Here is the Elk Grove Press Release about the national event"

ELK GROVE UNITES FOR NATIONAL NIGHT OUTElk Grove, CA– Nearly 40 communities within Elk Grove are teaming up with the Elkrd for the 27th annual National Night Out

Grove Police Department on Tuesday, August 3

celebration. National Night Out is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness,

generate support for and participation in local crime prevention programs, strengthen

neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and send a message to

criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Throughout the city of Elk Grove, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., residents are asked to

spend the evening outside with their neighbors and police officers. The National Night

Out party is a simple way for people to meet one another, have fun and explore how

they might work together to improve the safety and quality of their neighborhoods. For

additional information about National Night Out, please contact Crime Prevention

Specialist Denise Costello at (916) 478-8117 or David Feinberg (916) 478-8130.

For the neighboorhood watch block captains,  you are asked to come to the park for set up at 5:00pm.   If anyone has a  pop-up shade  or a table available,  please arrange to bring them that evening.

Friday is a preview of these Highland Games.    If you think you may want to go, you won’t want to miss this free preview at the Arbour Lodge on July 30, 2010 at 6:00PM.   If you aren’t able to attend the actual games in Pleasanton, come see video, hear a bagpipe performance and learn more about the individual events.

The games include:

Athletic Heavy Events (for both men and women)

Rugby and Shinty

Soccer

Piping and Drumming

Dancing

Celtic Heritage

Sheep Dog Trials

Birds of prey demonstrations and exhibits

Musical Entertainment

Historical re enactments

Kilted Mile race

Clydesdales

Children’s Glen

Whiskey tasting

Ceilidh

Gathering of the clans

And a Grandstand show

There will be  msny vendord and  British and American Food at the Highland Games.

This is a very sad and distressing story for all of us animal lovers. On the one hand, we want animals to be treated kindly; on the other, a runaway population of feral cats could spell disaster for songbirds and other canal wildlife.

I would like to urge folks in Glenbrooke to please keep their own cats indoors. I have seen several pet cats in the canal while trapping. I am afraid one of these will wind up in my trap and I won't know how to contact the owner (these cats are wearing no identification that I can see). I am also worried that the housecats could fight with the feral cats or catch disease from them. Then, too, housecats kill a lot of songibrds whenever they can catch them.

This feral cat issue is a real problem I am trying to address in a humane way on a small scale.   If you have any questions, please call me for more information (685-0603). Thank you - Peter Gaffney.

On July 25 Peter asked that we post the following Flyer:

FERAL CATS TRAPPED IN THE WHITELOCK PARKWAY CANAL

Residents whose backyards face the Whitelock Parkway canal have recently noticed a sudden increase in the population of feral cats in the canal area. In response, we have begun a trapping program to humanely remove these animals. Using a Have-a-Heart trap (see photos above), we have safely captured the mother and three of the kittens. There may be three or four more kittens, so the trapping will continue in hopes of capturing all of the cats. The captured cats have been turned over to Elk Grove Animal Services, who in turn takes them to the SPCA for placement if possible.

Feral cats are a real problem for several reasons:

• · They kill native songbirds and waterfowl
• · They carry disease and can spread it to domesticated pet cats through fighting or other contact, usually nocturnal
• · They reproduce frequently and will quickly overrun a neighborhood.

PLEASE KEEP YOUR PET CATS INDOORS, AT LEAST AT NIGHT, AND PUT A COLLAR WITH IDENTIFICATION ON YOUR CAT. IF YOUR CAT WINDS UP IN THE TRAP, WE NEED TO KNOW WHO OWNS IT SO WE CAN RETURN IT TO YOU!

PLEASE CALL PETER GAFFNEY (685-0603) IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!

“We have found that people need to experience first-hand what living in a Del Webb community is all about,” said Deborah Blake, National Marketing Director for Del Webb, adding that the program expansion is in response to feedback from over age 55 homebuyers planning their next stage in life. “A sales presentation is just not enough for these savvy consumers. They need to see and feel it. That means real access to talk to residents on their own, workout in the fitness center or play a round of golf.”

Through the Explore Del Webb program, prospective residents (ages 55 and older) can sample the lifestyle at their leisure through all-access day passes, onsite vacation villas, and reduced-rate stays at nearby hotels. Previously offered at select communities, the new Explore Del Webb program is now available at nearly 50 communities in 20 states.

Participants can immerse themselves in the Del Webb lifestyle and gain an appreciation for the vibrant rhythm of life at a Del Webb community. Starting with a work-out in the world-class fitness center, a few laps around the pool and catching up on the day’s news in the reading area at the amenity center, a prospect can more clearly envision what their life would be like as a neighbor in the community.

“We have known for years that the best way to sell Del Webb is by connecting our current residents with someone considering the move,” said Blake. “This goes beyond just living in a home on a street in a great neighborhood; this is about embracing a lifestyle that can inspire life’s most exciting possibilities: A life where the residents are active, social, and vibrantly engaged people who want to be neighbors with someone in a similar stage of life.”

For the full press release, click here.   For the Del Webb "Explore" page, click here.

GCA Board Agenda

Don't let this one slip up on you.    The GLENBROOKE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING will be July 21, 2010 at 2:00 PM in the Arbour Lodge.  Here is the Agenda (labeled as daft(?)

GLENBROOKE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

July 21, 2010 – 2:00 PM

Arbour Lodge

DRAFT

I.          CALL TO ORDER

a.         Roll call & establish a quorum

b.         Certify Proof of Notice

c.         Approve Agenda

d.         Approve Minutes of April 21, 2010 Board of Directors Meeting

II.        REPORTS

a.         President’s Report

b.         Treasurer’s Report – April, May, June

c.         Committee Reports – DRC, Nominating Committee, Communications Committee

d.         Lifestyle Director’s Report – Pickle-ball Shared Interest Group Application

e.         Management Violation Report

III.       OPEN FORUM

Owners have the right to speak to the Board. This period is devoted to comments by owners and discussion of those comments.  Except in emergencies, no action may be taken upon a matter raised under this item of the agenda until the matter is placed on an agenda as an action item.  To accommodate all members, please try to keep your comments to three minutes.

IV.       UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a.       Website Update

V.        NEW BUSINESS

a.       Release of Assessment Security Bond No. BSBEA8791

b.      Release of Assessment Security Bond No. BSBEA8792

c.       Ballot Opening Timeline Change-Celeste

d.      Resolution 2010.007 – Appointment of Jennifer Jensen, CPA as Inspector of Elections

VI.       NEXT MEETING – Annual Meeting of Members August 18, 2010 – 6:00 PM

VII.     ADJOURNMENT

Mary Weatherill has found a little white dog.    Looks SIMILAR to the picture to the left (of Bella Spooner) but does not have that much apricot coloring.  It also has more of a pug type face and a thin black collar.    Call Mary if you know anything about this dog.  Mary 686--3390

You are asked to bring your favorite Mexican inspired dish to share - or  a dessert.    We will have all the fixings for burritos, tostadas, soft tacos or you can make a salad  and add  your choice of ranch or salsa dressing.   Of course a Fiesta Night would not be complete without nachos.      There will be coffee, water and iced tea but you may want to bring your choice of beverage.   MINGLES will provide the paper goods.

Following the buffet, there is usually a group that plays cards –  all are  welcome to play.  Some like to sit and visit over coffee and dessert,  still others may choose to enjoy the pool area  or challenge a neighbor to a game of billiards.

If you have a neighbor that doesn't use the computer, or a new neighbor,  please help us spread the word by inviting them to the event.

A 32-piece orchestra playing the music of Johann Strauss, Jr., will provided the music for choreographed dances with their stunning period costumes and backdrops.

The event is free but parking is $10.00 per car.    We will meet at the Lodge at 5:30 to car pool over to the park.  That will give us time to relax, eat dinner and be ready for the 7:00PM Grand Parade.

The Glenbrooke groups will have a specific area reserved for wonderful viewing of all the activities.  This is a very popular event and we are going to get priority numbers the night before.  We must have an accurate count so we can reserve enough space.   Please sign up in the special events binder located on the table as you enter the lodge.  There will be a sheet under both SINGLES and MINGLES.    All Glenbrooke residents are welcome!

Attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite drinks, dinner or snacks and lawn chair or blankets.  There will also be food booths available.  Don’t forget to bring a sweater for those chilly evening breezes and a flashlight for the walk back to the car.

Others are surely better informed, but based upon my review, I’d have a few specific suggestions for our management company.  I think they should use a little more care in preparing financial reports – and probably have an additional person proof read them before publication. I also think that they should do a better job with general ledger descriptions – seeing items labeled “give something back” (hundreds of them), or even labeled with just a staff person’s name, neither gives a positive impression nor helps understand what the entry is about.
I also think the treasurer’s job may entail a lot of work for an unpaid position, and it would be worthwhile to form a finance committee to assist them to ensure  we receive full value for our assessment dollars.
This brings to an end my investigation of the association’s 2009 finances, and overall I’m reassured to NOT find major problems. It's been so much fun that I'm tempted to start looking at 2010.

Don was in the Air Force for twenty-two years.  One year he served as a Low Light-level Television Operator and Fire Control Officer on the AC – 130.   A four-engine flying artillery platform,  the aircraft was nicknamed “The Angel of Death” due to the shape the anti-missiles made.   Don will describe the men, machines, and tactics used in flying over Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

For more information or if you have an experience you would like to share with your neighbors, please call Don Marler at 684-6654. To visit  the TELMAS website, click HERE