amsgate Jane Horton, Editor 843-5073 jm.horton@epbfi.com RDECEMBER 2016 news board at work d Annual Meeting plans are underway, with budgets, projections, and project lists being created. d The end-of-year letters, which will include the invoice for 2017 dues, will be mailed in mid-january. The Annual Meeting will be held at Burks United Methodist Church, tentatively on Thursday, February 23rd at 7 PM. d The hollies along the Parkway will be trimmed in December. If you live along the hollies, please be thinking of whether you want Outdoor Inc to trim your side of the trees while they re here. You ll receive dates/prices in the near future. d The clubhouse and pool light poles have been refurbished and we re just waiting for the light fixtures to finish the project. Please be patient with us. d Chairman Jim Chastain warns that the pond fountains may need to be turned off if we don t receive significant rain. When the water level gets too low, the fountain pumps can t work efficiently. home on the market. They will be moving to Florida for Tony s work. Although they hope the house will sell soon, they also hope Andrew (3rd grade at Big Ridge) will be able to finish out the school year here. d A big Thank You to Dolores Wolfe for putting up the Christmas décor at the entrance, despite no longer living in Ramsgate. Their son and daughter-in-law, Chris & Tracey Wolfe, still live here and Dolores made decorating a family affair. d Please remember to tie your dog poop bag closed before you put it in the poop trashcan. neighborly news d Justin Winchester (David & Rhonda)) graduated in May with his MBA from UTC. He still works for Volkswagen in cost accounting. He s very excited about the new SUV! He also got married in July he s a busy guy! He decided he might like a little breather before taking on the CPA exam, but his dad won t let him wait too long! d We have several teens that babysit in the neighborhood. They include Rachel Lane (16 y/o, certified) at 847-9260; Jenny Gray (17 y/o) at 208-3412; Leah Gray (15 y/o) at 289-0126 (David) or 645-8048 (Jean); and Maggie Martin (15 y/o, certified) at 443-6495. d Tony & Camille Abboud (6331 Cheswick S) have their
shop really local We have several small, retail businesses owned by Ramsgate residents, as well as a few new businesses in the immediate area. Keep them in mind as you do your Christmas and holiday shopping and help keep them in Hixson. d Adorn her with handmade jewelry! Karen Chastain started making jewelry thinking she d sell some on Etsy under her MollyJune Creations brand. She now has a display at Hunt & Burrow in East Brainerd and most recently started selling in the gift shop at Barnsley Resort! But you can shop right in the neighborhood by selecting from her inventory or asking her to custom make something for a special someone. Karen is having a very rare home sale of her wholesale jewelry just in time for Christmas. The sale will be Sunday, December 18th from 1 5 pm. Call Karen at 423-834-5908. d Protect those Christmas presents! Ryan Rottman (Knightsbridge) will design and install a surveillance camera system for your home. See his ad. d Christmas parties or headed out of town? Teen Maggie Martin recently distributed fliers about her baby and pet sitting business. 443-6495 cell/842-1761 hm. She s certified by the Red Cross for babysitting and has had pets all her life. d Put your initials on it! Kathy Martin does sewing and embroidery, including monograms. Although it s too late to order for Christmas, be thinking about Mother s Day, Easter and graduations. She does beautiful t-shirt quilts. Contact her at 842-1761 or MaggieDoodles (Stornoway Ln) on Facebook. d Take a coffee and cookie break from shopping at Sourdough Cuppa Joe, on Hixson Pike (used to be Nann s Custard). Although there is limited seating, it s a cozy place to take a break, and they offer wonderful sandwiches and baked good to go. d If you re looking for inexpensive bling to stuff in a stocking, check out the jewelry at Southern Charms at the strip center at 6401 Hixson Pike (it has the liquor store and Wolfe Chiropractic). Everything is $5. Please peruse all the ads in this newsletter. All are either independent businesses or managed by local residents. When you use one of them, please mention that you saw their ad in the Ramsgate newsletter. Also, I m sure I missed several residents who should be on this list. Please contact me and I ll highlight you in the February newsletter.
holiday safety If you re expecting a package from UPS, FedEx, etc, you can track it online to get a very good estimate of what day/time it will be delivered. We ve had trouble in the past with thieves stealing delivered packages off front porches, so try not to let it sit there too long. Be neighborly by calling your neighbors when you see a package on their porch. d Tell a trusted neighbor if you re leaving town during the holidays. They can keep an extra watch on your house. Make sure your newspaper, mail, and trashcans are picked up. Put some interior lights on a timer. Use your house alarm. Close your garage blinds. d Park your cars in the garage if at all possible. If not, remove/hide all valuable items, even CDs and loose change. Lock your car. d Keep your house doors locked. Keep your garage doors closed. If you keep your garage door open a little for a pet, make sure a small person can t squeeze underneath, which has happened in Ramsgate. d Mall shopping is getting a little more dangerous with some recent thefts at shopping areas. Take your packages out to your car before you re loaded down with several, making you an easier target for someone to snatch and run. Pay attention to your surroundings, so no cell phone and have your keys in your hand (so you can use the emergency alarm if needed). If you plan to return to the mall after dropping them off, put them in the trunk and move your car to another side of the mall. Thieves may be watching and waiting for you to go back into the mall before breaking into your car. It only takes a few seconds for them to get your gifts. d Don t hesitate to ask a mall/store security guard to walk you out to your car. That s part of their job.