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October 2004
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Spring Ridge Review Newsletter
November 2004

Board of Director's Corner
Annual Meeting: November 4th, 2004 at 7pm -
Spring Ridge Elementary

1. Our Annual Meeting will be on Thursday, November 4th at the Spring Ridge Elementary School, in addition to the election of a board member, the committees will be presenting a summary of their activities. We encourage all the Spring Ridge residents to come out and participate in this meeting.
2. Paving operations will soon be completed on Spring Ridge Parkway, Ridgefield Drive will be the next road to be resurfaced.
3. The Board is reviewing a number of options on community safety and security issues. Specifically, the hiring of crossing guards at Spring Ridge Elementary School, and trying to determine what constitutes the best use of our resources in the summer months for community security.
4. Thanks to the residents who volunteered to be on the Finance Committee. Richard Gemmell will be calling you to attend a meeting shortly.

Calendar of Events

Nov. 2 ~ Election Day
Nov. 4 ~ 7pm - Conservancy Annual Meeting at Spring Ridge Elementary
7:30pm - Recreation Committee Meeting at VC
Nov. 10 ~ 7pm - ACC Meeting at VC
Nov. 11 ~ 7pm - Hampton Court II BOD Meeting at VC
Nov. 18 ~ 7pm - Hampton Court I BOD Meeting
7pm - FAN Club Social at I Made This in Everedy Square
Nov. 23 ~ 7pm - Spring Ridge Condo BOD Meeting at VC
Nov. 25 ~ Thanksgiving Day - Visitor Center Closed
Nov. 26 ~ 6pm to 9pm - Recreation Committee "Black Friday" Shopping Event at VC

Classifieds

Firewood. Stay toasty with 3/4 cord of maple and birch. Seasoned 3 months. Cut to 4-foot lengths. $30.00 OBO. Call 301-698-5160.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Visitor Center will be closed Thursday, November 25th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. PMP, Inc. and the Conservancy Board of Director's wish you a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Salvation Army Food Drive

Once again Spring Ridge is working with the Salvation Army this holiday season to provide non-perishable food for the hungry and needy in our area. The Salvation Army barrel will be located in the Visitor Center lobby. Drop off your non-perishable food between 11am and 5pm Monday through Friday. Please help out those less fortunate this holiday season.

Let's Make This The Best Year Ever!

Upcoming Events at the Spring Ridge Community Schools presented by the PTAs and PTSAs for Spring Ridge Elem., Oakdale Elem., Gov. Thomas Johnson Middle and Gov. Thomas Johnson High Schools.

Nov. 1-2 ~ SCHOOLS CLOSED - Please Vote on Nov. 2nd
Nov. 3 ~ PTA Sponsored Reading Incentive Program Begins - SRES
Nov. 4 ~ 7pm - Powder Puff Football Game (TJHS Homecoming Event) - TJHS
6pm - PTA Meeting & Math Night - OES
Nov. 5 ~ PTA Sponsored Ice Cream Social - SRES
Nov. 6 ~ Homecoming at TJHS, Football Game vs. Frederick 2pm, Dance 7:30pm to 11pm - TJHS
Nov. 8 ~ 7pm - Athletic Booster Meeting - TJHS
Nov. 9 ~ 6:30pm - PTA Meeting, 7pm - Parent Writing Workshop - SRES
7pm - Safe and Sane Meeting - TJHS
Nov. 15 ~ 7:30am - School Improvement Team - OES
9am - Family and Community Involvement Meetings - OES
Nov. 17 - Report Cards Issued
Nov. 18 ~ 7pm - PTSA Meeting - TJHS
Thanksgiving Lunch - OES
Nov. 19 ~ Spirit Day - Favorite Hat Day - SRES
Spirit Day & Movie Night 7pm - OES
Nov. 25-26 ~ SCHOOLS CLOSED - Happy Thanksgiving
Nov. 30 ~ Picture Retake Day - OES

For more information, please contact the respective schools. Times and dates are subject to change.

Van Pool - Frederick to Washington, D.C.

Van Pool from Frederick to Washington, D.C. (OPM, GWU, GSA, DOA, RRB, DOJ, DOE, & Chinatown). To Washington: Pick up at 5:15 am at the 7th Street Shopping Center, 5:35 am at the Urbana Park and Ride. To Frederick: 1st pm pick up in Washington at 4:35 pm, arrive at Urbana Park and Ride at 5:45 pm, and 7th Street Shopping Center at 6 pm. Metrochecks accepted. If interested, contact Carol Burrill at 443-538-0277.

**Last Call** - 2005 Spring Ridge Directory

The 2005 Spring Ridge Community Directory is under way. Any NEW residents (those that have moved in since December 1, 2003, that were not included in the 2004 directory) who wish to be included, need to fill out the form enclosed in this newsletter. If you are already listed in the directory, but have changes, please notify management via email at nadena.mg@pmpbiz.com or other written correspondence. NO CHANGES? Do nothing. However, those interested in keeping their name and phone number listed on the helper list must submit the form. The forms must be submitted by Friday, December 3, 2004, to be included.

ADVERTISING: Residents who are interested in advertising in the 2005 Directory should contact the management office at 301-620-0782 and leave a name, mailing address, and phone number.

Snow Will Soon Be Here!

Single Family Homes: All streets are maintained and plowed by Frederick County, including Spring Ridge Parkway, and Ridgefield Drive. All sidewalks in the single family neighborhoods are to be shoveled by the homeowner.

Town Homes and Condos: Here are some of the snow removal guidelines for the 2004-2005 season. In a snow/sleet storm, if accumulation is under 2", the contractor is to apply chemicals to the common sidewalks. If total snow/sleet accumulation is 2-4", the contractor is to begin plowing only after 2" has actually accumulated on the roadways. Chemical application will begin with the parking areas and private roads, followed by common sidewalks. In a big snow storm, the contractor will plow to open up the private roads. However, most of the detailed snow removal work will not take place until after the snow has finished falling.

The asphalt walking path will be shoveled from Knollwood Drive to the school. However at the corner of Ridgefield Drive only one side of the street will be shoveled to the school. The side that seems better to shovel is the Visitor Center side since the school itself doesn't shovel their own path on Ridgefield Drive. There are safe cross-overs in front of the school. (Management will remain flexible on these issues as the needs change in community.)

One or two parking spots in the overflow lots should be used for snow piles. CONTRACTORS ARE NOT TO CLEAR OUT INDIVIDUAL PARKING SPOTS FOR RESIDENTS WHO MOVE THEIR VEHICLES FOR SUCH SERVICE. IT IS THE RESIDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY. If multiple spots are empty at the time the plows are there, the Contractor may clear them. Please don't shovel snow from around your vehicle and throw it back into the street. The snow should be placed in your yard, out of the way, not in the street and not on the sidewalks.

If snow accumulation is over 4", the same treatment will be applied as described above, and careful attention will be kept to the location of snow piles. Areas to be specifically avoided are mailboxes, fire hydrants and bus stops. Once accumulation reaches 4" or more, walking paths are to be cleared (one snow blower path) near the end of storm. As always, residents should use caution at all times. The contractor can't be here for every weather event. Please remember to NEVER use rock salt on any sidewalk or concrete surface. Rock salt severely damages concrete.

New Information on Filing Complaints

The Spring Ridge Conservancy Board of Directors approved new guidelines for residents who wish to make a complaint against another resident. The following is a list of information that is required:

1. No Anonymous Complaints. Management in the Visitor Center will not act upon any complaint that is anonymous, unless it is a health/safety issue.
2. All complaints must be in writing and list specific complaints.
3. All complaints must state the name, address, and telephone number for both the person/s making the complaint and the person/s for which the complaint is about.
4. Official complaint forms are available at the Visitor Center.

Up For Grabs

The Visitor Center is getting rid of the large, oak, community display table in our main entrance hall. The dimensions of the display table are 10.5 ft. long X 7.5 ft. wide X 42 inches in height. If you are interested in this display, please contact Richard at 301-620-0782 about placing a bid.

A Recent Email Response from the Community Manager: A Community Wake Up Call!

Thank you for the email. This year has seen a real change for the worse with regard to unsupervised teens causing problems on the property. I have heard about some vandalism and have witnessed the aftermath of vandalism to several common area features of the community. One of the things that the community can do is get more involved in the Neighborhood Watch Program. Lise O' Connell and others have been working hard to get this program up and running. It is a great program and places the responsibility back in the hands of where it belongs, the residents, the owners of the community. Often people want someone else to take on the responsibility of their neighborhood. But only the residents themselves can help rid loitering and vandalism.

Spring Ridge is not used to seeing vandalism but we are really like any other community. We have teens roaming around. We have many latch-key kids who are unsupervised and yes, we have parents who just don't care enough to get involved with what their teens are doing when they leave the house. Spring Ridge is not a gated community. But even if it were, most of the things that you reference and really most of the things that I am aware of, are being done by teens who live here.
The Board did approve this past Spring and Summer a limited role with a security guard company. We had kids fighting, drug dealings, drinking and promiscuous things happening at the basketball courts. Then the problems came up to the pools and so the guard patroled both areas. Once the pool closed, the Board decided to terminate the company. This was an unbudgeted expense for 2004 but some funds will be placed in the budget for 2005.

Spring Ridge is a great community but it is a real community with real life problems. One of the problems that I see is apathy, in general. I see it by the lack of new volunteers on the various committees, to survey responses, to limited voting turn out on board elections, to attendance at meetings, to wanting the Sheriff and management and/or security to control the teens.

The problem of the local Sheriff Department being able to assist is that there are few sheriff's and a big county for them to work. They have bigger problems to deal with than teens egging houses. The problem with management functioning as security is difficult because we are only on site Monday through Friday from 8 - 5 p.m.. The problem with hiring a security guard to police this huge property is that it would be very expensive and really several guards would be needed to cover the whole place.

The bottomline on this type of issue is that the parents and the homeowners need to get more involved and to put a stop to the mentality of wanting someone else to take the responsibility. Involvement with Neighborhood Watch is the only answer. The teens know that they can do whatever they want because they know that most adults are running around with their busy lives and not paying too much attention to things immediately around them.

The practical bottomline on the matter is that it is really up to the Board of Directors if they want to hire a security contractor. The Board has a copy of your email. Let's see what they have to say. Thanks for your email and for expressing your concern.

Attention: Joggers and Walkers

The Board of Directors were approached by a loyal jogger who made a great suggestion to place mileage indicator markers along the asphalt path way system. The Board thought that this was a great idea. Management will arrange to have 1/4 mile increment marks along the path way. Remember that we can't please everyone regarding the official starting point but it will most likely be somewhere near the Visitor Center along Spring Ridge Parkway.

November Recreation Committee News

The Mom's Club Fall Craft Festival was well attended and a lot o f fun! The children decorated spider webs made from spaghetti and used fall colors of bubble paint to make Halloween pictures. Thanks to Jessica McFarland for organizing the activities and for opening up her house for this event when it rained.

The Adult Halloween Party sold out quickly! Thanks so much to Diane Knaub and Tammy Jeanotte for organizing the event! The Recreation Committee welcomes ideas about a bigger facility for next year!

Thanks to Bill Lemmons for organizing the Spring Ridge Golf Outing!

As the holidays approach, the Recreation Committee officers' terms are coming to an end. We are seeking replacements. We've had a great year and have had great volunteers. The experience was rewarding! We look forward to meeting those eager community members willing to take our places! Call Susie Houston at 301.668.2205, email Dorothy Ellis at Dketge@aol.com, or just come to our next meeting on November 4th at 7:30 pm at the Visitor's Center!

Interested in forming a Spring Ridge Ski Club? Email Bonnie High at springridgepool@adelphia.net. Only 15 skiers are needed to be considered a club and receive discounts at three great mountains: Liberty Mountain, Whitetail Mountain, and Ski Roundtop. This is open to all ages. Skiing would begin after January 2, 2005.

Little Dribblers soccer was huge success. Seventy soccer players enjoyed learning the basic skills of the game. A BIG thank you to: Jeff Bebee, Dan Gudat, Bernie Kavanaugh, Bob Ordonio, Nathan Robyns, Rob Scherer, Dave Welsh, Keith White, and Mae Rupert for their help. And, THANK YOU to Ruby Scherer and J&P's for their generous donations. Karen Ritter organized this again-Good Job!!

The next Mom's Club event is scheduled for November 12th. Call or email Jessica at 301.695.4346 or seannjess@prodigy.net for details.

The FAN Club Gets Creative

The FAN Club will meet Thursday, November 18th at 7 p.m. at I Made This, located on East Street in Everedy Square. Choose from a variety of pottery pieces to paint as your own or give as gifts. Thursday is Ladies Night and all pottery is 20% off. Come and join us for a night of fun and friendship! For more information about the FAN Club, please call Donna Seely, Welcoming Chair at 301-624-1991 or Kathryn Prescott at 301-668-5870.

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