Sheriff's Department contacted me and asked that I help communicate to lake residents that there has been a rash of home invasions recently on Crooked Lake. The houses that have been targeted are those that are unoccupied at the time due to vacations or winter residency in another location. The break-ins appear to be occurring around 3:00 a.m. They usually break a window to make their entry. Often times the break-in is not discovered until the residents return home, which could be weeks after the fact. At this time the Sheriff's Department does not have any leads.
It behooves all of us to safeguard our homes and to help out our neighbors who may be away. We should try to make the home look as though it is being occupied, for example keeping the driveways shoveled, putting timers on our lights, etc. If you see any suspicious activity, contact the Sheriff's Department immediately.
Please share this information with all your neighbors and let's do out best to stop this criminal activity.
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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