Don't forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, August 7 for this year's Crooked Lake Fun Day. The cookout/potluck starts at 5:00 p.m. at the home of Arleigh Smyrnios. Bring a dish to pass as hot dogs, hamburgs, drinks, table settings and condiments will be provided. Lots of nice raffle prizes and fun games for the kids and young at heart. We look forward to seeing you on August 7th. If it rains, the make-up date is Sunday, August 8th at the same time and location.
We hope everyone on Crooked Lake Texas will take the time to be a member of the Crooked Lake Texas Association. Dues for 2010 remain at $35.00 and cover the calendar year, Jan-Dec. 2010. Please send your check, made out to CLTA to CLTA Treasurer, 400 W. Crooked Lake Dr., Kalamazoo, MI 49009.
When you send in your check, along with your name, address and phone number, please include your email address. We don't publish or share your email with anyone but we want to keep an up-to-date email Contact List in case we need to communicate quickly to the lake residents. Last winter's break-ins was an example. Even if you choose not to join the Association, (although we hope you do), we would still ask that you supply us with your email address.
As residents begin to put in their docks and have their boats delivered from storage, please remember that if you use the Crooked Lake Market launch site you MUST contact the store in advance to make arrangements to have your boat put in. The CLM is not open 24 hours a day and they need your cooperation to avoid times when deliveries are being made and to be sure they are open. This is NOT a public launch site and residents cooperation is essential if we hope to continue to utilize this launch site. Also, please make sure that if your boat has been to any other body of water it is thoroughly cleaned before launching it into Crooked Lake. This is critical in preventing invasive plant and animal species from entering our lake. Everyone's cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Want to know what's cooking at the Crooked Lake Market? Interested in purchasing some Crooked Lake apparel? Well, we've added a new link to our web site where you can find these services and more. Just click on the Advertisements link on the left for some great offers!
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Lake safety is a very important and serious matter. On a smaller lake, such as Crooked Lake Texas, it is vitally important that all lake residents operate their watercraft safely. We strongly encourage you to click on the Michigan Boating Rules & Regulations link on the left-hand column and read the handbook carefully to familiarize yourself and your family with the Michigan Boating Laws.
And while safety is our #1 priority, protecting your wallet may also be motivation to operate safely. Do you know what some of the various fines and penalties are for violating Michigan Boating Laws? Here are some of the Civil Infraction Tickets:
In addition to these Civil Infractions, there are many Personal Watercraft (PWC) violations that are classified as Misdemeanors! These fines are set by a District Judge and can be very severe and far more costly than the civil infractions. In addition, a misdemeanor on your records can have serious consequences. So, please operate your watercraft safely and observe the laws and our lake's No Wake Zone in the channel.
Beginning with the April 2009, newsletter, we now have a link on our web site for you to read or download a PDF copy of our periodic newsletters. You can get to the link from the Table of Contents on the left-hand column.
This is a very difficult, and sad, item to report. Our well situation is slowly deteriorating. In the photo below, taken in July 2008, you can see the output we are currently getting from our well and pump. It's calculated to be around 450 gallons per minute. Fred Bowman is holding a ruler at the point in which the water should be reaching if we had an output of 1,000 gallons per minute.
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Over the last six years we have been trying to improve the well's performance through extensive cleanings and higher horsepower pump motors, but to no avail. The well's poor performance is due to the nature of its construction. The final conclusion is that a new well is needed if we hope to be able to adequately augment our lake level as we have been doing since the 1960's. The Crooked Lake Texas Association Board of Directors is working on this matter and will be communicating with the lake residents via newsletter in the coming weeks.
Last year, under the direction of Nancy Clark, we implemented a Purple Loosestrife Beetle Project on Crooked Lake Texas. The beetles, (raised by Vicksburg High School in conjunction with the Kalamazoo Nature Center), eat only Purple Loosestrife and have been successful in limiting the spread of this invasive plant in other wetland projects throughout Michigan. Thanks to voluntary donations, along with $250 from the Crooked Lake Texas Association, we were able to purchase a substantial number of plants bearing the beetles.
This year, again through donations and budgeted CLTA funds, we purchased another shipment of beetles. In the pictures below you will see evidence of what the beetles have done. Our thanks go out to Nancy for coordinating this effort and to all the lake residents who have contributed to this project.
| Bringing this year's batch of beetles to their new home. | Evidence that the beetles are doing their job. |
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| If you look closely, you can see one of the beetles | More proof of the beetle activity. |
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