We’ve Accomplished a Lot This Year!
by Rich Thompson - president

We Love the Isles
 by Steven Wabee

This is our response to Mr. Krycki’s recent article- - “Poop & Scoop’. My wife and I are new to Lauderdale Isles and we love it here! We moved here because it is a quiet, clean neighborhood on the water. Since moving here, we have been very impressed with the manner with which most everyone keeps up their property and cares for the general appearance of Lauderdale Isles. Our neighbors are the greatest too.

    We appreciate living in a neighborhood where it is safe to go outside and spend time with our children (2 big dogs). You see, we moved from a community that had deteriorated to a point that it was not safe to venture much beyond the front door and walking and jogging with our dogs has become a daily affair. However, we do not take them out for walks just to let them relieve themselves on other people’s beautiful yards (which is just exactly what our neighbors would do in our previous community and exactly what we have witnessed on occasion here). Yes, it is embarrassing when one of our pets has an “accident” - but we stop, clean up after them, apologize to the resident for any inconvenience (if they are present) and take the “accident” home to dispose of it. It is true, “accidents’ do happen and responsible pet owners should be prepared. In our opinion cleaning up after our pets shows respect for other people and their property and it is not difficult to do. A pair of latex gloves and a small plastic bag is perfect for handling any “accident” and they fit neatly  in a “fanny-pack” or pocket and provide an airtight means for transportation. The provisions necessary to ‘Poop and Scoop” are also inexpensive and readily available at Home Depot. $ 1.00 will buy several pairs of latex gloves and the bags are free at check out. We think it ridiculous and gross to witness someone allowing their pet to succumb to the “calls of nature” and then just walk away from it as if nothing happened. Some pet owners may need an incentive to remind them to be mindful of other people’s property and to do the “right thing”. We would gladly support a by-law that protects residents from disrespectful pet owners. Be certain and give the by-law some teeth, though - A healthy fine ($250.00 or so) would be a good and proper deterrent. Pet owners should want their pets welcome in the community. Being a responsible pet owner during an “accident” is a great start.

Canker Chainsaw Massacre Nears Isles
by George Counts

Like others in the Isles I received an “Immediate Final Order” that my 12-inch trunk, sweet smelling and prolific orange tree would have to be destroyed. The reason, it was 625 feet from an infected tree at 2525 Okeechobee Lane. 
        Concerned about the finality of the “non- peer” review remedy to the canker problem, I notified authorities about getting a second opinion from outside experts.  I was told this wasn’t an alternative by Julio (canker 800 number) and if we went to court we’d lose.   I was surprised by two inspectors a few days later.  They found no signs of the disease.  I asked them to tell me the species of my tree so I could get one later if it had to be destroyed.  They looked on their species identification charts but couldn’t tell me.  Neither could the conductor of a DOA seminar much earlier on orange trees at BCC South.  He was given a leaf sample and an orange.  As usual I was told it was a navel, but not what type.   
        A few days after the inspectors departed my tree received its “no quarter” death sentence.  LICIA and Broward Urban River Trails voted unanimously to send letters supporting a moratorium on tree cutting.  They requested a second opinion by other experts to verify or reject the findings and, thus, that it will stop the chain saw massacre hypothesis.
        The Isles used to be covered with beautiful palms.  Lethal Yellowing destroyed most of them. The Agricultural Dept did little to counter the problem. Next the exotic species declaration was made and most of the tough, thick, graceful Australian Pines protecting us from the highways  to the South were removed without requiring comparable replacements.  Now after the loss of thousands of square feet of tree canopy, many of us are being told our citrus trees have to go.  What next?  Unless something is done to mitigate this problem telephone and power poles will soon be the closest thing South Florida’s urban jungle has to a mature tree. It appears agricultural officials don’t know any more about canker than they do about lethal yellowing or identifying orange tree species. For a summary of the purported science behind the 1900’ rule check http://doacs.state.fl.us  or Call 1-800-850-3781 to talk to canker p.r. types.

Save Our Trees
by Larry Dixon

We live on Cat Cay and have several banners adorning our property expressing our disgust.  We are outraged that our government can come onto our property and lessen its value, destroy personal property, displace animals etc. without due process My husband and I are hoping the News stations will cover it also. We had to remove $1000 worth of staghorns from the tree canopy in preparation of this slaughter. They are now sitting in garbage cans while we try and figure where we will be able to hang them.  We have been keeping bird seed stations full for years and have quite an array of feathered friends. We even have one of the protected species of woodpecker show up on a regular basis. Our raccoon, squirrels and an occasional opossum have found our little piece of paradise to be inviting. The way we feel, the animals were here first and we have done everything we can to live in harmony with them. After our raccoon family continued to foul our pool, we built a small pond which they now use regularly to clean snails. We love to watch our squirrels as they would sit at their “table” and eat off their corncobs. All of this activity surrounds these 5 mature healthy trees. They are our shade, food and joy to share with neighbors. This act is a travesty.
        If you would like to talk with us further we can be reached at 792-2169

Thanks Everyone!
by Joan Sheridan

What a wonderful neighborhood we live in.  I can’t begin to thank all the great volunteers that helped with the neighborhood tour, cookout, food, set up, clean up, exhibit displays, banners, computers, borrowed equipment, etc., that went into making the Florida Neighborhoods Conference 2000 such a big success for our community. Everyone was so impressed that all the residents work together in our southwest neighborhood.  If I heard it once I heard it a hundred times “What a class act”.  I am so proud of our community and the great job that was done.
        Thanks a million! All of you that participated in this event were great. “WORKING TOGETHER DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.”

Yard Yarns...pamper your yard but don’t pollute        
by Elaine Peterick

Ideas For Making Our Homes Fit The New Millennium

       We all love our homes here in the Isles. The high-beamed ceilings and open floor plans give a relaxed “Florida” feel, but the small kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms which were typical of the fifties when these homes were built, just don’t have room for all of the electronic gadgets and just plain stuff that we feel we must have in the 2000’s. So we start looking for ways to expand. I thought it might be good to see how some of our neighbors solved the problem without knocking out walls or changing the integrity of the house’s basic design So, I thought I would start an ongoing column featuring ideas used by Isles residents. If you have a room that you have updated to make it more livable, send me a picture or call me and I’ll have our staff photographer come over and photograph it.

A Kitchen Remake
by Joan Sheridan

         Like most of the original kitchens in Lauderdale Isles, ours was too small and did not have enough cabinet space or counter top. After much research and estimates it did not take us long to find out that expanding the front of our house to give us more space in the kitchen was too cost prohibitive.  So, what was the alternative? Rearrange the existing space and non-weight bearing walls to give us the larger kitchen that was so desperately needed.
        We blocked up the kitchen door and put a window there instead.  This allowed us to move the plumbing and install a sink in front of the window.  It gave us the space we needed to include a small table and chairs so we could have an eat-in area.
        We opened up the kitchen by moving the standard linen closet that Gill had in every home. Since that was not a weight-bearing wall, we were able to move it over to the side of the kitchen, by the bathroom, to give us a hallway with a linen closet.  By doing this we were able to design a counter with “serve through” to the dining room. The counter top was custom designed to include a small desk top along the back wall of the linen closet.  We doubled the size of useable space by putting doors on both sides of the serve through, top and bottom.  This gave us access from the dining room for holiday dishes and can be used as a bar or serving area from the kitchen.
        Several estimates were obtained from Home Depot, Builders Square, and Broward Kitchens.  Broward Kitchens, of Pompano, matched Home Depot’s price and had our kitchen installed in 3 days!

Let’s Keep Our Homes Maintained
by Rich Thompson

         I love living on the water! Lauderdale Isles has no fixed bridges, deep water, ocean access and the homes are still in the affordable range for waterfront property. Our homes are now in the $160,000 range and we’d like to keep our property values as high as possible, but even the lure of all the waterfront amenities that the Isles offers won’t keep the home values up if we do not keep our property maintained. A slap of paint isn’t that expensive and a little yard work can be very rewarding. Remember, we’re a waterfront community and the back of our homes need attention, too as they are visible to boaters. Please do your part to keep our property values as high as possible. It’s in everybody’s best interest.

Observations at a Citrus-Canker Meeting
by Larry Chaffinch

         On Thursday evening, 2 November 2000, there was a meeting held at the Hollywood City Hall with most of our elected representatives from Broward county in attendance. Also present were Mr. Myers and Liz Compton from the Dept. of Agriculture and Mr. La Vigne from the citrus growers association. The purpose of the meeting was to answer questions about the eradication program and receive input from the general public and other public officials.
        The meeting began at 6:00PM with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz chairing the meeting. What follows is a brief summation of events, ideas and actions as experienced by the public attendees. You can form your own opinion of the eradication program and its effectiveness in getting rid of citrus canker from these observations:

        *  Six citrus trees were cut and removed from a woman’s yard. The paperwork left by the contractors stated eight trees. Contractors are paid $96.25 per tree removed

        *  One woman works at a location with several diseased trees and has repeatedly called to have them removed to no avail.

        *  Several people arrived home to find trees gone without any notification.

        *  The whole basis for cutting 1900 ft from an infected tree is based on a report that the state can’t produce for the public because they don’t have it.  However, they saw it and studied it according to Liz Compton and Mr. Myers.

        *  The original report can be found at http://doacs.state.fl.us/canker/summary-justification-removing-canker.htm , but is only an abstract and leaves many questions. Until June 1999 a radius of 125 ft was used to clear all trees around an infected tree. This action alone was not working so a study indicated that a 1200-ft radius would provide a 90% certainty that the bacteria canker would be contained and a 1900-ft radius would provide a 95% certainty. Unknown individuals at the Dept of Agriculture chose this. A 125-ft radius circle contains  approximately one acre, a 1900-ft radius about 240 acres. A big difference considering the healthy trees are the ones being cut. The Dept of Agriculture is determined to cut and is convinced this is the only way to go based on studies in Brazil that say cutting is the only answer for this rain- and wind-driven bacteria. However, Argentina built pine-tree buffers around their groves to contain the spread and it works very well.

        *  What about birds? Do they spread it and should we get our shotguns out and eliminate all birds?

        *  A woman reported that the citrus workers left a grapefruit tree in her yard because they were convinced that it wasn’t a citrus tree.

        *  Citrus surveyors in Lauderdale Isles closely inspected my tree turning leaves over and on two occasions refused to go into my neighbor’s yard because of a dog. They said that they could see the tree well enough to see it was okay. They looked over a six-ft fence from 15 ft away. How certain will we be that this program is effective with actions like these?

        * How do the citrus workers keep from spreading the canker with their clothes and tools? They use antibacterial soap for themselves and their clothes and a stronger solution for their tools. Why can’t the trees that are healthy be sprayed to prevent the spread of this bacteria? The Dept of Agriculture says it won’t work, but others disputed that remark based on technical knowledge or reports that they had read.

        *Is the canker deadly??? No, nor is it harmful to humans. It makes the leaves, and eventually the fruit, appear unattractive. It may take as long as five years or more before it becomes noticeable on your fruit and eventually your tree may die ... or may not for 25 years or more. Why then are we in such a hurry to eradicate this canker? The $8.5-billion citrus industry fears that their fruit might not be allowed to be shipped out of state and overseas could be one answer.

        The bottom line is this: the legislature is on recess until March. The stay in effect to ban cutting will last only into the second week of November. In my opinion the ONLY way to possible save uninfected trees is to e-mail, call or write Gov. Jeb Bush and ask him to call for an emergency session of the legislature to consider other proposals. I had the clear impression that they heard enough and heard loudly enough that the current plan is flawed science and would take action if called by the Governor.

        Here’s how to contact Gov. Jeb Bush:   

Annexation Alert
by  George Counts

Annexation Update
by Craig Canning

    PMG Associates Inc. (PMG) are putting the finishing touches on our Annexation study. The review draft was submitted to Broward County and the involved municipalities 3 weeks ago. It was returned to PMG on  the 31st of October. The corrections/additions that Donald Stone (Broward County liaison) has given to PMG will be incorporated into the final report. The finished document should be completed by PMG in mid November at which time it goes back to Broward County for final approval. Once the County approves the final report 20 copies will be printed and handed over to the Broward County Office of Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning. Of those 20 copies approx. 8 will remain with the Lauderdale Isles Civic Association where we will need to find a public place (somewhere easily accessible) to house them.  
        Our Civic Association Board has 6 copies of the review draft that they are looking over and will submit comments to PMG. Once the Annexation Study is officially complete, every resident of the Isles will be receiving a copy of the Executive Summary in the mail. PMG will be at our November 16th general meeting so please plan on attending at which time you can ask questions. Annexation is an extremely important issue for our community and warrants your attention. The next general meeting of the Lauderdale Isles Civic Association will be on November 16th at 7:30 PM at the Yacht Club on Whale Harbor Lane. See you there!

Don’t be Distracted By Thieves
by Allison Subic

         Whether it’s a woman and child soliciting your assistance, or a man asking to use your telephone to call for help, never permit strangers into your home.  If the situation appears to be an emergency, call 911 yourself.  Once inside your home or business, these “innocent strangers” have better access to rob or harm you.  
        Two of the more common scams are: City Inspector or Home Improvement Salesman. If a city inspector or home improvement salesman shows up unexpectedly at your door asking to check your plumbing, heating, A/C, wiring, telephone, trees, etc., turn him away!  If you didn’t call for service, he has no business inside your home.  Don’t be fooled by a business card attesting to the person’s employment.  Business cards can be printed at a nominal rate by just about anyone and are not a form of legal identification.  Invariably, these con artists will find a reason to charge you exorbitant prices for home repairs.  Some thieves will memorize your floor plan — for easy access in a future robbery.  
        An Old Acquaintance: Two or more pleasant, friendly people unexpectedly stop by your home claiming to be an old acquaintance.  They will try to convince you that you met them several years ago and may even drop hints like your neighbor’s name or that you have grandchildren. Once inside your home, one of the strangers will ask to use the bathroom.  While you lead the stranger to the bathroom, the others are left unsupervised in another part of your home — allowing them access to your valuables. Immediately report any suspicious incidents to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Happy Holidays!
by Bobbye Atha

Riverland Road Cable Project
 by George Counts

How We Have Voted In The Past - some interesting statistics
by George Counts

         As of 7-2-98 there were 1,144 registered voters in our precinct 40z.  507 were Republicans.  Of these 495 were white, 2 were black and 10 other.   There were 453 Democrats, 425 white, 8 black and 20 other.   There were 184 Independents, 171 white, 2 black and 11 other.  I will give the male/female mix next time.  As of 3-13-00 there were 1,137 registered in 40z.  Of these, only 252 or 22.16% voted.  The county average was 26.15%.  On 9-5-00 just 13.08% of us voted compared to the county average of 13.21%.  66.44% of us voted against the children’s services tax compared to 43.17% countywide. 

Installing New Water Mains Now
by Terry Simonds

         In the May 1998 Issue of the LICIA Newsletter, I wrote an article titled “New Water Mains For The Isles Put On Hold.” Well, as residents of Whale Harbor and Tortugas Lanes have seen, a new contractor has been chosen and the project is back on track with crews hard at work installing new water mains and fire hydrants for the Isles. Starting at Whale Harbor and working east to and including Gulfstream Lane, they expect to have the new mains in the ground by Christmas.  
First Phase Should Be Finished By The End Of The Year  
I spoke with the engineer for the city and an engineer with the contractor and they both said they anticipate the first phase of the contract will be completed by the end of the year. “We may call in a second crew,” one said in order to speed things up, but that decision hasn’t been made yet.  
        Many residents have noticed yellow marks at the centerline of their lane. There’s a number and an arrow indicating the distance and direction to the existing water main. “This may not be where we lay the new main,” one of the engineers told me. The county has permitted the contractor to “take the path of least resistance” to minimize the impact of cutting concrete driveways, tearing up plantings, etc. Once you see them starting work on your lane, work will continue on that side of the street all the way to the end, even if the arrows point to the other side. 
        But, we may not get new water by the end of the year. Phase 2 of the project involves coming back to each lane (Gulfstream through Whale Harbor) and digging things up again to cut into the new main and install service lines from the main to your water meter. Heavy construction where the new mains will have to be connected into the main feeder that runs along Riverland Road will also take place at the time.  
It Will Be A Mess For Awhile  
         The engineers said, “...it will be a mess for a while,” but when the contracts are finished and workers have cleaned up the debris, the Isles won’t look all that different. They said, however, “...if residents have some special or valuable plantings, lighting systems, sprinklers, etc., near the swale or between their water meter and the street...” they should be advised to move these items themselves before the city trucks and backhoes move in. The county and the city will replace grass, driveway damage where it was cut, etc., but may not replace a rare and expensive shrub or reinstall your sprinkler system. They said that notice should be given to residents on each lane stating when work is scheduled to start on a lane.  
        Unfortunately, no dates were given for installing new water mains from Flamingo east to Andros. We’ll update this story as soon as we get the information.

More Information On The Waterlines
by  George Counts

        We are getting new 8-inch, steel water lines along each lane. It is part of Ft. Lauderdale’s 10-year,  $50 million project to replace 170 miles of undersized, corroded and obsolete waterlines, fire hydrants and feeders to the water meters.  You have been paying a 4% surcharge a year for about 5 years.  It should be ending soon.  The project isn’t coming too soon.  Just recently a feeder to my new water meter began gushing like an artesian well.  After 10 minutes of calling at suppertime someone finally answered .  They said, it was reported an hour ago.  I explained how much water was gushing out and reminded them of our low water levels.  In a few minutes a 3-truck convoy pulled up.  Thank God it wasn’t the 8-inch line in the swale.  They patched the line and were gone in about another hour.  Our water meets EPA color and quality standards, so bear with the crews if there are a few problems during this transition.  They are working 10-hour days to make it as easy on  residents as possible.  Each lane should take about a week.  If all goes well, they won’t be back with replacements for another 50 years.  
        Hopefully, you will be notified when work is about to begin on your street.  Have questions?  Call Karim Rahmankhah at 761-5069 or Mike Bailey at 771-0880.

In The Spotlight

Roberta Is In The Spotlight

         Roberta Shaw rarely leaves home without her camera. Since the subjects for her photographs are unpredictable and wary, she needs to be ready when they are. Roberta is a photographer and artist who specializes in “shooting” urban wildlife. No, you don’t need to worry about that little party you had the other night. Roberta is only interested in photographing the animals that are all around us in south Florida. She’s photographed burrowing owls on golf courses and an elusive wood stork along the Davie canal. Her wildlife photographs and paintings have been displayed at the Anne Kolb Nature Center in Hollywood.  
        Roberta is a native Floridian and was born in Miami in 1945. After graduating from Miami Sr. High School, she earned an associate degree in Science, Marketing Management from Miami-Dade Community College and then later studied Art Education at Florida Atlantic University.  
Started Volunteering Early  
        She developed her love for nature from her grandfather  “who taught me kindness toward all living creatures.” He delighted her with stories about Miami in the 1920’s and liked to tell how he would rescue pigeons on South Beach. Roberta believes that “we are all delicately connected” and animal and human rights have always been important to her.  She met Martin Luther King Jr. in the ‘60’s and marched for civil rights. She also joined the National Conference for Christians and Jews while, at the same time, she was volunteering at the old zoo on Virginia Key. Her volunteerism has never stopped. She has been a youth mentor, education director for the Wildlife Care Center (formerly the Wild Bird Care Center), an advisor for Pet Rescue, Inc., and a volunteer for the Humane Society of Broward County.  
Lecturer And Author Of “Critter Tales”  
    Currently, she is an advisor/member of the Environmental Education Council of Broward County, she provides humane education materials for  Pet Aid and Rabbit Rescue, Inc., is the educational advisor for the Florida Wild Mammal Association, Inc., volunteers for the Girl Scout Council of Broward County, is a member of the Association of Professional Humane Educators and a lecturer at the Secret Woods Nature Center where she will present a series of programs from January through May 2001.  
        She founded “Critter Tales”, an educational outreach environmental program while she was with Wildlife Care Center. Although no longer with them, she continues to take her critter puppets, slide shows and artifacts to preschools, schools, Scout organizations and civic groups in an effort to help others understand and appreciate nature and help protect it. She also writes a weekly  “Critter Tales” column for the Hometown Herald where she tackles neighborhood wildlife issues.  
The Isles Were Beautiful  
         Roberta met and married David Shaw in 1983 and they moved with her two children from a previous marriage to Whale Harbor in the Isles. “It was so beautiful then,” she says, “with the pine trees and the wildlife.”          The first thing they did when they moved in was to plant several oak trees in the front and back yards. Then when I-595 was built, their neighbor Rick Chandler the “Raccoon Man” helped them plant native trees and plants for the wildlife. Since then their lot has become home to a peregrine falcon and a host of other “critters”. Many of these critters appear in her photographs. It is her belief that networking among her neighbors in the Isles is a positive way to help promote humane attitudes towards people, animals and our environment. Roberta’s grandfather would be proud of her.  

The Environmental Corner

Manatees and Lifestyles in the Isles
by Andrew G. Nagorski

LICIA Elections Meeting

Editor’s Dilemma
by Ollie Kollmann

        I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this newsletter and the ones in the past. I’m very proud of the newsletter and the interesting and thoughtful articles that I receive from our readers have made it truly a “civic” newsletter.  
        Fortunately/unfortunately I am now receiving more articles than I can use in each issue. I try to run those that are time sensitive or contain important information first. Then I choose on a first come basis. All of the articles that I receive will be printed either in the following or subsequent issues.  Be patient it WILL be printed.  
        Every author feels a great deal of affection for the words that he has often laboriously written and to have a sentence or “horrors” a paragraph cut feels as if an arm or leg has been amputated. Unfortunately, in order to have an attractive and readable paper sometimes “surgery” is required. As the editor, I have to decide which parts of the article can be omitted without changing the content. I like to have the revised article reviewed by the author, but oftentimes that is not possible, especially if the article is received after the deadline. I usually have only a few days to get the paper formatted, edited and proofread before it goes to the printers. So, if your article is several days late, I simply will not have time to get it back to you for approval. I hope that you will bear with me on this and I will try to make the “surgery” as painless as possible.  
        Again THANK YOU for your contributions and if you have any suggestions for features or articles please contact me at: bootsn@bellsouth.net or call me at 583-72215.