The Providence Lake Press

The Providence Lake Press
Jan Fowler, Editor
Volume 5, Issue 9
[email protected]
Holiday Issue
December 2009
First Annual Providence Lake Holiday Bazaar was a success!
By Yvonne Latorre
Thanks to those of you who attended and told your friends about it! We had a great turnout,
and many of you were able to do your holiday shopping, buying unique gifts made by folks
right here in our own neighborhood.
In case you were unable to attend and would like to contact our vendors to inquire about
their wares, please see the list below. PL Residents are indicated in bold type.
► Stacy Newell - SMN Creations. Handcrafted note cards, marble coasters, magnets & trivets,
Best Wishes for
a very joyous
frames and other creations. Great teacher gifts. (678) 920-1656 www.smncreations.com
► Brenda Griffith - Custom Quilts by Brenda Griffith. Baby and bed size, you choose your
colors and fabrics. (770) 752-4900 [email protected]
holiday season
and a
► Kate Bennett - KATEMADE. Hand-stamped jewelry personalized with your initial in sterling
silver or copper, charms and more. (770) 823-8118 [email protected]
► Vivian Joyce - Tatum’s Room. Custom art for your favorite room; Decorative Painted Step
healthy, happy
New Year!
Stools, Frames, Banners, Wastebaskets and more. [email protected]
► Mimi Fornaris - Appliqué Gifts. Unique tees, cosmetic bags, and hair accessories made from
beautiful materials. (678) 566-1439
[email protected]
► Diana Ries - Diana Ries Designs. Boa-styled knitted scarves in an array of colors. Fluffy, warm
and very unique. (404) 395-8918
[email protected]
► Sally Caudle - The Frugal Framer. Services include matting, dry/wet mounting, canvas
stretching, needlework, blocking and custom framing at 35% off traditional frame shop prices.
(404) 771-7693 [email protected]
► Melissa George - Divine Lights. Let Your Light Shine. 100% soy aromatherapy candles displaying biblical verses. (404) 229-3837
► Jessica Davie - ”Silpada” Jewelry. Lovely silver and metal jewelry, accented with items such as
Inside this issue:
pearls, very elegant.
Holiday Childcare
2
PLHA Openings
2
Lake & Dam Update
2
Christmas Project
3
Horse Competition
4
Fulton School News
5
Boo Bash Photos
6-7
From Russia....
8
Landscape Update
9
PL Express Photos
9-11
PLHA Contacts
[email protected]
11
[email protected]
► Brenna Latorre-Murrin - Brenna’s Beautiful Beads. (Kid Vendor) Handmade natural elements jewelry, using gemstones, glass and clay beads on sterling silver, brass and copper findings. Adults and kids jewelry. 10% of sales goes to www.Fostercares.org (404)964-2229
► Valeasia Davis-Walker. Great organizational notebooks to keep track of favorites like restaurants, songs, etc. Awesome goodie bag stuffers for kids’ parties, great teen and young adult
gifts. (770) 309-0477 www.Mybookoflists.net
► Rashell Scott. Photography for the whole family by a very talented photographer, who can capture that unique shot. (404) 307-9148
wwww.imagerybyrashell.com
► Kathleen Hughes - Juice Plus Nutrition & Health. Research-backed whole food supplements &
Education. Many folks swear by Juice Plus supplements to keep their families healthy during flu
season. (770) 356-8416 [email protected]
Thank you for supporting the businesses of your neighbors
and others in the local community!
Holiday Season Childcare
The winter season can be busy and full of
activity, why not get some additional help?
From December 11th to January 10th, I will be
available for childcare and babysitting! I am Erica
Danaj, an Education major at GCSU, going into
middle school teaching. I have years of experience in childcare and also have access to a car.
Local references available! So if you need help
picking your child up after school, watching the
kids while you shop, or need a babysitter while you
host a party/go to a party (I am great with multiple children/families), give me a call and schedule
something today!
Erica Danaj......Cell (949)606-4852
Gorgeous Fall Photo of Providence Lake
by Charles Feyt
Lake and Dam Committee Update
With help from the Landscape Committee, we
have moved forward with removing trees and
other brush required to maintain the integrity of
our dam. (See related article on Page 8)
PL Committee Openings
The L&D committee is also collecting recommendations from lake engineering firms and silt removal companies to determine the best options
and costs for removing the silt from our lake.
Three homeowners have volunteered to take silt
from the lake which may alleviate the additional
cost of hauling away and dumping the silt.
As of December 31st, Stacy Newell will be
stepping down from her position as PLHA
Social Chair. Stacy has done an outstanding
job coordinating the many fun activities that
we’ve enjoyed this past year, so please join
the Board in expressing our thanks Stacy for a
job well done.
We are awaiting a review from the City of Milton
regarding repair of the retention wall and any
other assistance they can provide.
The Community Development Chair position
also remains open.
As soon as we have recommendations from our
engineers and received estimates from the silt
removal companies, we will make the information
and our recommendations available to the PLHA
Board and PL homeowners.
If you are willing to fill either of these positions,
please contact a PLHA Board Member as
soon as possible. We really need your help!
Charles Feyt, Lake & Dam Committee Chair
The Providence Lake Press
Page 2
Volume 5, Issue 9
Christmas Support for 25 Infantrymen Serving in Afghanistan
Submitted by Ronnie Rondem
Especially during this time of year, many people express an interest in providing support for our US Servicemen and
women serving overseas and away from their families during the holidays. PL Resident Ronnie Rondem, a member of the Atlanta Vietnam Veteran’s Business Association (AVVBA), forwarded the following information about a
platoon of 25± infantrymen who are deployed along the front line along the Afghan/Pakistan border. Their group is
planning to send some Christmas Care Packages to these fine young men.
These soldiers are well forward of their battalion/regimental support base and live out of rucksacks, tents, or makeshift dwellings. The list of items that have been mentioned by their Lieutenant or by other veterans who have served
in Afghanistan or Iraq is summarized below. Other gifts will be appreciated, but keep in mind they may be required
to move on a moment’s notice and carry their belongings on their backs, or abandon them.
SOLDIER NEEDS:
Cards & Letters of encouragement / news
Protein - Canned Tuna, Canned Salmon, Protein Drinks, Beef Jerky
Electrolytes - Powdered Gator Aide
Power Bars
Cookies/Sweets
Magazines (No playboy or 'girly" magazines due to indigenous restrictions)
Books
Chewing Tobacco
Cigarettes
Hand and Toe Warming heat-packs
Prepaid phone cards
It is unsure whether they have IPods or MP3 players and/or the ability to download items, but DVD movies or memory sticks with entertainment would probably work well with our soldiers’ innovative skills.
Monetary donations will be used as follows:
Mailing Costs - Shipping costs of a Flat Rate box $12.00
Warm clothing such as socks, long underwear, etc.
(Mr. Galt is retired & can make a military clothing store run or order from PX on line)
Please Note: Shipments to Afghanistan Cannot include any of the following
Pork products or derivatives.
Obscene articles, prints, cards, films, videotapes and horror comics and matrices.
Nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items
Non-authorized political materials
Religious material contrary to Islamic faith in bulk quantities.
Fruits, living plants
Alcoholic beverages.
PLEASE NOTE THAT A CUSTOMS FORM MUST BE COMPLETED FOR EACH BOX SHIPPED, THAT INCLUDES ITEMIZED CONTENTS, WEIGHT AND COST. THEREFORE, IF ANYTHING IS WRAPPED, PLEASE
ATTACH A STICKY NOTE SO THAT IT CAN BE PROPERLY ANNOTATED.
You can mail items to me, or drop them off at the address below (I have a home office); or call & arrange pickup.
Thanks for your interest and support.
John Galt
3655 Blakeford Way, Marietta, GA 30062
The Providence Lake Press
770-977-0970
[email protected]
Page 3
Volume 5, Issue 9
Providence Lake Rider Genevieve Hackman
Shows well at Halloween Competition
In Your Dreams’ students faced
tough competition at the Halloween
Horse Show held October 24-25 at
the Olympic Show Grounds in
Conyers, GA. In addition to their
arena competition, each of the five
riders from In Your Dreams (as
well as their horses) also participated in the "Horse & Rider Costume Classes” in 3 Categories, as
well as worked together to decorate our stall areas for the
"Halloween Stall Decor Challenge."
Below: Continuing on to the Costume
contest, Shrek & Fiona (Alvin and
Genevieve) took home FIRST PLACE!
Genevieve rode beautifully on the infamous Alvin, winning high
ribbons (1 Champion, 4 First Place and 4 Second Place) as
well as delighting everyone by winning her medal.
The Providence Lake Press
Page 4
Volume 5, Issue 9
FULTON COUNTY
SCHOOL NEWS
Submitted by
Denise Hackman
Fulton County School System
Funding Overview
As parents, it is important to understand how the Fulton County School System is funded particularly now as our national, state and local governments experience economic declines.
School funding, or lack thereof, will directly impact upcoming legislation and the programs
provided to students. That said, the goal of this piece is to outline the basic framework of
funding for the Fulton County School System.
As a constitutional matter, the federal government was not granted power over education;
rather, education was left to the states. See U.S. Constitution, 10th Amendment. However, in
recent history, the federal government has made inroads into education through various federal programs. See U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8. With these federal programs
comes both funding and regulation. Two of the most well known federal programs are: 1)
Title I which provides funding to schools that qualify by having 35% or more students receiving free or reduced lunches; and 2) the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which provides funding for students with qualifying educational and/or medical disabilities. Federal funds make up approximately 5% of the Fulton County School System’s annual budget. This year, the Fulton
County School System also received federal funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA” or “Stimulus Bill”
of February 17, 2009), which required the federal funds to be spent on particular programs such as Title I and IDEA services.
The State of Georgia also funds education and state funds make up approximately 34% of the Fulton County School System’s annual
budget. In terms of priorities, the State of Georgia focuses its funding on four major areas: 1) Education, which makes up 58% of the
state budget; 2) Healthcare; 3) Public Safety; and 4) Infrastructure. When fewer people are employed there is less income tax generated. When business profits are low, there is less business tax revenue. When sales decline, there is less sales tax revenue (Every
7¢ in Fulton County sales tax is divided: 4¢ to the state, 1¢ to MARTA, 1¢ to SPLOST and 1¢ to local government.) However, the
most important piece of the state funding puzzle is that the Georgia Constitution requires a balanced budget. Unlike the federal government and some other states, Georgia legislators must make cuts throughout the school year to “true up” the budget as revenues
decline. Although this places hard choices on our governing bodies, all citizens and particularly state and local government employees can be thankful that the State of Georgia is being fiscally responsible and is not facing bankruptcy.
The Fulton County School System is also funded at the local level, primarily through Fulton County property tax assessments. Local
funding is significant and makes up approximately 63% of the school system’s annual budget. In particular, local funding provides
approximately 40% of teacher salaries, elementary band and orchestra for fourth and fifth grade students, bus transportation within
1.5 miles of the school, sweep buses, middle school TAG classes with less than 21 students, high school TAG classes with less than
23 students, bus transportation for high school sports away games, and graduation coaches at high schools with a graduation rate of
less than 90%, to name a few. As property values decline, there is simply less revenue for Fulton County and the Fulton County
School System.
SPLOST stands for Special Project Local Option Sales Tax and each SPLOST period runs for a five year term. Fulton County
Schools, DeKalb County Schools and Atlanta City Schools are joined together for SPLOST funding and are currently in SPLOST III,
which will end in 2012. SPLOST is funded through the 1¢ sales tax and funds the construction of new schools and capitol improvements to existing schools in these three school systems. In our area, the additions to Alpharetta High School and the construction of
the new high school at Bethany and Cogburn Roads are improvements that either have been or will be paid for using SPLOST III
funds. Thankfully, SPLOST monies pay for capitol improvements in full and when they are completed, the Fulton County School System will not carry debt associated with their construction. As 2012 approaches, we may see efforts toward a SPLOST IV, but that
remains in question for several rather complicated reasons that are beyond the scope of this overview.
Finally, the Fulton County School System receives an indirect educational benefit through the Georgia Lottery. The Georgia Lottery
funds Hope Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs in some schools. As lottery sales decline so the revenues generated for
these programs. While these programs are not part of the Fulton County School System budget, they do but provide a educational
benefit to Georgians.
Hopefully, this overview will help parents and students understand the reasons why schools are experiencing budget cuts. Parents,
please consider getting involved in the schools, volunteering in the media center or copy room, helping in the classroom, supporting
the teachers and encouraging them when more furlough days are mandated. Also consider donating extra school supplies to your
school as administrators stocks the supply room with paper, pencils, pens, tissues, antibacterial soap, etc. As Georgia legislators try
to balance the budget, consider the practical problems they face. Finally, consider new and creative ways to fund programs that you
believe are important to education. Your involvement and support matters!
For more information on Fulton County School System funding and support for the above-mentioned data, see www.fultonschools.org.
The Providence Lake Press
Page 5
Volume 5, Issue 9
Providence Lake Boo Bash
Boo Bash, hosted by Tana Collman & Robin Caldwell, was great fun
with loads of activities & games. Thanks for such a fun night that prevailed even with the rain coming at us from all angles! Stacy Newell
The Providence Lake Press
Page 6
Volume 5, Issue 9
The Providence Lake Press
Page 7
Volume 5, Issue 9
From Russia with Hope
By Rachel Kellogg
[email protected]
Submitted by Liza Odom-Kurtz
Juli and Sam McGill, owners of the Alpharetta art studio Out of the Box and adoptive parents of two
Latvian boys, have found a way to spread holiday cheer while helping children in need.
Starting Dec. 1, the couple will be selling about 200 pieces of art made by Russian orphans. All proceeds go to the Evangelistic Association of Russia, a non-profit corporation, and will go directly toward helping the orphans.
“It’s cool to see how these kids express themselves,” said Ms. McGill. “And the money goes to help
them. We’ve seen orphanages that are quite in need.”
Each year thousands of Russian orphans participate in an art contest sponsored by the Acworthbased corporation, and a few hundred are selected to be semi-finalists.
The top 10 winners receive a trip to Atlanta to spend two weeks celebrating Christmas with sponsor
families, and the winning paintings are auctioned off to benefit the children.
From Left: Out of the Box art
studio’s Juli McGill, volunteer
Randy Reeves and Sam McGill
hold pictures painted by Russian orphans.
But Ms. McGill said she wondered what happened to the other paintings.
“They just sit in boxes, so last year I decided to hang them up on a whim,” she said. “The response was pretty amazing.”
Last year, the studio raised about $750, and Ms. McGill said she hopes to double that amount this holiday season.
Randy Reeves, a volunteer at the art studio and an adoptive parent of a Russian daughter, introduced the program to the McGills.
“Having been to Russia and seeing the conditions, it’s a natural thing to want to do anything you can to help,” he said.
The paintings sell for a minimum, tax-deductible donation of $25 and will be up through January.
Out of the Box, which opened in 2007, is located at 11940 Alpharetta Highway
Something You May Not Know
Many of you use Waste Management for your trash services. Did you know that they
will recycle almost any recycle
item, including all paper, cans,
any plastic, cardboard and
chipboard, except Styrofoam
and plastic bags. BUT, these
items must be placed INSIDE
your bin or container.
They will not put cardboard
boxes placed next to containers in their recycle truck.
Go figure!?!
The Providence Lake Press
December Landscape Update
Just because the plants have stopped growing or lost all their leaves doesn't
mean that landscaping services have been discontinued. We are continuing to
work on leaf removal and will start the pine straw applications to all the common
areas starting the week of December 7th. New mulch will also go on the path to
the gazebo area.
We are aware that there have been some issues with the entry lighting and we
are working on this with hopes of everything working properly very soon.
The association has also hired a contractor to do some additional brush removal around the dam site. This work is needed to insure that the integrity of
the dam and spillway retaining walls remains high. These areas are solely the
responsibility of the PLHA, not the county. Work is in progress and will be
wrapped up in a week, pending weather. We will have generated a large quantity of wood chips when the work is completed. It was far more cost effective to
chip the material on site than to pay to haul it away. That said, it would be great
if we could get some volunteers to help spread this material out along the access path. Contact me if you would be willing to help.
Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy the Christmas and holiday décor!
Lorraine Danaj, Landscape Chair
Page 8
Volume 5, Issue 9
Providence Lake Express Rides Again!
The PL Express did ride again and it was another magical night for all! Thank you to the entire Polar Committee that
made this fantastic event possible: Stephanie Babin (Chair), Liza Shillingford, Alicia Stubbs, Katherine Podrazhansky,
Holly Suida, Joni Allen, & Janette Walsh. Thanks also to our Storyteller, Balladeer, Carolers, and of course Santa and
his Elves! Thank you ALL for putting on such a grand show for Providence Lake!
Stacy Newell, Social Chair
Additional photos on
Pages 10 & 11
The Providence Lake Press
Page 9
Volume 5, Issue 9
Providence Lake Express Rides Again!
The Providence Lake Press
Page 10
Volume 5, Issue 9
PLHA Board
President
Chris Wood
Vice President
Joe Mosele
Treasurer
Dave Mueller
Secretary
Ali Zahedi
Member
Stan Clymer
Committees
Architectural Control
Rick Caudle
Buildings & Grounds
Lorraine Danaj
Lake & Dam
Charles Feyt
Social
OPEN
Pool
Yvonne Latorre
Clubhouse Reservations
Stacy Newell
Tennis
Vicky Wyche
Community Development
OPEN
Neighborhood Watch
Ali Zahedi
Website/Directory
Dave Mueller
Newsletter
Jan Fowler
Message Boards
Holly Siuda
Regularly scheduled Board
Meetings will now be held the
3rd Sunday each month at the
Clubhouse at 4:00 pm unless
otherwise noted. All homeowners are welcome and encouraged to attend to bring
forth issues or ideas.
The Providence Lake Press
Page 11
Volume 5, Issue 9