In This Issue - September 2003
Yards of the Months
Summertime in Cypress Isles
Neighborhood Watch - Quiet Continues
Contact List
As the Clock Turns
Trick or Treat!
Animal Services: Frequently Asked Questions
Lightning Hits Home
Crape Myrtles and Fire Ants On-Line
Yards of the Months
For the messy months during the Attack of the Underdrains Project, no Yard
of the Month Awards were awarded.
However, the winner for August is:
Peter & Pattie Stacy
768 Spring Island Way
Congratulations on your exemplary yard!
Also during the construction period, eight Hats-Off letters were awarded,
and only five friendly-reminder doorknockers were delivered.
Chip Crane,
Architectural Review Committee
Summertime in Cypress Isles
Ahh, summer in Cypress Isles! It hasn't been too hot (for Florida), and
we haven't had any major problems with fires, drought, or rain. The entrance
lighting project is close to completion. The underdrain project, which was
necessary but awkward, has been completed with relatively few problems.
By the way, if the underdrain project left any lingering problems with the
restoration of your property, call Schuller directly at 407-855-5572, then
hit 0#. Your call will be sent to the operator, who is very helpful and
takes the information.
Our Homeowner Association has been conducting its normal business -property
maintenance and architectural review - throughout the summer without much
fanfare. The Board has been meeting every other month to make any decisions
that need to be made. The next meetings will be on September 16th and November
18th. Homeowners are welcome to attend these Board meetings, of course,
but the best way to interact with Board members is to contact us between
meetings by email or telephone. (See Contact List.)
But for now, I'm going out to the lanai to watch another beautiful sunset.
You should too.
Dennis Horazak, President
Neighborhood Watch - Quiet
Continues
And that's a good thing!
It's been a quiet summer on the neighborhood watch scene, with no reported
incidents. As a reminder - for non-emergencies, or an incident not "in
progress", do NOT call 911.
Call: 407-737-2400.
If you are a new homeowner please give one of us a call and give us your
phone numbers, and emergency numbers where you can be reached. We have Block
Captains and they will be calling you or e-mailing you in the event we have
something to report. Also, please keep your Block Captain updated with any
changes in your e-mail or phone number.
Neighborhood Watch Coordinators:
Cookie Symons - 407-273-5460
Myron Davis - 407-737-8200
Sandy Horazak - 407-207-6557
CORRECTION from last CI News
-
Your editor was having a brain freeze and erroneously published an old number
for the Orange County Sheriff's Non-Emergency Number. Please note that the
correct number is: 407-737-2400
As the Clock Turns
Remember last April when we sprang forward and lost that hour of sleep?
Well, soon you will be able to regain that hour of lost sleep (supposedly).
On Sunday, October 26 at 2 a.m. we return to EST - Eastern Standard Time.
This means you will turn your clock BACK one hour. So you can either set
your alarm to get up at 2 a.m. and make the change, or do it at a reasonable
hour later in the morning, or before you go to bed. No excuses for being
late the next day, like when Daylight Saving Time returns in the spring.
(yawn) And don't forget to change those smoke alarm batteries, if applicable,
and other things you may only do twice a year when the clocks change.
Trick or Treat!
Halloween seems like a long way off, but it's really just around the corner
and will be here before you can say "Boo!"
Trick or Treat night will be on Friday, October 31st (a.k.a. Halloween),
starting at 6 PM., ending at 9 P.M., or whenever the treats run out. Turn
your porch lights on and meet your neighborhood goblins.
Where to go? I'm glad you asked. Good rule of thumb, or foot, is: Porch
light on - go there. Porch light off - don't go there.
Trick-or-treaters: Watch out for vehicles and be extra careful because your
costumes can make it hard to see. Carry a flashlight to make it easier for
you to see, and for others to see you.
Drivers: Watch out for trick-or-treaters and be extra careful because behind
every bag of goodies is an excited child.
Moms and Dads: Those costumes are great; we have no idea who they really
are.
Everyone: Don't forget to check those goodies before eating them.
Watch for our next issue to find out when the judging for the Holiday Lighting
Contest will take place.
Animal Services: Frequently Asked
Questions
Love pets? Annoyed by your neighbors' pets? Wondering what to do about some
#@#%$# dog or cat? Then read on...
Here are some excerpts from Orange County Animal Services:
1. How do I contact Orange County Animal Services?
By telephone: (407) 352-4390 Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm.
In person: 2769 Americana Boulevard, Orlando (South of I-4, just west of
John Young Parkway)
2. Is there a "leash law" in Orange County?
The Orange County Code Chapter 5 defines "at large" as: "A
dog off the owner's premises, not under a person's control by means of leash,
cord or chain, and upon public or private property without the consent of
the property owner or tenant."
OR
"A cat which does not exhibit identification by collar and a current
rabies license tag."
HOWEVER,
"A dog under supervision and engaged in hunting or agricultural and
ranching tasks or a competition, trial or show shall not be considered at
large."
3. What can I do about cats on my property?
When nuisance animals are found on your property, first establish whether
or not there is an owner. If there is an owner, the best solution is to
try to work out an agreement with them. If the problem is not resolved,
you should call Animal Services for assistance.
4. What can I do about a dog that barks all of the time?
First, contact the owner and discuss the situation to see if you can resolve
the problem. If the nuisance continues, you can call Animal Services with
the owner's address, and we will mail the owner a letter advising them of
the nuisance their animal is creating. If the nuisance persists, you will
be directed to attend Citizen's Dispute Settlement Court, which is an arbitration
court that both you and the owner of the animal will be asked to attend.
Hopefully, the problem will be resolved at this session.
5. What can I do about an aggressive dog?
If you encounter an aggressive dog, you should call Orange County Animal
Services. If you know who the owner is, we will try to make contact with
the owner.
6. If my dog is lost, how do I look for it?
If you are missing your animal, there is always a chance that it was impounded
by Orange County Animal Services. Each animal that is impounded is held
for a minimum of 3 working days before it can be adopted, and a minimum
of 5 working days, if there is no request for adoption. We encourage you
to come down to the shelter and look for your animal. Only you know what
your pet looks like.
7. How much do fines cost?
Our citation fees vary according to the number of variables. The minimum
fine is $32 and the maximum fine is $257. These fines are per violation.
There are a total of 35 different violations in the current Orange County
Animal Services Ordinance.
8. What services does Orange County Animal Services provide?
Animal Services provides many services to the public including:
" Low cost or free Spay/Neuter Clinic
" Registration tag sales
" Rabies control
" Responsible Pet Education Class
" Code Enforcement
" Animal Shelter
" Targeted Community Initiative efforts
" Lost and Found listing
" Adoptions
For more FAQs from Orange County Animal Services, such as adoption policies,
dog tags & costs, please go to our website for the complete article.
Lightning Hits Home
Several homeowners were shocked and awed by the damage from recent thunderstorms.
Try not to let this happen to you.
Flash! Boom! (Rumble!) The July 31 thunderstorm hit hard as I ran to flip
the breaker to my computer, then considered looking for someplace to hide.
Our cats were way ahead of me, already hunkered down in their "bomb
shelters" under beds and in closet corners. This was a dangerous storm,
as advertised on TV, and although it only lasted for about 20 minutes, it
wrecked a lot of stuff.
After it was over, I noticed was that we had no phone service. After a phone-to-phone
search, we discovered that the storm had scrambled our answering machine
so that it stayed on the line, waiting for some message, I suppose. Once
we disconnected the deranged answering machine, we had phone again.
Next I noticed that none of our TVs worked except one (the oldest one -
go figure). Since we couldn't watch the local news to verify that we had
had a storm (duh!), we continued checking our electronic stuff. Everything
else seemed OK except for the lawn sprinkler control. The display that usually
showed the time was spastically flashing weird, alien symbols. I sighed
and unplugged it. When the sprinkler repairperson came, he plugged it back
in and the display worked fine, and replacing a blown 0.75-amp fuse made
the rest of the system work fine, too. I guess it just needed a little "rehab"
after that storm. Didn't we all.
During the week after the storm, we were on the phone to Progress Energy
for serious surge protection at the meter and at the outlets. Now we are
*so* surge-protected!
But enough about us. Some of our neighbors were also hit by the storm. In
one home a fax machine and a new computer were fried. But the big story
was at another house when another violent storm blew through the next week.
Lightning struck a palm tree next to the house, toasting their televisions
and blasting their sprinkler control unit totally across the garage! They
didn't even find the unit until after the fire department had arrived at
their smoke-filled garage. As it turns out, lightning hit the Christmas
lights in the upper fronds of their palm tree, and then traveled down the
wires to the rest of the house and garage. It also blew apart all the Christmas
lights, left there well beyond the expiration date for holiday lights (oops!),
but unnoticed among the large palm fronds. This home may have escaped the
watchful eye of our ARC, but it got the ultimate "door knocker"
from Mother Nature.
So now we're picking up the pieces and filling out the forms. And taking
down the lights.
To find out more about surge protection, contact Progress Energy at (888)
999-8856 or www.progress-energy.com. Oh, and take down your holiday lights.
Sandy Horazak, Senior Storm Editor
Crape Myrtles and Fire Ants
On-Line
Check out the Cypress Isle website for new articles on the care of crape myrtles and the war on fire ants.
Crape Myrtle in Florida should be interesting since we have a lot of Crape
Myrtles in Cypress Isles. Read how pruning the tips to remove old flower
clusters will promote recurrent blooming.
Area wide suppression of Fire Ants using Baits and Biological Control describes
the use of natural enemies to control fire ants.
The Orange County Extension Office offers advice on growing or maintaining
any plant in your home or garden. Call 407-836-7570 any weekday.
Jean Thomsin, Master Gardener
this page was updated 09/11/2003