree moving past their waterfront windows, heading north! The tree would reach its final resting place, where this entire operation was repeated in reverse, two days later. 

It goes to a far, far better place 
    While I am saddened by the loss of another neighborhood shade tree, this arrangement saved our Andros homeowners a lot of money by not having to cut it down. It also made another homeowner in Palm Beach County very happy, as he now had a large and instant shade tree on his property. And it saved an old tree from being cut down or blown over in the next big wind. Seems like a win-win- proposition for all involved. 

The President's Corner
By Rich Thompson

September General Meeting. 
    At our July trustee meeting we voted to hold our quarterly general meeting in September rather than August, due to many people being on vacation and enjoying the last few summer days before the children go back to school. I believe that in future our general meetings will be moved to September. This means our general meetings will be held the third Thursday of February, May, September and November. I would love to see some new faces at the September 21st meeting at the Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club & Tennis Club on Whale Harbor Lane. Come and hear what is happening in your community. We need some fresh ideas about the direction you would like your association to take. I would like to see a committee formed to landscape and beautify our lane street signs, which are definitely in need of sprucing up. Enjoy a libation at the bar after the meeting and meet new acquaintances.

Broward Sheriff's Office
    BSO Chief Steve Canfield and Deputy Dave Currie are regulars at our meetings. Sheriff Ken Jenne believes in communicating with neighborhood associations and having close relationships with them. I believe this has proven to be a positive stance. We receive updates on crime in our area as well as being able to ask questions and get things done. For example, when our street signs were changed from 35 mph to 25 mph earlier this year, several residents complained about speeders going up and down the isles. Deputy Currie was assigned to help and found that most people adhered to the new speed limit. I believe he caught one resident, yes, one of us, going at an unacceptable speed and was able to chase the person down and give him a warning. BSO is here to help us and if you have any concerns or questions please come to our September general meeting. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chief Steve Canfield and Deputy Dave Currie for everything they have done for us. You can view the various BSO reporting on our website www.licia.org, as the minutes are posted a few days after each of our monthly meetings. 

Town of Davie/Roscioli
    As you know, The Town of Davie gave Roscioli the go ahead to expand its facility on the New River and changed the zoning. Many of us went to the meeting in May to hear more about the proposal and to air our views. A Boatyard Committee was formed which will work with Roscioli to make up a list of deed restrictions. We have learned that a berm will remain separating the yard from the river. A parking lot will be placed close to the river and the new buildings will be closer to State Road 84 in an effort to keep noise down. Mr. Roscioli had to give up a 15-yard easement on the west side of his property to go closer to the river. The property to the west is already declared as a wetland and is not to be developed. 

Hacienda Cove
    I went to Palm Beach in May for a hearing about Hacienda Cove at the South Florida Water Management District to argue against the T-Docks being proposed by American Village Development. Unfortunately, it passed. However, instead of the EIGHT 50 foot T-Docks there will now be SEVEN 50 foot T-Docks. It was agreed NOT to place them at the mouths of our finger canals due to "resident's concerns" (ingress and egress). There will be no more than 19 boat slips and shall be limited to vessels no more than 50 feet in length. I will bring the correspondence to the General Meeting if anyone is interested in seeing the new plans. We have to keep on top of the T-Dock issue to ensure that they will not go out farther than they should!! I called the rental office a few weeks ago and they had no idea when they would be built. Many of you have viewed the new development from I-595, as well as by boat. I think you will agree it is quite nice and in harmony with our surroundings. The landscaping is just starting to go in. The existing docks have been rebuilt. The developer has to post "Manatee Caution" signs on the landward side of each new dock as well as have booklets available regarding "Broward County Manatee Protection Zone" for its residents. (I live at the end of Sugarloaf and often see manatees on a regular basis.) The development boasts "luxury apartment homes" with a one bed, one bath starting at $825 per month and a 3 bed, two bath w/attached garage starting at $1,425 per month. The buildings and landscaping will buffer the noise from I-595 as well as the airplanes coming into and out of Fort Lauderdale Airport. I have already noticed a tremendous improvement. 

November General Meeting (November 16, 2000)
    This is the time for elections. Unfortunately, due to business obligations, I will not be able to continue as your President. However, I know you will find an excellent replacement. Our neighborhood has plenty of talent to get the job done and to make this neighborhood even better. I would like to thank those who posted the "Save the Manatee" signs along the river. I have enjoyed being President over the past year and loved meeting you all.

Florida Neighborhoods Conference 2000
By Joan Sheridan

As Chairperson of the S.W. Coalition of Civic Associations, I will be coordinating a tour of our S.W. Community for guests from around the state, during the Florida Neighborhood conference, October 5-7.

Volunteers needed
    I will need lots of volunteers to help me, especially with a cookout which will be held at the Yacht Club after the tour. I have reserved the outside grill area for the cookout. There will be at least 100 guests from the SW Community tour at the cookout. The tour of our neighborhood will be on Friday, October 6th from 4 - 7:30 p.m. Each tour is planned to accommodate 50 - 100 people. Transportation to and from the neighborhood will be provided. All tours include travel time, 1-2 hours of narrated touring (driving or walking) and ends with a pot-luck/cookout dinner supplied by neighborhood businesses and residents. I will need lots of donations of food dishes to go with the hot dogs and hamburgers. If anyone would like to volunteer to help cook, set up or bring a dish please call me at 581-0816 or e-mail me at Joanc@anisite.com. Also check out detailed information here on our website. (Use your "Back" button to return here.)*

Displays and pictures of the neighborhood
    We will also be doing a display for our community and we will have several tables at the Broward County Convention Center during the conference. I would like our neighborhood to have a nice display with information, picture board, newsletters and if possible a computer set up to show off our web site. I am very proud of our community and would really like to impress our out of town guests with all of our accomplishments and local talent.
    Look up additional information about the conference on the County's web site: http://www.broward.org/ under what is new. For this conference to be successful, we are going to need lots of volunteers before, during and after the conference. Volunteers will be needed to perform a variety of tasks including stuffing "goodie" bags, registering attendees, facilitating workshops, providing conference information and assisting with neighborhood tours. All volunteers will receive a special T-shirt and will be able to attend certain conference activities at no charge.
    If you are interested in volunteering for this special event, please contact Ms. Roselind Osgood, Volunteer Coordinator, at 357-7370 or e-mail rvwo@aol.com.

Riverland Crossing Plans
by Joan Sheridan

On September 19, 2000 there will be a final plat approval for a proposed City Gas Station and convenience store on the Southeast corner of 44l and Riverland Road, known as Riverland Crossings. At the August 21st monthly meeting of the S.W. Coalition of Civic Associations many concerns regarding the proposed development plan were discussed. A representative of the S.W. Coalition went to the Development Review Committee meeting on August 22, at City Hall to voice our concerns.
    Although the zoning allows the development of a gas station at that location, the members present at the Coalition meeting, on August 21st, unanimously agreed they were not in favor of another gas station going in at the entrance to our neighborhood at 441. There were some serious concerns about traffic safety regarding the two entrances proposed on Riverland Road to get in and out of the gas station. Other concerns were the proposed high lighting in the parking lot, with no mention of hours of operation and the above ground propane tank. Since the only parcel being platted is the corner piece the Coalition is requesting that the city develop a comprehensive plan for the entire property and not a piecemeal plan.
    The attorney, Robert Lockery, representing the owner, Mortimer S. Cohen, will come to the S.W. Coalition meeting on September 11th, at the West Lauderdale Baptist Church, 3601 Davie Blvd. at 7:30 p.m. He will bring a copy of the site plan and answer questions in regard to communities concerns. 
    Since the development of this corner is at the entrance to our neighborhood, I urge everyone concerned to go to the final plat approval at City Hall, on September 19th at 6:00 p.m. You can call the Project Planner, Angela Csinsi at 761-5984 for additional information on the site plan and also list your concerns.

We Got Trash!
By Ann Guardino

Isles residents filled four dumpsters with 13.14 tons of debris at the annual Neighborhood Cleanup held on June 10, 2000. The cleanup was co-sponsored by LICIA and Broward County's Office of Integrated Waste Management Recycling & Contract Administration Division. An excellent turnout of 17 of our neighbors, 10 loyal Broward County employees and a fantastic work crew of 10 BSO inmates, provided by BSO Chief Canfield, helped us pick up items left out by our neighbors. You'll be glad to hear that in the hazardous waste line we were allowed to dispose 6 tires and 12 vehicle batteries. We got rid of kitchen cabinets, cement curbs, couches, and tons of yard waste.
    At the September general meeting we will award Certificates of Appreciation to all who participated. Special thanks to Bud Bracey for manning the grill and cooking over 100 hot dogs and 50 hamburgers, donating more himself as we ran out. (Another grateful neighbor donated soda and food, too, because he was so happy to be rid of his remodeling debris.) Many thanks to Pete Sheridan for loading dumpsters. Sharon Barre and Renee McGehee, our two "street walkers", also deserve a round of applause for picking up trash on Riverland Road and refusing to stop until they had done both sides. Believe me, these are all "hot" jobs!
    Our youngest volunteers were teenagers Cheryl Bracey and Brian Behm both awesomely hard workers! And I don't know what I would have done without Elaine Peterick who worked tirelessly all morning and then ran our plant swap two weeks later. Nor can we give enough praise to George Barrett who led the county's group, including a return performance by Maggie Knight. Other county workers who deserve special mention are Sam Mair, C. Sim and Pat Patrick who drove 3 pick-up trucks for us. And to all of our delight, the BSO inmates proved to be the backbone of our crew, working very hard and so polite - - even they did not want to quit until the job was done. 
    Anyway, all I can say is, do we have nice neighbors or what!!! Thanks to one and all for your fantastic efforts.

The Plant Swap-A Success!
By Elaine Peterick

The Plant Swap was a wonderful success thanks to everyone who participated. LICIA and LIYTC sponsored the Plant Swap on June 24, 2000, at the Yacht and Tennis Club. The goals for the event were to encourage community involvement, to share gardening information and inexpensive plants, and to raise money for neighborhood beautification projects. 
    Many of your neighbors deserve a big THANK YOU for giving generously of their time and talents - in addition to donations of plants, pots, and money. Another big thanks goes to Lauderdale Isles Yacht and Tennis Club for opening the facilities to the whole community. The location was perfect. The huge shade trees provided needed protection from the hot June sun; the gazebo made a great classroom; and the clubhouse and grill were open for everyone to enjoy. 
    Thank you. A note of appreciation also goes to Secret Woods personnel for donating trees and literature. Special thanks go to our very informative guest speakers Lanny Dixon (Cat Cay Lane), Ben Shields (Marathon Lane), and Rebecca McNair ( Broward County Agricultural Extension Office). Everyone attending the presentations gave rave reviews, commenting about the quality of the information and the ability of the speakers to hold audience attention. Two other popular areas at the Plant Swap were the beautiful specimen plants made available for sale by Ben Shields (Marathon Lane) and Don Pearce (Whale Harbor Lane).
    The following is a partial list of other volunteers (in random order): Ann & Hank Guardino, Midge Simonds, Bonnie Mac Comber, Roberta Shaw, Allison and Rich Thompson, Joan Sheridan, Renee Sabbag, Regina Crockett, Renee McGhee, Judy Seiler, Robert & Marilyn McLean, Maria Strauss, Frank & Harriet Hodgson, Paul Meeker, Audrey & Tom Edwards, Marie Guiborat, Gretchen & John Powers, and Art & Betty Ann Payette. Your efforts were greatly appreciated! (I apologize to volunteers not mentioned and for misspelled names.)
    If anyone would like to participate in another plant sale/gardening event, please communicate your interest to a LICIA trustee. If there is enough interest, perhaps another event can be organized for next spring.

The Isles is a great place to live
    Now, I would like to thank everyone living in Lauderdale Isles. As a relative newcomer, I would like to say that my fondness for and pride in the neighborhood continues to grow. The strong sense of community here is a welcome change from most other areas in Broward. I appreciate the beauty of our tree-lined roads. I enjoy seeing neighbors wave hello. I like knowing that our lanes are safe to walk, bike, and skate in - safe enough even for children to play in them. The growing pride in homeownership is evident throughout the neighborhood as people work in their yards and on their homes. Thanks to each of you for taking responsibility for preserving and enhancing the quality of life that we all enjoy every day. I hope you and your family had a great summer. 

Flea Market!
By Bobbye Atha

Lauderdale Isles Yacht and Tennis Club, 2637 Whale Harbor Lane, will host a gigantic Flea Market, Fair & Fish Fry on Saturday, November 4th. The sale will start at 8 am.
    Rent a space to sell your household goods, arts & crafts, marine stuff, plants, or whatever else you want to get rid of.

            Outdoor spaces $ 5.00 
            Air conditioned space $10.00 
            Table rental $ 5.00

The outside grill will be selling coffee, donuts and bagels in the morning, and hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch, soft drinks will be available all day and the Club bar will open at noon.

    A Bounce House, Face Painting, and Craft Activities will be available for the children.
    Bake Sale. Raffles, Basketball Shots, Plant Clinic and other activities.

This event will be advertised in the newspaper and through all the Neighborhood Associations in our area.
    
Reserve your space now by leaving a message with our answering machines or on E-Mail: Lee Charbonneau (584-5784) (lcharbon@bellsouth.net), Bobbye Atha (581-3663) (bjatha@aol.com) or the Club (583-7422) (LIYTC1@aol.com). Call the club after 3 pm Tuesday to Sunday. Fish Fry will start at 6 p.m.

Peele-Dixie Wellfield
by George Counts

The EPA 's Superfund representatives held another public hearing June 27 at the Sunview Recreation Center just south of Peters Road. They presented four alternatives for cleaning up the wellfield The small metal building was packed with bureaucrats, consultants, and concerned residents including your civic association president, Rich Thompson and past presidents Ann Guardino, yours truly and Pete and Joan Sheridan. Plantation did some sprucing up since a standing room only crowd at the June, 1998 hearing. The air conditioner even cooled when turned all the way up this time.
    Brad Jackson (4WD-SSMB) of EPA's Atlanta office (61 Forsythe St. S.W. 30303-3104) (1-800-435-9234 ) (JACKSON.BRAD@EPAMAIL.GOV) summarized the alternatives for cleaning up the remaining contaminants. Many of the contaminants have been removed from the former oil, recycling site at 3211 SW 50 Av. in Davie. Others are dissipating on their own in the plume and should be gone in 27 years. Three of the alternatives speed up this dissipation. Jackson was assisted by hydraulic engineer, J.T. Howland of the Corps of Engineers research lab in Vicksburg, Miss. He presented computer models of the flow and extent of the contaminants and their dissipation under the different cleanup plans. 

GW4 alternative
    Ft. Lauderdale, the wellfield's primary user, opted for GW-4, the most expensive and construction intensive of the remedial alternatives. The EPA has given it tentative support, but nixed pumping out all of the contaminated water for cleanup and reinjection as too costly for the extra benefit it would provide. While the main issue is the health, safety and environment of nearby residents, some representing the city would have you believe expediting the unrestricted use of the wellfield as quickly as possible is equally important. After all, they volunteered to supply the hundreds of new residents of the Hacienda Cove apts. in Davie with water. They also need millions of gallons more to supply the dozens of mega hi-rises planned to plaster the downtown and beach areas. Other cities are adding " Beach" to their names; So why not Miami Beach at Ft. Lauderdale. After all, it is their so-called "smart growth " role model.

The GW-3 alternative
    Alternative GW-3 is similar to GW-4 but costs about half as much while taking 10 years to protect the wellfield. The GW-4 plan is supposed to take 2 years if its barrier works. This hydraulic barrier south of the wellfield drives costs up dramatically. Think a company can be found to build it that will give an iron-clad guarantee it will work? What if it doesn't? Will they reimburse the taxpayers? I'm sure we all know the answer. There is a several hundred thousand dollar stripper already cleaning up the water at the Peele-Dixie plant now. In addition water from the Five-Ash plant is being mixed with water here further diluting the pollutants that are below EPA and state drinking water standards when they leave the plant. The water arriving at our homes also meets these standards. Continual, rigorous monitoring is part of the last three alternatives. The very expensive GW-4 plan is overkill for over-development while making less money available to remediate underground filling station tanks, which are an even greater threat to drinking water. 
    Watch the newspaper, or call Brad to find out about the next meeting. Detailed documents about these proposed remedial measures are available for study at the Riverland Library at 2710 Davie Blvd. 

EPA Supports GW4
by Joan Sheridan

Preferred alternative to protect our drinking water from contamination

The following factual information has been reprinted from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Program Proposed Plan - Public Newsletter of June 2000, which can be read in its entirety on the internet at: http//www.epa.gov/region4/waste/npl/nplfls/flpetrfl.htm. 
    "The preferred alternative for the Florida Petroleum Reprocessors Site is Alternative GW4. It is comprised of source remediation, monitored natural attenuation and wellfield protection. EPA, in consultation with the FDEP, prefers this aggressive remedy since it focuses on the reduction in volume, toxicity, and mobility of contaminants concentrated in the FPR source area. It also controls the migration of contaminants in the northern portion of the plume, thus allowing the City to begin the process of unrestricted use of the Peele-Dixie Wellfield upon implementation of the remedy."

GW2 and GW3 less expensive but slower
    "Alternative GW2 and GW3 would require that the Wellfield remain in a reduced state of pumping for a period of 10 years. Continued loss of the wellfield capacity would be unacceptable, since the loss in capacity has already severely limited the City's ability to meet its daily operational, system maintenance, and reliability." "EPA recognizes that Alternatives GW2, MNA, and GW3, would be less expensive in the short-term, but the preferred alternative (GW4) would be the most effective in achieving the remediation goal of wellfield protection and would allow for the most rapid unrestricted use of the Peele-Dixie wellfield."
    Since the Peele-Dixie Water Plant had to cut the pumping of water by 50% in 1986 because of the contaminated wellfields, it has relied on the Five Ash Water Treatment Plant to combine with Peele-Dixie to supply the daily water needs to its customers. If the Five-Ash Plant had to be shut down, due to a break down, it would seriously affect the entire S.W. area from receiving water. Also of great concern is a major fire in the S.W. area and having enough water supplies to handle an emergency. All the City wants is to allow the Peele-Dixie wellfield to be restored to its pre-1986 pumping levels. After all, the plant was there years before the FPR site ever existed.
    The S.W. Coalition of Civic Associations has been working as a Community Assistance Group (CAG) since 1998 with EPA Superfund Program for the FPR Superfund Site in our district. Through a Federal Grant we were most fortunate to utilize the expertise of a Technical Outreach Service for the Community (TOSC) team from Georgia Tech Research Institute. The team of Environmental Engineers work with our CAG Committee to explain all the technical reports and information related to the Superfund Site and makes recommendations to the community. Not only has the TOSC team recommend the GW4 Plan but below is a list of letters of support for that plan that were sent to EPA: Congressman, Peter Deutsch, State Representative, Tracy Stafford, Broward County Commissioners, City of Ft. Lauderdale Commission, S.W. Coalition of Civic Associations, and many individual Civic Associations and their residents. Copies of these letters will be available at our General Meeting on September 21st along with a copy of the EPA report. 

Annexation Alert 
by George Counts

Guess what? Another year has passed and annexationists are at it again. Those that don't want to force anyone to be annexed just spent a cool $50,000 of your hard earned tax dollars to re-enlighten us again. Yes, they've resurrected another meeting on annexation.
    Be at the Thursday, September 21 General Meeting if you want to learn how heavenly another layer of world-class taxes and bureaucracy will be. Phil Gonot, your friendly hired gun for the annexationists and his sidekick will clue you in on how much it costs to live in some of the neighboring cities that have had their eyes on our pocketbooks for a long time. Gonot is vice-president of PMG Associates. You may reach his voice mail at 954-427-5210. His sponsors figure if they tell us over and over again we don't have any other options, regardless of the costs to taxpayers we might believe it. 

How are they paying for it?
    Here's how they are paying for it. Planners that used to concentrate just on improving the quality of our environment and other important community priorities have had to reallocate their time to examine and re-examine the so-called wonder drug of urban ills annexation. Let's hope by now they've actually found out how many unincorporated clusters there are, and that they have looked hard at whether some of the formerly unincorporated areas taken into cities are actually worse off than they were before going into them. How many promises of " pie-in-the-sky if you only come into the city" were never fulfilled? 

Come to the General Meeting
    Oh well, that's probably too much to hope for. So be at the Lauderdale Isles Yacht Club at 2637 Whale Harbor Lane, Thursday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. so you can field some questions of your own. Watch the candidates for state legislative positions and question them about where they stand on this issue. They or their representative might be at the meeting. Jack Seiler (D) of Wilton Manors says he thinks any referendum voted on by Isles residents on annexation should include the option of whether the voter would like to remain unincorporated--not just which city they would like to go into.
When his opponent Steve Greep isn't on the phone or away from his desk, we'll find out how he feels about this matter.

No More Gas Stations!!
by Jeff Bills

Rumor has it that they are looking at building a Wendy's and a gas station at the proposed Riverland Crossing site. The last thing needed in this area is another gas station. There is an Amoco and a Mobil at the north end of Riverland Road, an Amoco at NW 31st and Davie Boulevard and an Amoco and a Shell station at the west end of Riverland Road. After all of the work and time some of our dedicated members have spent on various projects such as lane markers, landscaping and two parks, it would be a shame to ruin it with a gas station and a fast food joint. 

Variety shops with Spanish architecture would be nice
    What should be considered are some nice little shops/stores that have some character and variety. Some examples that come to mind are a bagel shop, Hallmark, Pier 1, an ice cream parlor, a wine/cheese store, a delicatessen, a fish market, florist, clothing/shoe store, sporting goods, a few small restaurants and/or a pub. This would give Lauderdale Isles residents an incentive to walk about the community and spending our dollars within. There appears to be plenty of room for a variety of stores/shops that given lush landscaping with barrel tiled roofs and a Spanish architectural flair for example, would enhance the entrance and/or exit to Lauderdale Isles. With Riverland Road being quite unique with its country like atmosphere as you round the bend with live oaks hanging over, it would be a shame to finish your ride looking at a hideous gas station and a line of cars waiting at the Wendy's drive-thru window.
    Wilton Manors has taken this approach by revamping their main corridor with many shops and restaurants where many of their residents are within walking distance. Their real estate values have risen quite considerably in the past couple of years and this has proven to be a factor. If we can take a similar approach with Riverland Crossing, we too would benefit.

The LICIA Website-A History
by Terry Simonds

Back in January 1995 your trustees discussed ways to pass on information on civic association activities and items of community interest to our neighbors, other than through the Newsletter you're reading right now. At the May 1996 general meeting Pete Sheridan announced that, after many months of after-hours work, LICIA had its very own telephone bulletin board system (BBS) for us. The BBS computer resided in the technology center at ANI Site Development in the old Click Camera store at 3100 Riverland Rd. near Davie Blvd.
    And it worked pretty well for a while. Trouble was, I think only three people knew how to access it and only one was really familiar with how to use it! The LICIA BBS, as good as it was, unfortunately didn't fulfill its expectations despite all the expertise that Pete poured into it. In addition, LICIA was paying almost $50 a month for the telephone line. A better way had to be found.
    After a 12-month trial, your trustees at the June 1997 trustee meeting voted to shut down the BBS, give up the $600 a year telephone line, and investigated the possibility of setting up a "home page" for LICIA on the internet. Co-owners of ANI Gary Starkweather of Key Largo and Terry Rhoades of Gulfstream stepped in and offered space on his company's server for our new adventure at no cost.
    Kyle Dunn, former Cat Cay trustee Marion Dunn's husband, and yours truly set out to build a web page. Kyle did the coding for the project based on my design, which, by the way, was literally sketched out on a few sheets of legal paper. Credit must be given to Kyle for his efforts in spite of my hen-scratching!
    Gary announced the rollout of the page at the November 1998 general meeting and, as they say, the rest is history! I assumed the job of collecting information, such as real-estate sales, meeting minutes, etc., and forwarded it to Kyle, who would publish it to the website. This worked well, until Kyle's job demanded more time from him and he turned the whole job over to me.
    At this writing, some 30 months since we started keeping track of the number visitors, 2030 people have checked in to your civic association's website. We don't know who these folks are, nor do we know what they look at when they visit us. And at a rate of 2-3 visitors a day it's really not a heavy-traffic site by Internet standards either. 
    Are you one of the 2030 who have used our web site? If not, click on over to www.licia.org and see what's happening. Find out how to contact just about anyone important in any government agency; how to get hurricane advisories by e-mail; and how to partake of your civic association's increasingly popular Newsletter-EXTRA! E-mail service. And while you're there, click on the picture of the canal on the home page for a pleasant, I hope, surprise!

Riverland Woods Update
by Joan Sheridan

By now many of you have noticed the great job Broward County did in clearing the land at Riverland Woods and removing the living shelters that were on the premises. The fences have been repaired and the property has been posted with no trespassing signs so it can be patrolled by BSO.
    The two leases for the billboards have expired and the owners were notified on July 19th, by Broward County Parks and Recreation, that they would not be renewed. They were instructed to remove them from the property within 30 calendar days from the termination of the lease. Broward County will take further action if they are not removed.
    On August 31st, DOT was out surveying the property so that Broward County can lease a portion of the land for a turn around at the boat ramp. Once the lease agreement has been approved the design for the park will include the additional land.
    John Fiore, of Broward County Parks and Recreation informed me that the total grant monies approved for Riverland Woods are as follows: $166,000 from the Boating Improvement Fund (BIP) and $150,000 from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FERDAP) = $316.000. This does not include the money that has been approved from the Tree Trust Fund for landscaping, approximately $100,000.
    The development process for Riverland Woods will take approximately two years to complete. It is hard to believe that our community has been working on preserving this passive park with a boat ramp since 1994. We can all be very proud of this accomplishment and the fact that it is not an industrial development and look forward to the day we open the park and reuse our original boat ramp.

Do You Have a Hidden Danger in Your Home?

We have all done it. When a family member becomes ill, we reach for the thermometer to take their temperature. This seemingly innocuous step could endanger your family's health and that of the environment. Why? Just the amount of mercury found in a household medical thermometer can pollute millions of gallons of water.
    In fish, mercury can build up in soft tissue and changes to a more toxic form. Mercury contamination accounts for almost all of Florida's fish consumption advisories in freshwater bodies.
But there is good news. You can exchange your mercury thermometers for less toxic, digital thermometers, FREE OF CHARGE, during National Pollution Prevention Week. Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection (DPEP) is sponsoring a mercury thermometer exchange for the public. From September 18-24, 2000 you can bring your mercury thermometers to one of five locations listed below. Residents should bring thermometers in their original case or wrapped in tissue, placed in a box that will not bend, and then put in a zip lock bag. Because supplies are limited, only one mercury-free thermometer will be given per household. However, there are no limits on the number of mercury thermometers that can be turned in for proper disposal.

Exchange Locations:
Broward County Main Library
101 S. Andrews Avenue
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33301 357-7444

Broward County North Regional/BCC Library
1100 Coconut Creek Blvd.
Coconut Creek, FL 33066 969-2600

Broward County South Regional/BCC Library
7300 Pines Blvd.
Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 963-8825

Broward County Southwest Regional Library
16835 Sheridan Street
Pembroke Pines, FL 33331

West Regional Library
8601 West Broward Blvd.
Plantation, FL 33324 831-3300

Additional DPEP Partners: Wheelabrator South Florida donated mercury free thermometers. For more information, contact Kay Gervasi at 519-1257

Airport Noise
by George Counts

Continue to call 359-1200 nights and holidays and 359-6181 days for loud jets, helicopters etc. buzzing the Isles. Pilots are supposed to follow noise abatement procedures to minimize impacts to airport neighbors.
    If it appears they aren't, report them. From 12 -6 a.m. during the last 2 weeks in March, the airport's busiest time, officials decided to close some runways for maintenance. They did it again on May 8,9 and 10. Of all the Noise monitors,7 & 8 nearest the Isles had 1/3 of the loudest noise events over 90 dB. Monitor 7 east of us recorded the loudest noise of any monitor at 108.9 dB.It was due to an LJ25 from runway 13-31. Monitor 8 which is in the Isles, wasn't far behind at 107.6 dB due to a DC-9 from runway 27R. Its duration was 20 times longer than the one at #7. Non-aircraft noise over 53dB violates the county residential noise ordinance. Ft. Lauderdale International and our area are among the fastest growing in the U. S. This means more noise for us, so we have to keep our guard up. The September 11, meeting included a review of the August Day-Night Average Sound Level Contours. For a copy of the report or meeting information call Lori Labell at 359-6181.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Joan Is in the Spotlight

Joan Sheridan was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated with honors fromJames Madison High School in 1959. She moved to Ft. Lauderdale with her parents in 1960 and worked for First National Bank in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. In 196l Joan married her husband, Peter Sheridan, Jr., at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Ft. Lauderdale. After her husband finished his tour of duty at Keesler Air Force Base they moved back to Ft. Lauderdale in 1963 to live in Lauderdale Isles. It was there that Joan became very involved with civic and environmental issues pertaining to the protection and preservation of Broward County's natural resources.
    Joan has served on the Board for the Lauderdale Isles Civic Improvement Association, Inc. since 1967. Over the past 30 years she has held the positions of Secretary, Vice President and Trustee for the Board, which she currently holds.
    Volunteering to make a difference in the environment and the community has always been one of her top priorities. In 1970, Joan helped to organize a canal clean up in Lauderdale Isles with the civic association to remove aquatic growth that was clogging the canals and causing a fish kill. Since removing the aquatic growth was almost impossible, she helped the civic association coordinate the setting up of the Lauderdale Isles Water Management District. The Water Management District was the first taxing district for the community to facilitate getting the canals clear of aquatic vegetation. Joan served on the Lauderdale Isles Water Management District for 2 years as the first corresponding secretary under Broward County Commissioner Bob Huebner and the elected officials from Lauderdale Isles. Joan's husband Pete, was the first elected Lauderdale Isles Water Management District official.

She has worked with MIASF on the waterway cleanups for 15 years
Since l985 she has worked with the MIASF on the Waterway Cleanups. For 13 years she has been the Site Coordinator in the Lauderdale Isles neighborhood and has been very successful in having one of the most active sites in Broward County. Joan was instrumental in helping the MIASF create the Site Coordinators manual for a more efficient and effective Waterway Cleanup. Getting communities involved through civic associations, neighborhood schools, churches, environmental clubs and scouts were the reasons for her successful site. Going to all the local schools and talking with the environmental clubs was her way of getting the young students involved and also offering them community service certificates for the hours they worked. Joan worked with the principal of New River Middle School, Ms. Edith Gooden, for several years and was instrumental in introducing MIASF to the newly created Marine Science Magnet School, which later formed a partnership with the school. 
    From 1979 to 1982 Joan created and was the moderator for the St. Thomas Aquinas High School "Environmental Saving Project" (ESP). This program that taught students all about landscaping, made them take pride in the appearance of their school. With the assistance of the urban forester, Joan worked with over 150 students twice a week to completely redesign and landscape the entire school grounds. This included root pruning, planting and moving trees, installing sprinklers, maintaining and fertilizing plants, laying sod, and creating a school nursery. 
    In 1994 Joan participated in the original charette with 1000 Friends of Florida in creating the policy statement for the preservation of blueways and greenways in Broward County, which became Broward Urban River Trails (BURT). For two years she was the chair of the Neighborhood Revitalization Committee for BURT and is presently a council member for the organization.
    In 1995 Joan was instrumental in coordinating and receiving a Federal Grant for the community on Riverland Road. The grant, called ISTEA, is a landscaping enhancement grant, which totaled over $130,000 for the neighborhood. It was a very long process to actually receive funding for this project, but persistence paid off and the grant was awarded and is in the process of being completed. 
    Since l995, Joan along with the support of Lauderdale Isles, neighborhood civic associations, county and state government, the MIASF and BURT, was successful in preserving a 5 acre piece of land on the New River, as a Broward County Park. This parcel of land called "Riverland Woods" is one of the last natural waterfront areas left on the New River that will be developed as a passive neighborhood greenway park with a boat ramp for small boat access to the ocean. It took 5 years to successfully create a land swap between the owner of the property and Broward County. In 1999, Joan went before the Marine Advisory Board to request funding for this park. With all the documented support of the community and the help of the Broward County Planner, John Fiore, $166,000 was awarded for the development of "Riverland Woods". This was a very important grant to receive as it was used as a match for State Funds for an additional $150,000 of development money.

Organized the S.W. Coalition of Civic Associations
    In 1996 Joan organized the S. W. Coalition of Civic Associations, which she is presently the chair of. The     coalition is comprised of County and City Civic Associations in the southwest community. It was established under the umbrella organization of " Lift Up Davie Blvd." so that the community could network together and have a united voice in government to help revitalize the neighborhood. The coalition has been successful in working with local police and businesses on Davie Blvd. to clean up crime and graffiti. The Coalition was also instrumental in receiving over 300 trees for Davie Blvd., a new entrance way design from the City of Ft. Lauderdale for Davie Blvd., additional landscaping enhancement from DOT, and getting the City and County to work together in the neighborhood. The Coalition's goals are to revitalize Davie Blvd and work on a "Master Plan", request the city to actively solicit anchor stores on Davie Blvd., work with code and zoning to clean up Davie Blvd. and the surrounding areas to protect our property values. 

Championed many civic and environmental issues
    In 1997 Joan was appointed to the Municipal Service Advisory Board and serves as a public official for Broward County representing her district in the unincorporated area. Two years later she participated in the visioning workshop for preserving Greenways in Broward County hosted by Commissioner Kristen Jacobs. Joan has championed numerous civic and environmental issues pertaining to the protection and preservation of the County's natural resources. On June 9, 2000 she was honored with an Award of Excellence from the Marine Industries Associations of South Florida for her outstanding commitment to the MIASF'S Annual Waterway Cleanup. She has worked for 15 years on the waterway cleanups, and has been the site coordinator in Lauderdale Isles for 13 years, making it one of the most successful sites through her tireless efforts.
    As you can see, Joan has kept very involved in her community for the 36 years she has lived here. If you ask her why she has stayed so involved, she will tell you: "I BELIEVE THAT IF WE ALL WORK TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE". 

The Environmental Corner

Every morning when I first get up I check to see if Wacky has left an unpleasant surprise at the edge of our pool. Wacky is a raccoon who has decided that the edge of our pool is his own public restroom. Wacky is also an inveterate thief. Dick was working on his boat and left bolts lying in the cockpit. The next morning we found one in the bottom of the pool, and another on the patio. He might not be the ideal neighbor but I am happy to share my space with him. Now if he could just be convinced to find another potty place! Many wild animals have had to adapt to living around people or perish as their natural habitats are destroyed. Roberta Shaw, who presents educational presentations on "city" wildlife and writes a column for the Hometown Herald, has listed some tips below that we can use to help protect our critters. 
    Nesting season and hurricane season have arrived. Animals and birds are competing for nesting sites here in the Isles. The bulldozers have already destroyed safe habitat for the foxes, opossums, snakes, birds and other wildlife. Some of our local wildlife will hopefully adapt when the new park is completed. Others will not and become casualties of progress.

Here are some Critter Tips on how to help:

You can call the following if you need help with one of our "critters".

Wildlife Care Center 954-524-4302
Florida Wildlife Alert Hotline 1-800-432-2046 *Ask for the nearest licensed rehabilitator to you.
Manatee Help - B.S.O. 954-765-4321 Ask for Marine Patrol
Rascals Wildlife Care Network 954-779-0364
Write or Fax questions to: Roberta Slivershaw c/o Hometown Herald, 2010 N.W. 150th Avenue, 
            Pembroke Pines, FL 33028 954-538-7018 (Fax)