Hand/Hay Lakes Association Newsletter Spring 2010 Logging has Left a Big Mess Greg Falconer reports that the wooded area at the entrance to the Hay Lake road has been logged off. The result is a mess and an eyesore. The logged land is county land, not state land so it is not clear what role, if any, the DNR plays. The county routinely awards logging contracts on its county land. It is not clear just how or which parcels are picked for logging or how the logging contracts are awarded. It is also not clear if the logged area is replanted. Look for a follow up to this story in the next newsletter. Lakes Association News The lake association ROAD CLEAN-UP will begin at 9:00 a.m. on May 8th, 2010. You will want to bring your own trash bag, gloves, and good boots. Safety vests will be required this time around. Duane Larson will have some for distribution. The vests will have to be returned at the end of the clean-up. A DIRECTORS MEETING will be held immediately following the road clean-up. The Logging at Entrance to Hay Lake Road meetings are usually held at the Long Pine Store. All members are welcome. The Hand/Hay Lakes Association ANNUAL MEETING will be held at 9:00 a.m. at the Ponto Lake Town Hall at 1538 State 84 NW. Officers and Directors are to be elected. GREG FALCONER reports that his place on Hay Lake was burglarized in January. Fortunately, the family was able to track down and locate some of the stolen items. Two of Falconer s neighbors were also burglarized. The Cass County Sheriff has two young men in custody and a third has been located. There were four men involved and all live in the general area. If anyone has been broken into it should be reported immediately to Sheriff Tony Syr (218-821-0515) as [Lake continued on page 3] DENNIS BOLSTAD passed away on Tuesday morning (3/30) at home. He and Nora have the home next to Cindy Paulson (his mother) in Samuelson's bay. There will be a service to celebrate Dennis' life on April 10th, but there are no other details at this time.
Officials of the Lakes Association Officers President Dustin Mirick V. President Scott Parr Secretary Lars Larson Treasurer Joyce Arvidson Directors Hand Lake Indian Point Robert Theisen 2010 Haleys Haven Sherril Kampa 2010 At Large Patricia Epling 2010 Directors Hay Lake Pat Francis 2010 Greg Falconer 2011 Amy Braillier 2010 Rick Pope 2011 Past Presidents Duane Larson, Dennis Haley, John Waters,Dale Johnson, Dusty Mirick, Dick Stensrud, Pete Kampa, Wayne Lee, Andy Droen The Hand/Hay Lakes Association Newsletter is published three to four times per year or as needed. Spring (mid April), Summer (early June), Fall (early September), and Winter (December). News, articles, photos, ideas, can be emailed to pcourneya@tds.net. Important Dates May 8, 2010 9:00 am Road Cleanup A directors meeting will follow the road cleanup. May 15, 2010 Walleye Fishing Opener May 29, 2010 9:00 am Annual meeting Ponto LakeTown Hall May 31, 2010 10:45 am Memorial Day service Ponto Lake Cemetery July 4th, 2010???, Boat Parade. Date for the boat parade will be decided at the annual meeting. From the Editor Dear Lakes Association Members, My name is Paul and I will be your newsletter editor for the next twelve months. I have not been involved in association business for many years so this is an exciting position for me but also a very challenging one. So, I will need much help and support from you. It is important to understand that this is your newsletter. It is not mine. The newsletter is a reflection of what you put into it. I don t manufacture the news and I don t report the news. I edit the news. You are the reporters. I expect all those who are engaged in association projects will provide a news release to me for publication If you want to submit an article for the publication, great! Contact me. If you have some information or news but don t want to write an article, that s fine too. Contact me, tell me what you know and I will take it from there. If you just have an idea for the letter, excellent! Contact me and let me know. Feel free to send information by typing it into the body of an email or send by file attachment. I can open just about any kind of file. Photos are welcome. You can also send by snail mail or just call me. Paul H Courneya pcourneya@tds.net 1102 Johnson Ave So Bloomington, MN 55437 952 881 8219 1388 Shadywood Shores Drive NW Pine River, MN 218 947 3568
Sightings News from the DNR Name the Newsletter Al Shamp, reports that he spotted a black bear behind the big garage at the Courneya cabin. Last summer, while building Courneya s new cabin, Al said he saw the bear meandering around near Courneya s new big garage. Be sure to watch for bears this summer. Wayne Lee reports that he saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers at his Hand Lake shoreline on and off all day Tuesday (March 30) and on Wednesday they were joined by another pair. He is hoping they are eyeing the two wood duck houses on the shoreline. Sightings will be a regular column in this newsletter. Let the editor know of anything that might be of interest to readers that you have witnessed. Take Pictures! News from the Township A MEMORIAL DAY SER- VICE will be held at 10:45 a. m. the Ponto Lake Cemetery. By now you have received your Notice of Valuation and Classification of your lake property from the Cass County Assessor. If you have a concern about the valuation of your property, the LOCAL BOARD OF APPEAL will be held at 10:00 a.m. April 13th at the Ponto Lake Town Hall. The current fire danger index for the Backus, Pine River area is already set at Moderate. The warm weather and rapid melt has brought the index up much sooner than usual. There have already been several fires. Burning permits are required. While walleye fingerlings were released into the Hay lake last fall (2009), the DNR released fry into Hand Lake that same spring. Duane Larson reports that the DNR will release another batch of fry in years 2011 and 2013. Netting done in 2014 will see if the right age groups are present. This newsletter needs a name and a banner. The newsletter needs something catchy. How about Lake Reflections or Lake Waves"? Hand/Hay Lakes Association Newsletter just doesn t do it. It also needs a banner. That is the strip across the top of the first page. Everyone, put on your creative thinking cap and think of a good name for the newsletter. Email it to the editor at this address. pcourneya@tds.net [Continued from page1] these men are being sentenced in late April. The Falconer family is very disturbed by the break in and may take further action to prevent crime on the lake. They are installing security devices and are proposing gating their spur of the road. The Lakes Association needs your help The lakes association annual meeting will be held on May 29th. At that time officers and some directors will be elected. Elected is somewhat of a misnomer because whoever volunteers for a position is usually elected. The positions are, in essence, volunteer positions and the election is just a formality. The problem is, no one ever volunteers and the positions revert back to the previous officers. It is time for members to step up to the plate and volunteer. Usually the Vice President steps up to become President but all positions are open, President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasure. Some officers have held their positions for years because of no volunteers. It is time to let those officers take a break. None of the positions are difficult or take a lot of time and there is much help available. There is no need to shy away from this. When volunteers are asked for at the upcoming annual meeting, everyone s hand should go up.
May 2, 2009 Hand / Hay Lakes Association annual meeting minutes The meeting was called to order by the president, Dustin Mirick at 9:05AM with 40 members present. The minutes of the 2008 annual meeting were read by the secretary M/S/P Terry Tallackson / Jerry Konrad, to approved the minutes as read. A five minute recess was called by the president for the purpose of caucusing to select directors for the two year terms. The following are the officers for 2009: President, Dustin Mirick Vice President, Scott Parr Secretary, Lars Larson Treasurer, Joyce Arvidson Directors Hay Lake Pat Francis Greg Falconer Amy Braillier Rick Pope Director Haleys Haven Sherril Kampa Indian Point Robert Theisen At large Patricia Epling M/S/P Robert Theisen / Mary Gabe, to cast a unanimous ballot for all candidates. The treasurers report was given by Joyce with the following Beginning Balance 1/1/2009 $4,645.99 Income for 2009 $1,090.00 Expenses thru 05/22/09 $2,012.99 Ending balance 06/01/09 $3,723.00 Wayne Lee gave a report on the newsletter. He will continue the roster and Amy Braillier will do the news letter. A discussion was had about the newsletter and what should be in included. It was suggested that the directors meeting minutes be included in the newsletter. A report on the lake level on Hand Lake was given by Lee Theisen. He stated that the lake level is holding within the parameters that the association agreed upon. Lars gave a report on the news within the township. The hospital at Ahgwaching is progressing with the underground and the demolition taking place. The township is partnering with he Long Pine store for a WiFi connection that will be available at the store location 24/7. There will be a Memorial Day service at the Ponto Lake cemetery on Monday, May 25. Rick Pope gave a report on the possible walleye stocking. The price would be approximately $1.45 for
fry that would be about an inch long and $2.25 each for fingerlings. It was discussed as the survival rate would be better with the fingerlings that is the way we should proceed. There will be $1,500.00 available as matching funds for each of the two lakes. The boat parade will be held on July 4th with July 5th being the alternate date in case of bad weather on the fourth. We will have two trophies for pontoon entries and two for boat entries. Duke Broughten, the warden from Longville was a scheduled speaker but failed to show. A Drawing for door prizes was held. The following are the winners: Book on Loons Joyce Arvidson Weather Radio Mary Goldstrand Subscription to Cabin Life Jerry Konrad Dustin Mrick told about a meeting at Deep Portage on Sept. 19th. M/S/P Amy/ Arlen to adjourn at 10:10 am. Respectful Submitted, Duane Larson, Secretary The Ice is Gone Duane Larson reports the ice on Hand Lake started going out on Tuesday, March 30th with a split down the middle from the North Bay towards Indian Point and all the ice to the north moved to the northwest side of the lake driven by a strong south wind. On Wednesday morning, the wind shifted to the north and by afternoon, it had shifted to a strong west wind that took out most of the ice on the lake. The only ice on Thursday morning was in the South Bay, the Resort Bay and Joyce Arvidson was holding onto some along her shore so basically, the ice out was probably Thursday as by afternoon, the bays were mostly ice free except tight to the south shores. Larson saw a boat cruising the lake on Thursday afternoon but as yet, had not heard or seen a loon. The ice went out on Ponto Lake, Lake Ada and most likely on Hay Lake Friday April 2. Dues for membership in the Hand/Hay Lakes Association are collected in the spring of each year. Dues for 2010/2011 are $10.00 Fill out this form and mail it along with dues of $10.00 to Joyce Arvidson, Treasurer, 584 Shady Shores TR NW, Pine River, MN 56474. Name Address City State, Zip Phone Email Lake Address Lake Phone
Paul Courneya 11024 Johnson Ave S Bloomington, MN 55437