Notice about new site launch for CWL

DOMAIN NAME MIGRATION

www.candlewick-lake.org

Candlewick Lake Email will be unavailable from Friday Feb 28 6:00PM - March 1st 6:00PM.

Changes have to be made to the domain due to launching the new Candlewick Website.

During this time, there will be no access to Email or WebMail or any applications such as Outlook Mail. 

If you have any questions contact Candlewick IT - 815 765 2827 Ext.210

ice depth & more

Chuck Hart, who fishes this lake as much as anyone here, mentioned to me Wednesday night that the ice thickness is now twenty two inches. I doubt anyone has ever seen it thicker, and more sub zero on the way!
Ken

Just another note, have you noticed Officer Tom jr. now has a girlfriend hanging around with him? They seem awful friendly! Maybe some more Tom juniors to come.

Barb Appelhans' pictures from the watershed meeting

Nathan Hill... researcher

Joe Rush... lake manager

Rebecca Olson... grant writer

Chuck Hart... chair of Lake management

Rich Witt explaining watershed areas

Small focus groups

Bonnie Marron explaining how to drink from a cup

Wednesday's watershed grant meeting

 We had a turnout of around 30, which was far less than for the Sheriff meet & greet but still not too bad. I have been told we are allowed to deduct $20.00 per volunteer hour for these meetings from our grant contribution so figure it out, this just saved Candlewick $600.00 for the first hour alone and it ran longer than that. Chuck Hart told me also that the next Lake Management meeting attendance will count toward our contribution since they will be discussing procedures for soil sampling and that is part of the grant work. Attendance is needed to help defray costs. The meeting will be March 13th. I will post the time later as a reminder.
  This meeting was chaired by Joe Rush (our lake manager), Rebecca Olson (our grant writer) and Nathan Hill (researcher). Each spoke on our progress toward the implementation grant and the necessity of finalizing the specific areas we will be improving with our first monies. Nathan showed a map of our watershed including the areas outside Candlewick that are planned for commercial and residential development and spoke of the impact this development will have on our lake in the coming years. We need to be ahead of the curve in our planning of wetlands, plantings, bioswales, and retention to minimize any impact of the development. Joe Rush has been speaking to the surrounding landowners in and attempt to have a rapport with them going forward in hopes we will have their cooperation in any surrounding projects we undertake. Rebecca spoke of our preliminary approval of grant funding for our implementation stage. It appears we will be receiving the grant but nothing is sure until the final signature. It will be a 60/40 grant with us paying the 40% of the $80,000 grant. That means our portion will be $32,000 from our pockets of which much can come from volunteer hours, both physical and at meetings. That is why attendance is so important.. plus you will be better in the loop regarding what is happening and when.
  We broke into smaller planning groups to decide which specific projects are feasible for the first year of implementation, then input from all groups will be compiled, and a consensus will come forward for the specific first year plan. That plan will be put together by Joe, Rebecca, and Nathan after which consultants will review the plan to be sure there are no problem areas.
  Initially it would appear we agree the bioswales and plantings are the main focus the first year, along with any other retention and filtration that can be worked into the plan. Most of the work will of course be done in the north and west end of the lake where our main infiltration of pollutants and nutrients occurs. Samples will be taken in the inflow areas so we will have a baseline from which to measure results as the plan is put into place.
  You can see this is a major undertaking and it will even include some samplings of Boone Lake shoreline since they are part of our downstream watershed.
  Our Lake Management commission is very heavily involved in this project and should be commended for the huge amount of time they are individually devoting to this. I congratulate and thank each of them. Without their help this would die.
  This post is long enough but you get the general idea. I am sure Dale Mediema will be writing a much more detailed article for your Candlewick paper so be sure to check that out.
  Ken

Gettin' pretty old

I have assured people the Candlewick website is about set to go. The problem is I have been assuring them for weeks now and it is still in development. There is no way it should take anywhere near this long to put together a website. We want all to be able to view the information that is to be there and this is what they see. Ridiculous. As soon as it is up and running I will let you know.    Ken

Weekly Public Safety report

Candlewick Lake Public Safety

WEEKLY REPORT

Week Ending 02/23/2014

Rescue Calls

Public Safety responded to the 100 block of Rockaway for a report of a subject having trouble breathing.  The subject was transported for treatment.

Public Safety responded twice to the 100 block of Minarette for a call to assist a resident who had fallen.  The subject refused treatment twice.

Disorderly Conduct

Public Safety responded to the East Gate for a report of a guest entering with ammunition and a gun on the dashboard of the vehicle. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the incident.

Public Safety responded to the 2500 block of Candlewick Dr. for a report of subjects possibly damaging mailboxes.  The call was determined to be unfounded.

Damaged Property

Public Safety responded to the 100 block of Hastings for a report of planters being damaged.

Traffic Crashes

Public safety responded to multiple calls of vehicles in ditches.

Traffic Citations        6

Ordinance Citations  2

Warnings Issued       19

Pictures from the Sheriff candidate meeting (thank you Barb Appelhans)

Rich Witt (moderator) and Sandy Morse

What a great turn out!

Some overweight guy speaking with Dave after the meeting

Channel 13 interviewing Phil (both men were interviewed)

A quick synopsis of Tuesday's Meet & Greet

I was more than a little surprised by the turnout. The count was 75 attendees. It was standing room only. The two candidates, Phil Beu and Dave Ernest, gave opening statements then took questions from the crowd. All were civil and it was a nice give and take. We had I believe two Rockford T.V. stations and two newspapers covering the event. Rich Witt did his normal fine job as moderator.
  Phil was the previous Deputy Chief of the Boone County Sheriffs' Department having left two years ago. He currently is working security for a bank as well as some work with the Rockford Police. Dave is currently Deputy Chief of Operations at the Belvidere Police Department. Both have extensive training and experience.
  I have decided who I think is best for the job but it is inappropriate for me to indicate that here. Below are some general candidate stands. Both agree there must be more co-operation between the Belvidere Police Department, the Sheriffs' Department, and our Public Safety Department and both intend to make that happen. On the question of concealed carry that is now legal in Illinois, both are for it. Both agree gangs and drugs are a major problem not only in our county but pretty much everywhere and they pledge to do all possible to combat it with a no tolerance stance.
  Phil intends to reallocate the Deputy patrol presence to have better coverage in the areas of most calls, meaning the Poplar Grove/Candlewick area. More population means more calls and we are the major population center of the county excluding Belvidere. Dave also intends to cover better and wants to have increased resident involvement in reporting and self policing communities.
  As a side note, there are currently 38 full time deputies in Boone County working twelve hour shifts.
  I asked no "at the mic" questions but after the session I approached both with something that has really stuck in my craw for some time. Deputies should never be assigned to our gates to write tickets for seat belt violations and I wanted to hear their stand on the issue. In my mind they should be patrolling, not entrapping our residents as they stop for the gate. Both agreed this is wrong and does not promote good feelings toward the department by our residents. Either one that wins, I will be right there reminding them of their comments here tonight if it ever happens again. I want that stopped. These are our private gates, not a means for them to raise funds.
Ken

By now you should have it.......

Please have them attend!

 The annual meeting agenda and proxy certificates were mailed last week and all should now have them. If you can attend the meeting, great! It would still be wise to drop off a proxy in case something comes up and you can't make it. That proxy will be voided anyway if you attend so no harm done. Be sure to sign your proxy. Unsigned proxies are not valid. It is important to have the proxies so we can have a quorum for the meeting. If the meeting can not be held and we will spend another $2,500 of your dues on a second mailing to get the quorum and we all know there are much better uses for that cash.
  Your meeting is Sunday, March 16, 1 p.m. at the Rec Center. I hope to see you there.
Ken

We just can not catch a break!

 I know we are not alone in this but it is still upsetting to see what this winter is doing to our roads, and what will happen with the thaw this spring. In one way we are fortunate that we held off on our road program last year due to the bids (or lack thereof) because now we have almost half a million budgeted for this year's work. We will need it! There will be areas in need of repair that last year looked like they would last for a while. Plans will be adjusted as necessary to accommodate the needs. Have you driven on Constitution lately? One spot on that road has dropped so much it is like a roller coaster. YUCH!
 Add to the road problem the fact the sewer pipe to the front gate has now frozen and broken. That means the guards can now not run water or use the rest room. This is another unexpected expense that must be fixed quickly. We will be fine financially but it seems like there are constantly unexpected items arising. Just hope and pray no more pipes break as the thaw comes and the ground shifts.
Ken

Your Sunday Smile... from Dale Mediema

A Minister passing through his church In the middle of the day, Decided to pause by the altar To see who came to pray. Just then the back door opened, And a man came down the aisle, The minister frowned as he saw the man Hadn't shaved in a while. His shirt was torn and shabby, And his coat was worn and frayed, The man knelt down and bowed his head, Then rose and walked away.   In the days that followed at precisely noon, The preacher saw this chap, Each time he knelt just for a moment, A lunch pail in his lap.   Well, the minister's suspicions grew, With robbery a main fear, He decided to stop and ask the man, 'What are you doing here?'   The old man said he was a factory worker And lunch was half an hour Lunchtime was his prayer time, For finding strength and power.   I stay only a moment Because the factory's far away; As I kneel here talking to the Lord, This is kinda what I say:   'I JUST CAME BY TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY. SO, JESUS, THIS IS BEN, JUST CHECKING IN TODAY.'   The minister feeling foolish, Told Ben that it was fine. He told the man that he was welcome To pray there anytime.   'It's time to go, and thanks,' Ben said' As he hurried to the door. Then the minister knelt there at the altar, Which he'd never done before.   His cold heart melted, warmed with love, As he met with Jesus there. As the tears flowed down his cheeks, He repeated old Ben's prayer: 'I JUST CAME by TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY. SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME, JUST CHECKING IN TODAY.'   Past noon one day, the minister noticed That old Ben hadn't come. As more days passed and still no Ben, He began to worry some.   At the factory, he asked about him, Learning he was ill.  The hospital staff was worried, But he'd given them a thrill. The week that Ben was with them, Brought changes in the ward. His smiles and joy contagious. Changed people were his reward.   The head nurse couldn't understand Why Ben could be so glad, When no flowers, calls or cards came, Not a visitor he had. The minister stayed by his bed, He voiced the nurse's concern: No friends had come to show they cared. He had nowhere to turn. Looking surprised, old Ben spoke up And with a winsome smile; 'The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, He's been here all the while.'   Everyday at noon He comes here, A dear friend of mine, you see, He sits right down and takes my hand, Leans over and says to me:    'I JUST CAME BY TO TELL YOU, BEN, HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP, AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN. I THINK ABOUT YOU ALWAYS AND I LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY, AND SO BEN, THIS IS JESUS, JUST CHECKING IN TODAY.'

Wednesday evening the 26th at 6:30, Rec Center.... stakeholders meeting. IMPORTANT!

Those in attendance at this meeting will be contributing to our portion of the grant money simply through their attendance. We are allowed to deduct from our portion a set amount for each hour each attendee is present so this is your chance to help pay for our portion of the grant to help keep our lake cleaner. Please consider attending.
Ken

Yes, there will be refreshments!

Candlewick Lake hosts a

Boone County Sheriff’s Candidates

Meet and Greet

Dave Ernest and Phil Beu

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

7:00PM – 8:00PM

Candlewick Lake Recreation Center

There will be a short introduction by each of the candidates followed by a question and answer session.

Refreshments will be served.

Open to all residents of Boone County.

Just keeps getting uglier......

How embarrassing is this for President Obama and Senate Democrats? 

As the enrollment period for ObamaCare sputters to a close, it turns out that in many key 2014 battleground states, more people received health care cancellation notices than have actually signed up under ObamaCare (and it wasn't really close). 

Have a closer look: 

North Carolina 
160,161 North Carolinians had selected an ObamaCare plan as of 2/1/14. According to the NC department of insurance, 473,724 residents received insurance cancellation letters thanks to ObamaCare.

Colorado 
68,454 Coloradans had selected an ObamaCare plan as of 2/1/14. According to the Colorado Division Of insurance, 335,484 residents received insurance cancellation letters thanks to ObamaCare. 

Michigan 
112,013 Michiganders had selected an ObamaCare plan as of 2/1/14. According to the Associated Press, 225,000 residents received insurance cancellation letters thanks to ObamaCare. 

Oregon
33,808 Oregonians had selected an ObamaCare plan as of 2/1/14. According to the Associated Press, 145,000 residents received insurance cancellation letters thanks to ObamaCare. 

Louisiana 
32,864 Louisianans had selected an ObamaCare plan as of 2/1/14. According to the Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, more than 92,739 residents received insurance cancellation letters thanks to ObamaCare. 

New Hampshire 
16,863 Granite Staters had selected an ObamaCare plan as of 2/1/14. According to reports, more than 22,000 residents received insurance cancellation letters thanks to ObamaCare.

I'm no mathematician, but it sure appears that in these pivotal states, 371,780 men and women signed up for ObamaCare while a whopping 1,293,947 people received notices that their health care plans were being canceled thanks to the law. 

It begs the question, how many of the people who signed up for ObamaCare did so because their plans were canceled? In other words, how many of the 424,163 actually got coverage for the first time?

Another proposed tax for Illinois!

Illinois Senate eyes soda tax

1 day, 18 hours ago from pantagraph.com

The new plan would add an extra penny on every ounce sold in sealed containers, along with the syrups and powders used to flavor them

From from pantagraph.com:

Illinois shoppers could find themselves paying extra for soft drinks under a proposed statewide soda tax.

The new plan would add an extra penny on every ounce of sugary drinks sold in sealed containers, along with the syrups and powders used to flavor them.

The tax is part of a broader plan to promote healthy living in Illinois, according to state Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, who sponsored the legislation. Revenue from the tax would go toward a range of health services and education initiatives.

"Numerous studies have linked excessive consumption of sugary soft drinks to obesity," Hunter said in an email. "We as a state need to do a better job of educating the public and children in particular about this issue and the health risks."

The proposal has drawn criticism from the Illinois Coalition Against Beverage Taxes — an alliance of manufacturers, retailers and union workers who say the tax would harm the economy and kill jobs in Illinois.

"You reduce consumption, and you reduce employment," said Brian Rainville, a spokesman for Teamsters Joint Council 25 in Chicago and northwest Indiana. "If there's less being made and distributed, there's fewer people doing those jobs.

"Politicians are always talking about creating middle-class jobs, and these are those jobs. These are the good, middle-class jobs that people want to create."

This is the grant I mentioned in the board notes.

Beaver Creek / Candlewick Watershed

Stakeholder Meeting

Help Improve The Future of YOUR Watershed

You’re Invited!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Candlewick Lake - Rec Center

Questions call 815 543-5695

This meeting will include updates on the current EPA Planning Grant. It is an opportunity for landowners and tenants within the watershed to provide input on the proposed watershed planning. We are working on a plan to improve the Beaver Creek/Candlewick Watershed and value your input.

Board meeting notes from 2/18/2014

As is now the norm, attendance was very light with 8 attending.

Open forum Had a couple comments on marketing our community. Pam Cangelosi wanted everyone to know the health department inspection of the Eagle's Next Cafe resulted on a 100% score, which is very unusual for a restaurant. Good job!

Our Treasurer's report indicated we are still in good shape with operating cash of $332,432.09, operating investments total $429,290.39, Road investments $364,569.25, and reserve investments $2,672,454.75. Total cash equals $3,798,746.47 at the end of January. Our income is about even with budget but our expenses are under budget by $26,000 so we are still looking good. We are in affect $26,000 to the good so far this fiscal year.

Lake Management reports they would like to test the water quality at the dip now and costs for testing are being checked. There is a stakeholders meeting February 26^th regarding the lake grant. More info to follow. Egg addling will start in March to help control the goose population. Volunteers are needed. There are plans to place more fish structure in the lake as weather permits.

The Rec Commission reports they are considering adding an evening water aerobics class, adult swim class, and morning lap swimming. There are 41 participants now in the CWL biggest loser program. The volleyball poles and net will be moved to Friendship Park this spring and plans are to put another bocce ball court at Savannah Oaks. Volunteers are needed to help build the dog park if it comes to fruition. There are plans to put a bookcase in the rec center for use as a lending library.

The Events Commission reports Phil Philbin and Penny Ball will be working together to organize the parade on July 5^th this year. There will be a sub-commission formed to handle this and Pam and Joe Cangelosi have agreed to help. The dues raffle is being held again this year. April 4 will be the date of the Lunch with the Easter Bunny Tickets will be $5.00 per person.

Candlewick will be hosting a meet and greet for the candidates for Boone County Sheriff. This will be open to the public on February 25 in the rec center at 7 p.m.

With regrets the resignation of Karl Steiskal was accepted by the board of directors. He has been a very valuable and active member of the board as well as an important factor in many of the events and activities here.

We had substantial write-off this month due mainly to foreclosures and Boone County taking over lots for tax delinquencies. These are beyond our control. The total is $66,815.71. Accounting adjustments were $112.50

An offer was accepted for an association owned lot. Edward Sherman made the cash offer of $750.00 and it was accepted.

A resolution was passed to replace the maintenance gate opener at a cost of $2,200 including labor.

After some discussion the board tabled the resolution to contract with Triple 7 Illinois LLC to install video gaming terminals in the Savannah Oaks clubhouse. The only cost to us will be $25.00 per year per machine for the license. This is an opt out agreement, meaning we can have them removed under certain circumstances with a sixty day notice to the company. Revenue will be split 25% to the state, 35% we keep, Triple 7 gets 35%, and Poplar Grove gets 5%. The proposal will again be brought up during the April meeting after we run a piece in the paper asking for comments. ( As a personal comment, Savannah Oaks is a big drain on our budget and any additional income will only help in our attempt to stem the losses. I am not a gambler but we have to be realistic in this situation)

All motorized vehicles on the lake must be registered and no guest vehicles are permitted but no fines were currently on the books for violations. A reso was passed setting the fines at $50.00 for not registering and $50.00 for non-resident motorized vehicles on the lake.

The Candlewick 2014 clean-up day is planned for April 26 depending on weather,

We have received preliminary grant awards for lake remediation and we already have the first check in hand in the amount of $28,625.00. This will provide fnnding for upcoming programs to help lake clarity. and cleanliness.

As usual these are strictly my meeting notes and for the official minutes please see the Candlewick Newspaper.

Ken

Weekly Public Safety report

Candlewick Lake Public Safety

WEEKLY REPORT

Week Ending 02/16/2014

Rescue Calls

Public Safety responded to the 1000 block of Candlewick Dr. for a report of a subject having trouble breathing.  The subject was transported for treatment.

Public Safety responded to the 1200 Candlewick Dr. for a subject feeling ill.  The subject was transported for treatment.

Public Safety responded to the 100 block of Ambrose who suffered a back injury.  The subject was transported for treatment.

Suspicious Person

Public Safety responded to a report of a suspicious person selling paint in Candlewick Lake.  It was determined he a resident and was warned for soliciting.

Traffic Crashes

Public safety responded to reports of several cars in ditches.

Citations Issued
11 Traffic

3 Parking related

3 Property Related Citations

Warnings Issued 18

Never tried the Eagle's Nest?

Take a look. What a gorgeous place for a nice dinner. (Good prices too!) Ken

Notice the blazing fire on the right

Stolen picture from Facebook

Take a look at this Crappie. The thing is the size of a bass and in this cold water the fillets will be firm and tasty. Tom Pinkowski sr. gets a lot of these slabs. They are in our lake, the secret is knowing how to tempt them to bite!
Ken

Town Hall... fourteen came to the meeting

 Candlewick is home to just under 5,000 people. The Town Hall Saturday drew a total of 14. A pretty small sample of opinions. Six board members were in attendance so it was almost one member for each two attendees.
  I said I was going to try to stop the Town Halls if at lease 20 didn't attend. I may have to rethink that position.
  There were a couple people as usual who just wanted to re-hash issues that had already been covered but I must admit there was also some productive discussion on a couple topics.
  Time was spent discussing why our homes are not more prominently featured and pushed harder when they on the market. Don Parisi brought up a number that surprised me. Don is a realtor and said last year 91 properties were sold in Candlewick. Sure, part of them were foreclosures, but that is still a lot more sales than I would have guessed. Realtors have difficulty meeting with prospective buyers because they can't simply call in guests and meet them at the property. They have to meet at the office or some other location then go to the home. The suggestion was made to allow realtors to call in guests to a specific property when it is to be shown. Marketing was discussed, and there was agreement we should be marketed as a recreation community with all the included amenities stressed. It was a good discussion that led into another related area.
  We are currently working on a re-write of the Rules & Regs. We are trying to get rid of silly rules and put teeth into areas that need to be corrected. One of those areas is maintenance of properties by owners and residents. All agree we need to step up enforcement of violations on properties that have become eyesores. Our deputy chief was there and knows we want this to happen. An attractive, well kept community will add to the property values as a whole. We all know that and going forward we intend to gain in that area.
  There will always be problem properties, such as foreclosures or those close to foreclosure and bankruptcy, when we can issue all the citations we want and there will be no changes because some people just don't care. This will never be perfect but we can always work to improve.
Ken

Our Candlewick Missionary

I have mentioned Karen Burke here before. She is a missionary/teacher in Trinidad. This is her second term there and she is dedicated to spreading the word. We can be proud of her. 
 Ken
(click the link below to see the kindergarten class)
This clip does not have to be downloaded to view it.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o0u25wlimw&feature=share

Interesting facts from a finance board

Your Sunday Smile!

February 18 Board agenda

Today, Saturday, is the day

Our "Town Hall" meeting is at 2 this afternoon at the rec center. If we don't have at least twenty people in attendance I am going to try to get these stopped as a waste of time. I have never been one to have meetings just to have meetings. We'll see what happens but believe me, as a board member we have plenty of meetings without adding extras.
Ken

My apologies for slow responses

 It seems my Candlewick View email account locked up without my knowledge and suddenly Friday the 14th I received a whole string of emails dating back several days. I was not ignoring you folks who are kind enough to write, I just didn't see the emails.
Ken

I have always been a romantic

 It started so nicely. Fran met me in the hallway this morning and gave me a little kiss, wishing me a "Happy Valentines Day." She then reminded me this is our fiftieth Valentines Day together. We were dating on the first one.
From there things went downhill. She asked if I remember the first card I bought her. An uneasy feeling crept into my lower stomach. Do you remember what it said? She asked.
I don't remember the verse but I knew what was coming. She told me she remembers it well. We were driving down Blackhawk Road south of Rockford when I handed her the card and told her to open the glove compartment so she could see it with the light.
As she reminded me again today, the card was one you would give to parents. I guess I just liked the picture or something about it but she is sure I didn't read the verse. 
I don't know if I got her anything else but that card has been the baine of my existence every Valentines day for fifty years now. Hey, at least I got her a card and it must have worked. We are still married and I know I am the lucky one.
Even the Naysayers know it. Some time ago one of them made the statement that Fran has to be a saint to have stayed with me. (He was right!)
Ken

Military Amigos

 I don't have a lot of information about this event but Barb Appelhans was kind enough (as usual) to provide us with some pictures and information. The Eagle's Nest Cafe allowed it's use as a space for a vet to choose his therapy dog.

Therapy dogs

Jorge Rodas from the 23 news. The Eagles nest café  hosted.

The veteran and his family choosing their dog.

Chris Marron CWL resident and President of Military Amigos with his dog.