Upgrades

UPGRADES For Treasure Beach ! If you've been driving around Treasure Beach the past few months you'll notice all those little red flags are growing everywhere. The flags are popping up on street after street, but this is only the start of some work ahead. Interesting enough in this slow economy Treasure Beach is busting with contractors driving around, digging up street to street. Fact is there is more than one upgrade going on right now. The county is installing new water lines throughout the development, and much more will be happening in the coming months. Starting with the North end of our development the county has already reached Ventura Rd quickly moving the project along. I spoke with some of the supervisiors about the job overall, and they are happy with the results. Ok, one house got missed on Basque. Missed ? Well, they didn't run a water line to the home and so the owners had to ask about water. The county workers check their work and sure enough, they'd completely missed one home. The work gang stayed into the late night to get the home back on the new water lines. The home owner reports she's very happy and felt bad the workers had to stay very late to get things right for her home. The new water lines once cleaned out from construction rubble will be cleaner and produce better quality water. I must admit our own water has been great, but after interviewing several local residents I discovered not all water in Treasure Beach is equal. Some line are so bad, the county rep described it as coke like material coming from some taps even just across the street from my own home. Sure glad I don't live on that side of the street. Now, please ! Everyone follow the county's instructions about boiling water before use. You'll be getting an orange tag on your door handle shortly to warn about the water quality. This is mostly to concern anyone that drinks tap water or uses it for cooking. Guess, that's my coffee too. The time frame is not clear on how long this will be so you might even buy some large bottle water to cover your personal needs. Like most things with the tag, the important fact is to not use the water straight from the tap until you've got another tag from the county that everything is checked and ok. What I think is missed when reading the tag is so important, please make sure everyone understands that the water is NOT safe until the county issues something else about clean water. Yes, this is not a 24hr deal, its a safety matter until the county states different. Other upgrades going on right now include 16 more fire hydrants. The present 18 will remain, but the additional 16 new units is nice to know. Home owners may want to contact their insurance companies to see about getting a discount should a fire hydrant be installed close their home. More upgrades you ask ? Well, yes, I'm sure we've all seen the new AT&T boxes that are now near the entrance at the four way stop. The AT&T system is being upgraded to offer us all bundle packages which will include TV, internet and phone service systems. After checking with the AT&T rep I discovered the lines will be replaced up to some hubs within our community but he was very clear that not all lines will be replaced as the work goes on. So far the only upgrade I see for me is the new dollar store on A1A, but hey its all good, its Treasure Beach. L.A. Panchuk ( Author The Devil's Magnet ) Reporter: X zone radio Treasure Beach home owner Release: I hear by release this article to the Saint Augustine Record for use in its month paper called The Coastal Newspaper. I understand any editing or changes to its use is cleared with me and my publisher. LP

Hello everyone. I spoke with a resident of Gomez Road today and want to make everyone aware as to what is happening in the neighborhood. This person had arrived home in the early morning hours and was sitting in THEIR car having a cigarette. All of the sudden the car door was opened by a person who was just as surprised to see them sitting there in their own car as that person was to be startled by them. As the owner of the car asked this person what they were doing opening their car door they noticed them removing white gloves and heard them apologize while stumbling on the words. With that the person ran off meeting a friend down the street and they both disappeared. This person did call the sheriff's department right away and a deputy responded immediately. They gave them a detailed description of the person and although the deputy did go look for them- no one was found. It is a very real wake up call to all residents to lock their vehicles at night. If you should someone that looks suspicious or just doesn't look right call the sheriff's department right away. This happened at approximately 1:30A.M. and the person just happened to be sitting in the car only because they had just gotten home. When most people are sleeping these kids are helping themselves to your belongings. Just to let you know what is happening in your neighborhood.

In St. Johns County, The Party's over (Underage Drinking)

From the St. Johns County Sheriff's website:
http://www.sjso.org/partysover/partysover.aspx

Dear Citizen,

We want to share with you a major concern we have involving the health and welfare of our teenagers in St. Johns County. Our concern involves underage drinking and the proliferation of "house parties" many of which occur with knowledge on the part of some of our parents.

Every year we lose teenagers in traffic crashes and on occasion alcohol is involved. While the issue of underage drinking, open house parties and adults providing alcohol to our teenagers may go unnoticed on any given weekend, it cannot be ignored. The Sheriff’s Office has been addressing this problem for many years but we need your help.

In response to this issue we at the Sheriff’s Office and the School Board, along with The PACT (Prevent-Act-Change-Together) Coalition, will begin an educational awareness and enforcement campaign to reduce these numbers. The goal will be to gain willing compliance from establishments which sell or serve alcohol, as well as from all adults who host teen parties. Further, we will continue to check establishments to ensure they are not selling alcohol to minors.

Only when our entire community and youth work together can underage drinking be reduced in St. Johns County, making it a safe and healthy place for all residents, young and old.

If we can save the life of one of our teenagers we can consider our efforts worthwhile. Please join us in this countywide effort to help our young people. “The Party Is Over” because the loss of any child is one too many!

Sincerely,

David B. Shoar, Sheriff of St. Johns County

Click here to download the St. Johns County Sheriff's Spring 2009 Community Watch Magazine.

May 2009 Newsletter

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DOCK

MARK YOUR CALENDER!!

CHECK OUR WEBSITE!!

LOTS OF EXCITING EVENTS ARE COMING UP!!!

FIRST EVENT: Annual TBPOA Community wide Garage and Bake Sale!!
WHEN: Saturday, May 9th starting at 8:00 AM
WHERE: You have two choices. You can choose to hold your own garage sale in your own front yard OR if you have items to sell but you don't want the hassle of your own sale, you can bring your items to the intersection of Treasure Beach Blvd and Costenaro Road. TBPOA will have an area where you can donate your items and we will sell them. The money made will go into the Association's treasury for future community improvements. You may also help the Association by donating a baked item for sale. Pies, Cakes, cup cakes; if it's edible, it's welcome! Last year's weather for the garage sale was not the best. Hopefully, this year's weather will be perfect and we'll make lots of money! If you hold your own garage sale and you don't sell everything, you can donate the left over items to TBPOA. Please take these items to the location mentioned above by 12:30 PM

SECOND EVENT: The TBPOA Annual Clean up Day!
WHEN: Saturday, May 30th - 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
WHERE: The dumpster will be located on Majorca Road near the Costenaro Road intersection. The directions are simple. Head northon Costenaro until you come to the last street on the left. Turn left onto Majorca and you will see the dumpster on the right side of the road.REMEMBER: This clean up day is for residents ONLY. Not only must you be a TB resident, you must have paid your annual dues of $30.00in order to dispose of your trash. Please bring your TB membership card with you. You CAN pay your dues that day. If you can't find your card,don't panic. We will have a list of paid members at the site.

RENTERS: Please contact your landlord and make sure they have paid the annual dues so you can participate in the clean up day!SORRY! But the following items CANNOT be accepted: Rugs or carpeting, tires or batteries, yard waste (tree limbs, cut grassings, etc.),NO chemicals of any kind, including paint and aerosol cans. NO concrete, appliances, ac units. Construction material is OK.

GET STARTED CLEANING OUT THOSE SHEDS AND GARAGES TODAY!

If you didn't make the pot luck meeting on 4/7/09 you missed a great meal and a very interesting speaker. Neal Shinkre, P.E. MBA from St.Johns Utility Department told us how the water line replacement projectis progressing. There were many questions from residents and Neal was able to answer them or took names and numbers to call people back. If you have a questions about your street progress, please call Neal at 904-209-2709. The new website design is taking shape. There are still items to be added over the next few months and wrinkles to iron out. Be patient with us! It will be worth the wait. T o view the website, log onto http://www.treasurebeachflorida.com.

Thanks to Joe and Betty Fell, TB will be getting two new benches at Fell's Park at the end of Treasure Beach Blvd. They are replacing the old one and adding a new one.Our thanks also go out to Jim O'Connell who cuts the grass at Fell's Park.Stay tuned for more exciting news and improvements coming to YOUR community!!!

Sincerely,
Paula Murphy
President

Visitor to St. Augustine adopts, loves male calico cat

Harry proves to be rare find

Visitor to St. Augustine adopts, loves male calico cat

By ANNE C. HEYMEN,
anne.heymen@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 04/09/09

Two-month-old Harry the calico kitten isn't one in a million, but he is one in about 3,000 or more.

He's also a very lucky feline.

When it comes to animals, "calico" is a color pattern found in numerous breeds of cats, and the basic colors are black, red or orange, and white. The majority are females, but, according to a study at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Missouri, one out of 3,000 calico colored cats is male.

The kitten's mother was a feral cat found at Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort near St. Augustine Beach. She was removed from the resort before it was discovered she'd given birth to a litter.

And that's where Ludlow, Mass., resident Bob Marchese comes into the picture.

Marchese, a disabled U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam era, spends about two and a half months each year in St. Augustine for health reasons, staying with his friend, Mike Powell, a resident of Treasure Beach, south of St. Augustine Beach. Powell works at Bryn Mawr, and when the kittens were discovered just after their eyes had opened, Marchese, a self-admitted softie when it comes to animals, took over bottle-feeding the tiny calico, which he named Harry, after his grandfather.

The adoption of Harry was coordinated through Goliath and BeBe's World, a nonprofit animal rescue organization operating in St. Johns County.

"This is the second calico male," for Goliath and Bebe's World in six months, said Lisa Hoff, cat coordinator.

The first one Hoff described as a "diluted calico," with muted colors.

Soon Harry, Marchese and Marchese's dog, Lucky Girl, 2, a Florida Red, became best buddies.

"My dog took over mothering," Harry Marchese said. "She's the greatest little girl. She's an alpha female. She's always the leader of the pack."

Marchese thought he had another great little girl in Harry because of the tri-color markings. That was until he took Harry to veterinarian Dr. Gary Shelton to have the kitten spayed.

When Marchese went to pick up the kitten that night, Shelton told him: "'We got a surprise for you. This is a boy!'"

If he's not a calico, Shelton said, "He's pretty darn close."

The only other possibility is he's a tabby, but Harry does have the red/orange, white and black markings.

"What a cute little cat," Shelton said of Harry. He also praised Goliath and Bebe's World for their good works.

Since the three became a family, Harry has joined Lucky Girl and Marchese on their daily fishing excursions, getting a free ride on Marchese's shoulders.

Harry is a "pretty good little boy," said Marchese, but, "like any kitten, he goes nuts sometimes."

"I love cats," just as he loves dogs, he added, but until now he never lived the kind of lifestyle conducive to having pets.

Apparently the love of pets runs in the family, because his daughter is a senior in veterinary college.

As to Harry, Lucky Girl and Marchese, they'll soon be heading back to Massachusetts. Harry most likely will be crated for the trip; Lucky Girl will take her usual place in the front seat of Marchese's car "like a person."

She "looks out the window the whole way," Marchese said.

So the story has pretty much of a happy ending. The only down side for Harry? It's too bad Marchese doesn't live in Maryland. According to the Internet, effective Oct. 1, 2001, the calico cat became the official cat of Maryland.

The item also noted that the calico shares the same colors of orange, black and white as the Baltimore oriole, the state bird, and the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, the state insect.

But Harry probably doesn't have to worry. As crazy as Marchese is about Harry, the male calico will live like a king wherever Marchese calls home.

Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/040909/news_040909_005.shtml

April 2009 Newsletter

Well, here it is, my second newsletter and I still don’t have a picture for the newspaper! It’s been too cold! How would it look on our website if I’m sitting on my dock wrapped up in a wool coat and hat! Not a very good advertisement for St. Augustine and Treasure Beach!

By now all property owners should have received their post-card to remind you to pay your TBPOA annual dues. Oh by the way….these dues are for 2009! If you haven’t paid your 2008 dues yet….guess what…..we’ll still accept them! If you read my newsletter in January, you would have to agree…..TBPOA residents get a lot out of just $30.00 per year!

As an incentive to pay your dues, we will be organizing a community cleanup and will have a dumpster available for your use. The catch is……YOUR DUES FOR 2009 WILL HAVE TO BE PAID IN ORDER TO USE THE DUMPSTER. You will need to have your TBPOA membership card OR we will also have a paid member list at the dumpster site. I will announce the exact clean-up day in the March newsletter. GET THOSE DUES PAID!

I hope everyone is enjoying the new walkway. We have added some paint to the steps to make them stand out a little more. I’ve heard a few disgruntled comments, but all in all, I think it was a great success. We’ll also be adding a new gate at the entrance on A1A to remind people that the walkway is for the use of Treasure Beach and Seychelles Residents only.

As you have probably heard by now, State Farm Insurance has pulled completely out of the State of Florida for property insurance sales. The decision to non-renew Florida homeowner policies (which I am sure was NOT an easy decision to make) puts a tremendous stress on the existing companies that will be absorbing well over 1,000,000 policies over the next two years. It also puts stress on the homeowner who is now concerned about finding replacement coverage at a price they can afford. The State Farm agent that owned his/her own company will now be faced with lower revenue which may result in having to let go of some staff. It’s a very sad
situation for everyone involved and is another sign of our struggling economy.

Another very sad situation was the 92 year old gentleman up north (I can never remember where these things happen) that froze to death because he did not pay his heating bill. Everyone was up in arms about the electric company not having a heart and turning off the heat on a 92 year old man! Was that REALLY the problem? The man had money. In fact, when they found him he had the bill and cash to pay it in his hand.

I think the REAL problem is that no one in his neighborhood cared enough to check on him on a regular basis! He had dementia and apparently had no relatives. His neighbors HAD to know a 92 year old person lived in that house. Did it not occur to ANYONE to check on him? Could this happen in our community? Do you know your neighbor on either side of you? Does your neighbor know that if they have an emergency situation that they can come to you for help? Do they have your telephone number?

I’m ashamed to admit that I do not know my new neighbors next door…..but that is going to change this afternoon! I challenge everyone that reads this newsletter to make sure that you introduce yourself to your neighbor on each side of your home and let them know they can count on you in an emergency. For those of you that have a network of support arranged already, I applaud you!

I would guess that some Treasure Beach residents have been laid off from their job. Do you know if they are doing OK? Are they eating? Maybe you can get to know them and see if they are managing okay. Remember “the Good Samaritan” in the Bible?

OK, back to TBPOA business! The new water lines will almost be finished when you read this letter. I think we got the attention of the Fire Department Supervisor at one of our meetings last year and he helped get this pipe replacement done sooner than later.

WHAT IS COMING UP? The next community meeting will be April 7th at Beacher’s Lodge. This will be a POT LUCK meeting so you won’t want to miss this one! All residents are invited…owners or renters! There will be a sign posted in the front of TB reminding you of the date and time.

Paula Murphy

Boil Water Notice Lifted for Ventura Road, Treasure Beach

Retraction of Boil Water Notice for Ventura Road (Treasure Beach)Lab tests show water is safe for consumption Treasure Beach - March 19, 2009

A Retraction Notice has been issued to lift the precautionary Boil Water Notice for the Ventura Road area of Treasure Beach. The boil water notice had been in effect since Tuesday, March 17th, 2009, when a water main connection was made. The St. Johns County Utility Department has completed lab tests showing the water is safe for consumption. Citizens may call (904) 209-2731 for additional information.