 |  |  |  |
 |  |
PLPA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Where did 2002 go? As we rapidly slide into winter and the New Year, our PLPA calendar is already filling; please make note of this issueÕs event dates and be certain to join us! Remember too that we are a volunteer organization and that your support and involvement is always necessary and welcome, and helps make our PeckÕs Lake community a special place to live!
IÕd like to thank outgoing PLPA board members for their leadership and commitment: President Dave Pratt and his wife, Liz; Treasurer Dave Bartholomew, and Director Chuck LeMaitre. IÕd also like to welcome new officers Ð Nancy Allen, V. President; Russ Hogue, Treasurer; and new Directors: Liz Pratt, Linda LeFevre, and Carol Regan.
Arnie and I wish you a safe, healthy and happy Holiday Season and New Year!
Kathy Henry, President
WINTER FESTIVALCommittee co-chairs, the Nitsches, Joanne Wheelock, the Carlsons, the Allens and Alby Peck, invite families and friends to join them Saturday, February 8th!, from noon Ð 4p.m., at the PeckÕs Marina Boathouse for the Winterfest! Events include:
Caroling & POTLUCK SUPPER
Join us Saturday, December 14, 2002 at 5 P.M. for the annual Peck Lake Holiday Caroling. Dress warmly, bring a flashlight and meet at the PeckÕs Lake Marina. For more information or if you would like us to sing at your house, please contact Nancy Allen at 725-5347.
Afterwards, after 6, Nancy and Bob Kossowsky will host an informal potluck supper at their home (514 North Shore Road). Please call them at 773-2654 or 201-493-7976 to propose (or for suggestions) a dish to pass, and to notify them that you plan to attend.
Newsletter Deadlines: Please provide articles and other items for future editions to Liz Pratt (due/out)
Snow Emergency Are you ready for WINTER at PeckÕs Lake? As we prepare for the season ahead, please limit your parking on the roads to allow safe travel and room for snow plows to maneuver.
For those with generators, be prepared: remember to check your fuel supply, and to run the generator periodically.
This month's issue, as always, included our Calendar of Events and a listing of our Officers, Board Members & Committee Chairpeople. A volunteer is needed to serve the PLPA Historian. To volunteer please contact Dave Pratt or Larry Doubleday.
Thank you, Carol Bartholomew, for organizing and coordinating the Annual Dinner! And to Russ Hogue for another great Golf Tournament!
NEW PROPERTY OWNERS at PECKÕS LAKE TThis year has seen many changes on the lake. As we say good-bye to old friends and neighbors, we welcome our new neighbors:
Join us in welcoming them to our unique community! Our welcoming committee, Jean Brenno (725-9041) and Katie Santomartino (725-7037) will be scheduling visits soon to share information about living at Peck Lake. To arrange a visit or if you have questions, feel free to contact them.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the PECK FAMILY
It doesnÕt seem possible but another year has passed. The Peck Family would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy Holiday Season! We get so busy during the warmer months that we donÕt find time to reflect on the wonderful relationships we have established within the Lake community over the year. As the population at the lake has expanded, it is difficult for us to stay in touch with all Lake residents, so please feel free to stop over and say ÒhelloÓ at any time. We hope you all have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year, and we look forward to your continued friendship and patronage.
Thank you, John Mars - former Bleecker Town Councilman.
John Mars has served on the Bleecker Town Board for seven years, and before that, he was a mainstay of the Bleecker Planning Board for several years. John is leaving the Town Board because he will no longer be a full-time resident of the Town. John has developed a well-deserved reputation as a constructive thinker and his wise counsel will be sorely missed. During his tenure in Town Government he has always represented all residents of the Town fairly. ÒThank YouÓ, John!
We need other Bleecker residents, particularly from the western end of the town (PeckÕs Lake), to get involved. This is especially important now that John Mars will no longer be available to us. There are many opportunities for service: Town Board, Planning Board, Board of Assessment Review to name a few. The best way to begin to get involved is to attend Town Board and Planning Board meetings, and see what is going on in town. Meetings are held monthly on the first and third Thursday at 7 p.m.
History has shown that it is imperative for the various regions of the town to be represented in town government. A large majority of representation on Bleecker governmental bodies is NOT from PeckÕs Lake. If you want your concerns and desires known at the local government level, you must have representation.
For further information, call Councilman John Peck, at 725-0717, or email him at johnpeck@nycap.rr.com.
ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES We have observed ATV use on our lands, by both Peck's Lake residents and others from without the immediate area. We have placed notices in the Leader Herald each year for several years. This fall, copies of this notice have been posted on the North and South Shore bulletin boards. If you have not seen one of these notices, please be advised that the message is:
The operation of ATVs is prohibited on lands owned by Peck Properties of Peck's Lake, Gloversville, NY. Anyone apprehended will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.Your cooperation will be appreciated,
Maps, Guidebooks and Directories for sale for $3 each. Contact Larry Doubleday, 725-6680
FISH STOCKING COMMITTEE REPORT
2002 proved to be another productive year for the fish stocking efforts for Peck's Lake. Due mainly to the generous donations from our members and support from the Peck Family, we stocked 150,000 Emerald Shiners, 640 Rainbow Trout, and 250 Largemouth Bass. Structure building was continued by sinking nearly three dozen Christmas trees into the lake.
The Peck Family made a sizable donation early in the year allowing us to stock more trout than we had planned. They also sponsored a benefit Pig Roast, with the proceeds added to the fund. We introduced two new fundraisers this year: donation boxes at the marina (hand-painted by Katie Santomartino), and our bottle drives, which raised over $800.
In 2003, we will continue our monthly bottle drives, May through October, holding our 2nd Pig Roast on 12 July 2003 and introducing a raffle for a Jon boat. Our planned stocking includes more trout and largemouth bass and 90,000 Fathead minnows. The minnows have been ordered for an early spring delivery.
ÒThank YouÓ to everyone who made contributions to our efforts and we hope that you continue to support our program. If you have any questions, please feel free to speak to any of our committee members: Co-Chairmen Emilio Muscolino and Paul Nestork; Alby Peck, Maurice Cea, Lou DeSorbo, Jim Regan, Bob Kossowsky, Bob Santomartino. We also would like to add a representative from the Affiliate membership. Any volunteers?
Remember to SAVE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE to add to the lake structure! To arrange for someone to pickup your tree, or bottles/cans, please call: Paul Nestork (725-9115) or Emilio Muscolino (725-3345)
NOTICE To access the "members only" section of the PLPA website, the username remains "plpa", and the password remains "beaverbay" (both are Òcase sensitiveÓ - enter as typed, in lower case). Please donÕt share the password, it helps protect you as a member of the PLPA from internet abuse. Contact Paul Nestork with any questions.
Letter to the Editor June 17,2002
My wife and I request that you publish this letter in your next edition, as a rebuttal to an apparent over-emphasis of the dog restraint regulations around the lake. Half of the presidentÕs message in the spring edition, and a full-page editorial, plus a citation of the Peck Lake Regulations (including dog restrictions) in the summer edition, dwell on the evils of dogs around the lake. We have lived here for one year, which we acknowledge is a lot less than most residents, and have yet to see a situation whereby a dog owner does not have Òcontrol of their dog(s) at all timesÓ.
We understand and respect that many people have discomfort, or outright nervousness or fear, around dogs. We believe, and have observed, that the caliber and responsibility of Peck Lake residents do, or would, not allow Òvicious dogsÉwhich may be a threat to anyone on or around the lakeÓ.
As many of our neighbors and friends around the lake know, we are the owners of a standard poodle called Calhoun (Cal), who is a certified member of Therapy Dogs International, a world-wide organization of impeccable credentials. Cal has a photo I.D. and a distinctive tag identifying him as such, and is presently embarking on a program of visits to retarded citizens groups, hospitals, nursing homes, and other similar institutions. The comfort and love that a dog can impart to the people in such programs is extremely far reaching and beneficial, and, in fact, has been documented to greatly reduce stress and even reduce dependence on drugs.
Perhaps there are some on the lake who do not appreciate these attributes, and who concentrate on the wrong reasons for pet ownership. To these people we say that if you have a legitimate complaint of canine misconduct, or lack of control, please contact the owners, who we are certain will correct any of the causes. If this action is not effective, they would be fully justified in pursuing the matter with the association officers or the dog wardens of Bleecker or Johnstown.
Simon and Jane Aman
North Shore Road
EditorÕs note: This letter was received too late to publish in the June newsletter. The AmanÕs point of contacting your neighbors first is important, be it for a pet concern or another issue. Your neighbor may not be aware there is an issue.
COUNTRY LIVING by Esther P. Neal
One of our most spectacular birds, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, not authentically sighted in over 50 years, was reported by a wildlife student in 1999 to have been seen for 10 minutes pecking bark off a tree in the Pearl River section of Louisiana. In fact, the student saw two such birds. If this can be proven to be true, it will be a great success story. This is about the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a very large bird, about 20 inches long, with striking white on the wings. The white forms a large triangle from the middle of the back to the tail. Male birds have a very prominent red crest while the female has a black one. Bills are long and ivory white.
Some authorities say the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is extinct, but experts in the bird world hope that sounds and sightings done by sophisticated autonomous recording boxes will prove a few are still alive. Their demise came about with the cutting of mature forests. They need extensive areas of large trees. The area that has been tracked for several months now has shown no positive results. There have been sounds that are very much like the call that the Ivory-bills make. The late Arthur Allen of the Cornell Ornithology Laboratory recorded these sounds several years ago. These are the only recordings in existence.
The area surveyed is very extensive with bayous and impenetrable swamps and tangled forest growth. It is traversed by canoe, pirogue and on foot. After 3 months, up through March 2002, with 4,000 hours of recordings, there is no confirmed sighting. The study will continue. You will be kept informed.
Sad to say, beautiful songbirds that we used to see in the Carolinas and Florida can legally be trapped and sold in Mexico as caged birds. The Painted Bunting, with the red, blue and green feathers are trapped and sold by the thousands each year there. This is where these birds go each fall and winter to rest and feed. Hal and I were fortunate to see a male Painted Bunting once at a National Park in Flamingo, Florida. The birds are sold to the European market as well as in Asia, where buyers pay $70 a pair for them. Between 2000 and 2001, more than 6,000 Buntings were trapped and sold to Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain and Japan!
Mist nets are used during migration and winter, when males and females and juveniles are caught. Males are also easily caught with box traps with 8 compartments using a lure bird in one.
This year, the Trilateral Committee for Conservation and management from both countries are to set up a task force to assess the problem. The Ornithology Lab with the Trade Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna is assessing the bird trade in Mexico. They must work with government agencies from both countries. Hopefully, help is on the way to prevent the disappearance of these beautiful songbirds. I will keep up with the future of these projects.
 |  | |  |  |
ARTICLES WANTED! Articles are wanted for publication in the upcoming newsletter and later on the Web Site. Submit your article, saved as a simple text file to Kathy Henry, Newsletter Editor.
