on lake tarpon highlander - highlandlakeshoa.net · neighborhood watch; mel friedman, rv/boat lot;...

HIGHLANDERMay - 2018 Volume 39 No. 8 www.highlandlakeshoa.net Official Publication

on LAKE TARPON

WoodshopBirdhouse

WINNERS

Paul Morais 1st Best for Birds

Pat Davis 2nd Decorative

John Richardson 1st Decorative

Made in recognition of Autism Awareness by Linda McKenna

Connie McLaughlin 2nd CreativeDavid Viara 2nd Best for Birds

Donna Currence 1st Creative

2 Highland Lakes Highlander May- 2018

from theboardwhat’sinside

In Memorium

2 Administration 5 Standing Committees10 Service Committees13 Clubs23 Interest Groups26 Sports & Fitness33 Neighborhood News32 Advertisers Index Support our advertisers36 Calendar Regular Events37 Calendar Special Events & Meetings

associationmanager

Mary AitkenheadMarch 27

2018

By the time you read this, the rest of the snowbirds will have begun their migration north. The pol-len will be gone, the flowers will be in bloom,

and we will be closing in on our hot days of summer. Our golfers will see the beginning of Cypress’s work of eradicating the weeds, which will continue during the months of summer. The Board has committed over $200,000 to eliminate the weeds that have been growing over the entire time the courses have been in existence. After the weeding has been completed, they will begin to fertilize and reseed. As stated last month, this is a long project and will not happen immediately. This project will continue over three years, but the greater change will take place this summer. We also gave authority to TLC to remove the topiary on Red 8 and replace it in its entirety. Your Board selected Barbaron to enlarge the practice green, and the project outline may be reviewed in the Starter Building. We also had the USGA in to baseline our weed program on the courses, and will have them back in October for an update. We regret that we had to end our recycling program due to many issues, which were discussed during the Board meeting. We had delayed it from the previous month for more investigation. Our new Association Manager, Bill Berthold, has been seen all around our facility, from golf to tennis, to many meetings. If you haven’t seen him, you will. Following many interviews in March, your Board selected the fol-lowing chairpersons. Standing committee chairs are: Patty Hesson, Activities; Joe Corcia (two year term) Boating Association; Ray Booth, ARC; Cynthia Kadel, Facilities; Wes Cole, Finance; and Don Noble, Golf. Service committee chairs are June Tutty, Library; Hank Samuel, Neighborhood Watch; Mel Friedman, RV/Boat Lot; Mike Manchester, Technology; Doug Wilson, Woodshop. Ad Hoc Committee chairman, Tom Hirsch. Donna Dooley will continue as Highlander editor through June. We are continuing to look for chairpersons for the Highlander and Bingo. Please turn in a CVIA if you are interested in either position. Outgoing chairs were Bob Love, Facilities; Jerry Carlquist, Golf; Ron Azbell, Bingo; and Richard Barbaro, Woodshop. Your Board wants to thank all volunteers for their effort in the past and continued effort in the future. Volunteering is special here at Highland Lakes, and we cannot put a price on it. Volunteers are always needed, and we encourage you to complete a CVIA and turn it in to Resident Services. They are available on line as well as Resident Services. We wish you safe travels to worldwide destinations, and cannot wait to have you back at Highland Lakes, our “Best Kept Secret.”

We RememberBetty DonnerFeb. 23, 2018

Betty served on the original Highland Lakes Board of Directors and was elect-ed President of that Board. She was also Editor of the Highlander for more than 20 years. We are grateful for her many

years of service to our community.

With summer fast approaching, the Board of Directors and Management have approved several projects for Highland Lakes. Our golf course maintenance company has several projects this summer, we are closing our three 9 hole courses approximately 6 weeks each starting with the Red Course in mid April, then the Blue course to coincide with the expansion of the putting green proj-ect in June, and finally the White Course in mid July. We intend to be very aggressive

with weed con-trol during these closures, “Brown is good” as stat-ed by Todd, our USGA consultant,

in his recent visit to benchmark our golf course enrichment projects. We also will be leveling all of our tees and re-grassing them during the clo-sure. We have con-tracted TLC, our com-mon area landscape continued on Page 3

Bill Berthold

FeatureArticle

9 19

9

3012

Highland Lakes Highlander May- 2018 3

The Highlander is a monthly newspaper published for the residents of the Highland Lakes community October through June. Contributors are encouraged to submit articles and photographs for publication. They are responsible for ensuring that names are spelled correctly and facts and dates are accurate. Articles are limited to 500 words. We reserve the right to edit any article with the exception of the report from the Board of Directors. The deadline for submission is by noon on the fifth day of the month prior to publication. The Highlander assumes no responsibility for the advertising contents of its publication. No endorsement of any product or service is made by the Highlander and none should be inferred. We reserve the right to re-ject any advertisement that we believe would not benefit the residents of Highland Lakes. We do not knowingly accept objectionable or fraudulentadvertising.

May - 2018 Volume 39 #83300 MacGregor Dr. • Palm Harbor, FL 34684-2348

727-784-1402

HIGHLANDER

Board of DirectorsPresident First Vice President Second Vice President Secretary Treasurer Highlanderemail: [email protected] Donna DooleyAssociates Tim Manigan Karen Paquette Pat Carter-BlackCommittee Tom Hirsch Fred SerranoPhotographer LeRoy SchreinerGraphic Designer Mary FletcherDistribution Team Myra & Bill DickensAdvertising Coordinator Cheryl Diglio HOA ManagementAssociation Manager Bill Berthold Controller Sharon SaringoResident Services Scarlet RoachEvent Services Rhonda L’HommedieuFacilities Dan Kay

727-754-6648

0025

Serving Highland Lakes for 19 years

Hal JablonskiTony LaquagliaSam MessinaJudy MooreJim Acre

CLASSIFIED Want to Rent in Mission GroveUnfurnished, 2 bedrooms, long term lease.Starting June 1st (flexible). Please call 727-403-2050

in his recent visit to benchmark our golf course enrichment projects. We also will be leveling all of our tees and re-grassing them during the clo-sure. We have con-tracted TLC, our com-mon area landscape continued on

maintenance company, to rebuild the Topiary on Red hole #8. Our software used to manage the association by the management team is in need of updat-ing, it is over 20 years old and does not reflect the current technology available to Homeown-er Association Management. We evaluated several software companies and selected a local Florida company, TOPS Software. Our President, Hal Jablonski, Treasurer, Jim Acre, Finance Committee Chairman, Wes Cole and our Management Team visited the TOPS Head-quarters for a demonstration of the software. All were very impressed by the capabilities of this industry leading technology and agreed that it would improve our abilities to better serve our residents. Please remember to keep your golf carts on Highland Lakes property and do not park them at the Clubhouse in areas that are not desig-nated for golf cart parking. As always, if you have any suggestions for improvements for our Association, please stop by. My office is always open to our residents or stop me when I am out in the community and share your thoughts with me.

Manager from Page 2

Resident Services will be working hard during the summer months in completing a few of our projects while residents are en-joying the summer up north. The staff looks forward to seeing you in the fall.2018 Schedules Last summer Resident Services scheduled 4,723 Board of Directors, sub-associations, clubs, groups and classes. We schedule the events in a certain order; so to speak, in pecking order. After the schedules have been completed Resident Services will send out an announcement by email-blast and the High-lander that schedules are ready for pick-up. You can review your schedule with your club or group and submit your schedule

residentservices

Scarlet Roach

changes to the front desk. Resident Services will make changes, if changes can be made, in the order that they were submitted.The order in which we schedule is as follows: Election, Board of Directors, Highland Lakes sub-associations, standing committees, service committees, clubs, interest groups, neighborhood groups and classes. If your club or group does not need a room that has been scheduled, please cancel the room at the front desk or by email, so that another club or group can use the room.Memorial Day Holiday Minimal staff will be on duty Monday, May 28. Regular business hours will resume at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 29.Practices & Procedures Class The class is held the third Monday of every month. The May class will be held May 21 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Golf Building.Reminder: Hurricane season starts June 1 and continues through November 30.

It’s really going to happen this year! Elec-tronic Voting & Surveys are coming to High-land Lakes. Members of the Technology and Election Committees are working together to bring this 21st Century standard to our community. The Board approved a motion at the March meeting to authorize serious investigation intosystems that will revolutionize the way we do business. We’ve researched fifteen offer-ings from around the world (literally), and it’s narrowed down to three that will be consid-ered at the April 10 meeting of the Technology Committee. From there a recommendation will be prepared to present to the Board at their May meeting. Once a vendor is approved, watch the High-lander and your email for important informa-tion about how you can sign up to participate in E-Voting. By Florida statute 720.317, you

electionTom Hirschcommittee

continued on Page 4

4 Highland Lakes Highlander May - 2018

0521

must express your wish to be part of E-Voting – in writing - and actually connect to the system before you can vote in an election. We expect to start running surveys - “opinion polls” - in June and every month throughout the remain-der of 2018. To participate you must sign up. To vote next February you must have participated in at least one of the surveys to demonstrate that your computer is able to connect. We will be able to verify your connection. That is the law. This will be a BIG step forward for Highland Lakes. It’s anticipated E-Voting will save our association 50% to 70% of what it cost to con-duct the 2018 election. That’s a lot of money! The more unit owners who sign up for E-Vot-ing the bigger the savings will be. Watch for further information as the project unfolds.

Election Committee from Page 3

Tim ManiganCarlos Ramirez

meet thestaff

It’s been a long trip and a whole lifetime from the streets of Lima, Peru, to the staff of Highland Lakes, but Carlos Ramirez is happy to be here and he has found a home where he feels comfort-able.

At 59, Carlos is that ever-polite, energetic worker with a smile always on his face that you run into just when it seems you need some staff member to be around to help. For the past 20 months, Carlos has been on the custodial staff, often doing those late night cleanups. Just recently, he transferred to the setup staff where his experience will be appre-ciated by all of us in a new way. When he was 16 and one of 10 children, Carlos moved with his parents and six siblings to Queens, New York, where he underwent a life changing experience. His father ran a business rebuilding transformers and after completion of high school, Carlos helped out for a number of years to support the family. A sister had moved to Montreal and he visited regularly. It is there he met the love of his life, Marleny, and soon they married and moved to Englewood, New Jersey, near the George Washington Bridge. He proudly became a US citizen in 1989, and in 1992 Carlos and

Marleny moved to Miami - just in time for Hurricane Andrew. But they stayed and for 22 years Carolos worked for the Coral Gables Mercedes dealership in custodian and mainte-nance. But Marleny grew ill and needed a kidney transplant and the Tampa area was determined to be the best place to save her, so they moved nearby. Sadly, Marleny died before she could undergo the surgery, leaving Carlos alone in February 2017. By then, Carlos was firmly installed as a member of the Highland Lakes staff, a job he loves and so, with a smile on his face he is happy to be here among us every day he works. Off the job, he spends time with his two dogs “who are like my children.” When you meet him, you remember. He is endlessly polite, quietly and diligently going about his work. It has been a life of challenge and change, but he likes to think he is settled here with us for a while to come.Erica Kemper

One of the more chal-lenging jobs in Highland Lakes is also one of the most visible. You need to learn fast and have the an-swers to many questions read-ily at hand. Of

course this is the job for the folks who work the “front desk” at the Clubhouse and one of our newer staffers on the front line is Erica

Highland Lakes Highlander May - 2018 5

0060

New Customers receive $5 off round trip fare

Marleny moved to Miami - just in time for Hurricane Andrew. But they stayed and for 22 years Carolos worked for the Coral Gables Mercedes dealership in custodian and mainte-nance. But Marleny grew ill and needed a kidney transplant and the Tampa area was determined to be the best place to save her, so they moved nearby. Sadly, Marleny died before she could undergo the surgery, leaving Carlos alone in February 2017. By then, Carlos was firmly installed as a member of the Highland Lakes staff, a job he loves and so, with a smile on his face he is happy to be here among us every day he works. Off the job, he spends time with his two dogs “who are like my children.” When you meet him, you remember. He is endlessly polite, quietly and diligently going about his work. It has been a life of challenge and change, but he likes to think he is settled here with us for a while to come.Erica Kemper

course this is the job for the folks who work the “front desk” at the Clubhouse and one of our newer staffers on the front line is Erica

Kemper, a resident of Tarpon Springs. At 25, Erica joined us in October 2017. Since then, she has been a fast learner. Just ask her a question about Highland Lakes and chances are she has been asked about it before, so she knows the answer. I tried to ask a list of weird questions and catch her off guard, but she was able to calmly and accu-rately answer everything. That is a big skill to have when people line up with questions about the golf, the pool, how the ARC com-mittee works, how to register for guest pass-es, and an endless number of other issues. Lately, folks have been lined up to register for the popular pontoon boat rides on Lake Tarpon, booking up to three weeks in ad-vance. Erica notes that she deals with a new Highland Lakes resident almost daily. That shows the turnover of properties going on. Erica grew up in New Port Richey and has three siblings. She has taken numerous courses at St. Petersburg College and has a one-year-old son, Conrad, who keeps her busy during her off duty hours. Previously, she worked in customer ser-vice for the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which is, she notes, actually a marine animal hospital where all the animals are rescued marine animals, including a dolphin with a unique prosthetic tail that has been featured on TV. But she wanted a job closer to home and where she could get to know some of the people she deals with daily instead of the in and out situation at the aquarium. As a result, she is now the familiar face that many of us run into when doing all the business that takes place at our very busy Clubhouse. She seems just right at home in the middle of all the activity that goes with the residence services job. Say hello when you see her weekdays between 8 and 5.

Staff from Page 4

Patricia Hesson March 31 brings changes to all Standing Committees. The term of office for Standing Committee chairs ends March 31, giving the chairs an opportunity to re-volunteer for the chair position and the Board of Directors the opportunity to review and approve the ap-plications presented for the chair position of each committee. Each Activities Committee member also must apply or reapply to be considered for the committee. I would like to thank each of the committee members who have worked so hard for the past 12 months of our term and give them the public recog-nition they deserve: Sue Oldenburger, Donna Witkin, Ellen Walsh, Barbara Schoen, Jeanne Krick, Pat Harvey, Nan Cunningham, Luz Meyer, Cathy Messner, Joanne Castell and Mario Pompeo. To all of this amazing team: you worked so hard for the Highland Lakes residents, thank you! Some of them will not be back next year: Mario Pompeo, Pat Harvey and Sue Oldenburger. Pat and Sue have put in many, many years on the Activities Com-mittee. Sue has handled the ticket sales days for years and Pat has been every position on the AC for so long, she can’t remember how long. We thank these two ladies for their contributions, insight and hours of dedicated work. Now it’s their turn to sit back and watch others. Over the last two years, I have gotten up at Board of Directors meetings and talked about our concert events; talked sadly, since we did not have many successful seasons to talk about. Big change this year! Two sold out

activitiescommittee

shows to date. Thank you! I did announce at the BOD meeting in March that we reduced pricing on the May 5 show to give back after two sold out shows. Now I want to announce that we have added another show for June 9- Rocketman! Luz Meyer will speak about the show somewhere else in this issue. But I want-ed you to know that this is because of your attendance at the shows this year. Rocketman was here 3½ years ago to a sold out show. I hope you will enjoy this show as much as last time, or if you couldn’t get tickets you will be in line early. This show leads off our summer entertainment. Fun Fridays will also continue this summer. We plan to offer a free Friday night dance in June, July and August. And we will host a Friday Cabaret Night every week. The entire summer line up will be published in the next Highlander. One last note: there has been a requirement to turn the “set-up” sheet into Resident Ser-vices two weeks in advance. This set up sheet is the communication process by which the Events Department is told exactly what equip-ment is needed for any activity taking place on our property. Too often lately, this sheet is handed less than 48 hours in advance, or is not filled out entirely. This can mean that your event is not set up to your plan, or that the staff is working at breakneck speed at the last minute. Please try to stick to as much notice as possible, since it helps us all. Have a great month!

BOARD OF DIRECTORSMONTHLY MEETING

FRIDAY, MAY 2510-11:30 AM IN THE GREAT ROOM


0479

Ray Booth Some have asked; where does the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) get its authority to approve or disapprove homeowners’ proj-ects? The authority is directly from the re-strictions and covenants of the Homeowners Association and can be found on the Highland Lakes Homeowners Association web site (Re-sources – Documents – Declaration of Restric-tions and Affirmative Covenants.) Below are some quotes from this document. On page eight, section 6.b, “The board shall establish and enforce architectural control and publish an implementing manual containing standards, procedures and guidelines, (“ARC Manual”). It shall have the right to appoint an Architectural Review Committee for consider-ation and approval or disapproval of Member applications for projects to change the exterior appearance of Encumbered Properties. Crite-ria for approval shall be based upon location, size, type or appearance of the structure and/or the Encumbered Property, harmony of design, location and finished grade elevations with existing structures and topography.” It fur-ther states “…all projects that will change the exterior appearance of an Encumbered Proper-ty, regardless of the reason, must be approved

architectural reviewcommittee

in advance by the Association.” And also on page 5 Section 2.c “If any per-son, firm or corporation, or their heirs or assignees violate or attempt to violate any provision of this declaration, it shall be the obligation of the Association and the right of any member to prosecute any proceeding at law or in equity against the person, persons or entity violating or attempting to violate this declaration.” This gives the Board of Directors (BOD) the responsibility to develop and maintain the ARC manual. The BOD also can appoint an ARC, this BOD as well as past BODs, has cho-sen to have an active ARC to aid the BOD in its duty to maintain the harmony of our com-munity. Further reading of this document spells out several restrictions imposed upon the com-munity, such as banning sheds, outbuildings and similar structures. It also prohibits fences on most properties. Moreover, it states the requirement for applications to repaint and reroof. Because these restrictions are in the covenants changing them requires a vote of all the homeowners with 50% plus one voting to remove. Until that happens, we will attempt to enforce the deed restrictions as they are stated. These deed restrictions, therefore give the BOD the authority to appoint an ARC. This ARC has taken that authority to review all applications and help the homeowners adjust projects to fit the approved standards

in the ARC manual. The ARC attempts to find a path to approve all applications by using their knowledge of the ARC manual to aid the homeowner in the development of his proj-ects. The ARC meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at ten o’clock in the morning in the golf building. Members are welcome to attend all meetings.

Joe Corcia Another season in Highland Lakes is coming to a close. Many of our residents and resident captains will be leaving to go to cooler climates. We will be starting our summer schedule by having just one cruise a day Monday through Friday, which leaves the dock at 10 a.m. Opportunities for special boats will still be available upon request at the Resident Services desk. Lake Tarpon offers a relaxing and delightful diversion from the heat, so for you residents who stay in “par-adise” please take advantage of this great amenity. On March 17 we had our annual Captains Bash (formerly known as the Captains Ball). 175 residents and guests attended it. The Mark Anthony Band provided the entertain-ment. It was a time to recognize our volunteer captains and officers that serve our commu-

boatingassociation

continued on Page 7


0659

McGinnis Painting Exterior-Interior

• Free Estimates • 3 Coat System• Serving Highland Lakes Since 1981

Call Today!727-785-8310

20%Off

Fully InsuredLicense #C-7971

OwnerOperated

0328

nity. Also we recognized our First Adjutant, Nancy Mariani, by presenting her with an Ap-preciation Award for her many years of tire-less service to the Boating Association. Much of the work she did was behind the scenes with record keeping, planning and organizing the scheduling of captains and special boat trips for our residents. Also that night we used our new photo prop that was constructed by Captain John Richardson and some members of the Wood Shop. Great job, John, Thank you.We also gave away over $400 worth of prizes which had been donated by local merchants. Jim Acre, treasurer of the Board of Directors administered the oath of office to me as Com-mander for a second two-year term. Thank you, Jim. Also, to all those who did the set up before and clean up after the dance, I say thank you. And last but not least, thank you to all the residents who supported the dance and helped make it a success. If you missed it you missed a great event. Make plans to attend next year. So don’t forget folks, when you get tired of staying in the house because of the summer heat, remember that the lake is calling. It is a cool relaxing, refreshing ride.

Boating from Page 6

Cynthia Kadel Having just recently been asked to chair the Facilities Committee, this is an ideal time for

facilitiescommittee

me to share with you the people, plans and aspirations of this committee. First let me say that there will not be a “chair-person” but rather a “facilitator” for this great team that has been engaged. The folks who have volunteered represent a wide range of skills and experience within our community. Each was chosen based on an in-person meet-ing coupled with their views on how they saw our function as it relates to Highland Lakes. These are the folks, in addition to me and the suggestion box, to which you should address what YOU want to see happen within our community over the next months and years. “Years” because it often takes time to get a project included in the budget for the current and/or a future year’s financial plans. All of these residents have a direct or indirect in-volvement in one of the many groups that we have in Highland Lakes dedicated to making our living here more enjoyable. These team members (in alphabetical or-der) are: Susan Boerschig, our secretary, who works full time as an airline technician, and is a new X-gen owner on Stirling Road; Tony Decicco, previous chairperson of the Facili-ties Committee with 45 years in general con-struction and master carpenter who resides on Lake Pointe Road; George Grant, a local handyman and master plumber who lives on Camelot Court; David Miller, retired engineer who sings with the HLChorus as well as takes beautiful pictures throughout our com-

munity and lives on Tarpon Pointe Circle; Lucy Peak, who is Chairperson of the Beautification Committee, plus board member of the Gar-den Club, Concert Club Chair and long-time resident living on East Dorchester; Ben Sellers, who is an avid tennis player (past president), on the board of directors of his condo associ-ation and member of the Finance Committee, living on Shelly Drive; Pat Vernon, who is a re-altor, a senior resident of the community, and block captain of Pristine Point; and myself, Cynthia Kadel, past president of Travel Club, past member of the Activities Committee, the Chefs Club, secretary of the Facilities Com-mittee, ARC, currently treasurer of the Garden Club, who owned and managed a computer consulting firm in New York City prior to 9-11. My husband and I have just moved from a house to a condo on MacLaren Drive North. Every member of this group is looking to YOU to make our community more pleasant for us and those that visit us, enhancing our property values, keeping cost a conscious fac-tor in all that we do, while concurrently look-ing to the future growth of our investment here in Highland Lakes. We look forward to YOUR participation ei-ther in writing by completing a Special Project

continued on Page 8


ACE

727-785-7330

Repairs &Installations

Homes &Condos

•Experienced craftsman •Prompt & Reliable •No Job Too Small

Call Lou for yourFREE estimate

Minor

3130

Odd jobs & Honey-do List •Prompt and Reliable • No Job TOO small

call Lou for your FREE estimate

727-785-7330 0313

Request Form which is available at the front desk, or by visiting any of our monthly meet-ings. The first meeting was held on April 19, and all future meetings will be held in Room 5 on the second Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. We hope to enrich our lives here at High-land Lakes.

Facilities from Page 7

Don Noble At the last meeting of the Board of Directors, the Board appointed all chairper-sons for the standing committees here at Highland Lakes. I was fortunate enough to have been chosen from three well qualified candidates. Our meetings are held every second Monday of the month at 2 p.m. in Room 5. As I put our committee together a couple of former committee members decided to take some time off from their hectic roles. Bob Donaldson who has chaired the golf commit-tee scramble for the last six years is taking a very well-deserved rest. Also, one of the most familiar faces to all, Mario Pompeo, has de-cided to play a little more golf. He has put in untold hours up at the starters building making everyone’s experience a pleasant one. Thank you, Bob and Mario. Our committee consists of the following indi-viduals: Tom Engel, vice chairman; Rich Carl-son, secretary; Steve Krick, scramble coordina-tor; Joe Neumeister, hole-in-one coordinator; Betty Laquaglia, president of the Women’s Golf League; Wayne Persang, president of the Men’s

golfcommittee

Golf League Curt Lohr, head ranger; Hank Samuel, head starter; Steve Yuhas, tee times coordinator; and Jim Tutty, parliamentarian and newcomers policies and procedures class instructor. In March we held an organizational meeting to discuss many topics, including goals, philosophy, communicating to the community and developing a rolling five-year plan. We talked about being the eyes and ears of the community, the board and the administrator. One of our goals is to get the agenda out a week in advance of the meetings. The early agenda would allow residents time to review and understand the agenda, ask questions of members for clarification, and come to the meeting to be an active informed resident. We plan to distribute a “draft copy” of the minutes prior to their approval so those who attended the meeting can see that we have captured the discussions accurately. Also, those who could not attend would be able to see what was cov-ered and what was said. This year’s budget includes many improve-ments to our golf course. A new and

expanded practice putting green is in the works. It will go from 2,000 square feet to 4,500 square feet. With that the movement of the blue tees on the #1 hole of the Blue course is required. We will be shut-ting down nine holes one at a time to make improvements. During that time all the tees will be leveled and replaced along with killing off that annoying tropical signal grass that

exists, where necessary new grass will be in-troduced. The process will take approximately six weeks on each nine. The current plan is to start on the Red course, then Blue and finally the White course. During the shutdown we are attempting to get a contractor to come in and replace the sand in the bunkers. These are the major projects for this year but not the only ones. We will touch on others as they approach. If you have any suggestions, please submit them in writing on the sugges-tion forms available in the starters building. This will enable us to track them better and provide feedback to all. A reminder that all golf carts are to remain on Highland Lakes property. Recently we have seen some at church, Publix, etc. Failure to follow this rule could result in our privileg-es being taken away. In closing, this is a reminder that we are your committee and we depend on you for help, information and support to ensure our golf courses remain well-maintained and an enjoyable experience. Until next month keep them straight!

Men’s Golf League hands out prizes and gifts to the many golf outing participants.


0236

Linda Brown Highland Lakes has always been full of heroes and people who just want to give back. Here are some examples. In April of 2014 at 2:45 p.m. a car with two children in the back seat flew across Highland Boulevard from the Highland Lakes Elemen-tary School into the pond on Red #8. Darrell Stamm was on his way to the tee box on #9 Red when he heard the commotion. Without hesitating he drove his cart back to Red #8 where the car was sinking and he jumped in to pull the children out. There was another parent from the school helping with the suc-cessful rescue. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office presented Darrell with the “Good Samaritan Award.” In July of 1995 the Highlander II skippered by Frank Tunks, along with crew member Art Morrow, were flagged down by a lady whose husband had broken his ankle while operating a waverunner. He was afloat in Lake Tarpon wearing a life jacket. They pulled him aboard the boat and delivered him to Anderson Park where his wife was waiting to transport him. Bob Kilgore started a group of residents to support the children at the Sheriff’s Youth Ranch. This is not a detention center, it is for children who have lived in horrific conditions in their homes, been abused or neglected. After a visit to the ranch a group including Bob, Kay Turner, Dave Jones and Tom Whyte it was learned that the kids liked to cook out-side, but they had no grills. Three grills were purchased and donated to the kids. There are approximately 100 members of this group and they have over the years supplied freezers, refrigerators, washers, dryers, beds

history ofHighland Lakes

and clothing, along with many other items. Jean McNabb served 25 years as a “Caring Clown” at Mease Countryside Hospital. You have to take lessons to become a therapeutic clown. Jean was known as “Daffodil.” The

group not only worked at the hospital, they went to various schools. Jean also has spent many years collecting items to send to our fighting men and women who are stationed in out of the way places. Recently, we have had new charitable groups start up. In 2014, the Teddy Bear Group start-ed by Marion Kubler has donated hundreds of hand crafted teddy bears to give to children in a time of crisis to make them feel better. The Needle Art Ladies make lap robes for veterans, booties and hats to newborns and pocketbook purses for walkers for the elder-ly along with other items. Both those groups would be happy for any time or materials you would like to donate. The Ladies Golf League, the Women’s Club, along with many other clubs have a long his-tory of collecting money and goods for many different charities. Breast Cancer, American Heart Association, the USO and Joshua House are just a few of the recipients. We are blessed

to be able live our lives in this beautiful com-munity and Highland Lakers are always eager to give back.

Ma

nig

an

’s

corner In a few days when the Highland Lakes Little Theatre stages its next production, it will be striving to keep up a

tradition of entertainment that goes back a lot of years. Joe Creston, who turns 91 in May, knows all about it because he acted, sang and danced through 21 shows and

just may be the oldest Little Theatre member right now. For Joe, acting is something he has done all his life, even in grammar school. So when he and his wife, Josie, arrived here as snowbirds

continued on Page 10


0161

in 1990 he was more than ready to get on stage. The stories are many, the memories are great and Joe is still on board as the biggest cheerleader rooting for another successful venture. Joe grew up in Pittsburgh. By taking extra credits in the summer and nights, he graduated high school in three years. That was in 1945, and WWII had ended in Europe, but the fight raged on through the Pacific. When the Navy called Joe, it was during that time that the planning was on for the invasion of Japan. So Joe and his fellow new recruits had their train-ing cut short to get ready to cross the Pacific to finally end the war. They anticipated some serious fighting ahead. As fate would have it, the atomic bombs brought the war to an end and Joe was able to escape combat. All while growing up, Joe had been an am-ateur boxer, and so he joined a boxing team in the Navy and entertained the troops, aside from other duties such as working in supply. With active and reserve duties, Joe served a total of nine years. After the war, Joe graduated from Duquesne University. One day he went on a blind date, met Josie, and they married 14 months later. Things are still going strong after more than 62 years. They have a son, two daughters and four grandchildren. For 25 years Josie taught math in the Pittsburgh schools. For a while, Joe ran a

restaurant because all of his family had a lot of experience in the field. But soon he put his degree to work and end-ed up working 31 years as an industrial engi-neer for Westinghouse nuclear division, retir-ing in 1990. During that time, Joe took part in the building, maintenance and repairs of nuclear submarines, ships and power plants. He is proud to say he kept serving his country even out of uniform.

Joe was tickled, he recalls, to have been in the Little Theatre during the years when it was blessed with professional Theatre talent, men and wom-en who had moved to Highland Lakes with a lot of experience in large theatrical pro-ductions. There were professional singers, dancers, costume and makeup designers and even for a time a six piece orches-tra, all pitching in to make the plays extra special. There were even artists who drew and painted elaborate stage sets.

Manigan’s Corner from Page 9 Joe has his own collection of photos of him-self in many and varied parts ranging from an angel to a cowboy, and a multitude of various characters. All in all, he says, the Little Theatre has a great history. The continuing challenge is to gather the talent from the existing residents and put together a team to keep the entertain-ment going. It’s worth it, he notes. Some of his best mem-ories about Highland Lakes go back to all that work writing and piecing together all those plays. Residents have always been supportive and the rewards have been great. Joe and Josie will be in the audience at the next show, cheering everyone on and believ-ing the groundwork that Joe and many others laid over the years will keep the Little Theatre going well into the future. (Everyone in Highland Lakes has a story. Share yours by calling 978-660-1212.)

Lucy Peak APRIL and MAY GARDENING: Avoid ‘weed and feed’ products. These contain herbicides and fertilizer to-gether which can injure tree and shrub roots. Pesticides are not meant for use near plants or shrubs and should be applied only to af-fected areas. The appropriate timing is often

beautificationcommittee



Need A Caregiver?Barbara, the licensed home health aide who took such good care of my Mother for almost four years, is available to assist someone else.

You can reach her directly at(727) 799-4322 and you can also call me,

Robert Young at (727) 784-2013 as a reference.

0604 0169

different, with pre-emergent herbicides ap-plied far earlier than fertilizer. When applied together, this almost ensures that one or the other is ineffective, if not harmful. NEW PLANTINGS: May is a good time to plan for new annual, perennial, vegetable and herb plantings in anticipation of the rainy season. However, many plants and vegetables don’t tolerate our Florida heat. Be aware just because a plant is being sold in local garden centers does not necessarily mean it’s the right time to plant them here in this part of Florida. Our planting Zone ranges from 9b to 10a. GARDENING WITH AN-NUALS, including information and photos on the pot in pot method of planting, can be found at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MG/MG31900.pdf. (Note that while wax bego-nias are included in the list of plants, they are on the Invasive Watch List at both https://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu/ and http://www.flep-pc.org/list/list.htm so should not be used.) GARDENING WITH PERENNIALS is covered at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg035. EDIS INFORMATION SOURCE: Publica-tions of The University of Florida Cooperative Extension have the letters ‘edis’ in their web address. The letters stand for Electronic Data Information Source and contain information on a wide variety of topics, including Florida Friendly Landscaping. This resource can be

found at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topics/lawn-garden/index.html. MULCH: Spring is the time of year when many homeowners choose to spend more time in their yard and put down mulch for weed control and moisture retention. The BC did much research on mulch when we were writ-ing the Florida Gardening 101. Here is what we learned: Tip #18: Mulch: Get the Best. Melaleuca is preferred. Other choices are pine bark, eucalyptus mulch and yard leaves. Stay away from cypress mulch (bad for the environ-ment) and inorganic (non-living) mulches like stone or rubber which provide no soil nutrition and have limited benefits. The inorganics tend to look unsightly after a short time, are hard to weed and they are REALLY difficult to plant in or to remove once installed. Tip #19: Consider mulching areas under trees. Use 3-4 inches of mulch up to drip line. To discourage rot and in-sect damage keep mulch away from the bark of tree trunks. Do not create a “mulch volcano.” Free mulch is available at Anderson and John Chesnut Parks. Worried about the quality of the mulch? Information about the sterilization process can be found at: http://www.pinellas-county.org/solidwaste/mulch.htm.HIGHLAND LAKES HOA WEBSITE: By the time you receive this, a Beautification Commit-tee page on the Highland Lakes HOA website should be active. Go to https://www.highland-lakeshoa.net/home.asp. It will be in Service

Committees under the Resources button. The page will include our Florida Gardening 101 plus links to lots of other publications of inter-est to the Florida gardener.TIPS AND HELP: For more tips and help with your gardening decisions or to get the com-plete easy to read Florida Gardening 101 ask Lucy at [email protected] or 727-608-0811.

continued on

Beautification from Page 10

Hank Samuel Highland Lakes citizens should be wary of water system solicitors. Residents should watch for scare tactics and not let unknown persons into their home. County utility employees do not enter customers’ homes. Individuals selling products or services are generally required to have a permit. Contact your local law enforcement to report suspicious activity. Residents are being warned to watch out for individuals going door-to-door posing as utility employees and attempting to sell water systems products. One resident reported a utility employee

neighborhood watch



www.garrymcarlo.com

talked his way into the home stating he need-ed to test the water for ammonia content. He then used scare tactics to try and sell his product. Our water is provided by Pinellas County and meets or exceeds all federal and state stan-dards for safety. Therefore, residents should be cautious of unexpected visits and gifts from water companies, and claims of the ability to improve the quality and safety of their water. To report suspicious activity call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office at 727-582-6200.For questions about your drinking water, con-tact Pinellas County Utilities at 727-464-4000. Many of our neighbors will be heading up north for the summer months. Please keep an eye on their properties and pick up any fly-ers, papers or advertisements from their front doors. If you own a cell phone please put this num-ber in now for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office: 727-582-6200. Have a wonderful and safe summer.

Neighborhood Watch from Page 11

Mike Manchester The new sound system has been installed in both the Auditorium and the Great Room. The audio engineer from Sam Ash gave a number of people training on how to work the new system. We videoed the training and will use that to put together some written instructions. Thanks to all involved to get this project com-pleted. Some of the other projects we are looking at are:• E-voting. •Video streaming to the website so Highland Lakers can watch live board meetings from anywhere with any web browser. • Creating a database for inventory of decora-tions/props or items held by clubs and com-mittees they would be willing to share with other groups to reduce the cost of purchasing duplicate items.• Website continuing update. The Technology Committee is a service com-mittee. Meetings are normally held the sec-ond Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Clubhouse in Room 5. All are welcome.

technologycommittee

GARDEN CLUBThursday, May 17

3-5 p.m. in the Great Room

Scott Davis The Woodshop staff wants to thank you for supporting the first annual Birdhouse Building Contest. Of the 25 students who registered, 20 beautiful birdhouses were com-pleted. The winning birdhouses are featured on the front page of this issue. Congratula-tions to Paul Morais, 1st place in Best for Birds; John Richardson, 1st place in Decora-tive; Donna Currence, 1st place in Creative; Dave Viara, 2nd place in Best for Birds; Pat Davis, 2nd place in Decorative and 3rd place in Creative; and Connie McLaughlin, 2nd place in Creative and 3rd place in Decorative. Also pictured is a birdhouse made by Linda McKenna in recognition of Autism Awareness Month. The puzzle pieces represent the uni-versal sign of autism awareness.

wood shop

The “functional” birdhouse pictured here was made by Shawn Worster. This is to be distinguished from an “ornamental” birdhouse. Functional birdhouses provide protection from predators, weather and disease. Ornamental birdhous-es are attractive and showy, but do not protect the birds. This turned out be a wonderful way to introduce the Woodshop

to Highland Lakers who have seldom or never been there. Many of the students have indicat-ed they would like to compete again, or just learn to build another item. Plans will soon be underway to have a 2019



0533

birdhouse contest starting in January and ending with a major birdhouse display in the Highland Lakes Crafts Show held in the spring of 2019. Based on interest, we will be offering some short course wood projects like trivets, cutting boards and small decorative items early this summer and early fall, in time for the holi-days. We would love to hear your ideas for small projects. Just drop by the Woodshop and talk to a monitor. As the plans develop we will post more information on the Highland Lakes website. Come make some chips with us!

Woodshop from Page 12

Canadian Club Did You Know

Claudia Hicks DID YOU KNOW about Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park? Last month when I talked about the Canadian Rocky Mountains, I mentioned their northern border extended to the Liard River near the Yukon border. Little would you expect when travers-ing the Alaskan Highway in northern British Columbia that there would be, at mileage 477, a hot springs complex of national eco-logical significance and well known for its natural setting in a lush boreal spruce forest. These hot springs consist of about eight pools and are the second largest in Canada. The temperatures in the Alpha pool, which is the only pool open to the public, range between 104 degrees F. to over 120 F. The park is open year-round, but remember - this is the north and air temperatures in winter can fall well below freezing. Camping for large RVs as well as smaller sites for tents is available and includes use of the springs. Day passes are available. There is 24 hour access to the springs. Facilities are limited but include a change house and

composting toilet. No running water, electric-ity, sewer nor WiFi is available. A boardwalk, a little over half a mile long, leads to the hot spring pools, passing through a warm water swamp and boreal forest which supports rich and diverse plant communities as well as mammal and bird species. There are over 250 plant species, including 14 species of orchids. A total of 104 bird species and 28 mammals have been recorded at the springs. Moose are year round residents. Unlike most springs where the water bub-bles up from an underground water source, the exact mechanism and source of the hot springs in the park is unknown. It is believed that groundwater following gravity seeps down through the sedimentary rock of the Liard Pla-teau. The groundwater, heated and pressurized by hot gases deep underground, is forced back to the surface along natural faults to emerge as a thermal spring. Unlike most other thermal springs in Canada, Liard River Hot Springs does not flow directly into a nearby river or creek, but into an intricate system of swamps. These warm swamps are the most unique feature of the park, creating a micro climate allowing a unique vegetative community to thrive there. This area was originally home to several native groups who enjoyed the warm waters, hunted the moose for food and travelled the area by canoe. With the arrival of the white man, native use became closely linked to the fur trade and exploration work. Over the years, the hot springs were visited by representatives from the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Geolog-ical Survey of Canada, prospectors and trap-pers, but were largely left alone until World War II when the Japanese became interested in occupying Alaska. An allied commitment to supply war materials to the Soviet Union spurred construction of the Alcan Military Highway, now frequently referred to as the

Alaska Highway. The 1,600 miles of high-way constructed close to the Liard River in northern British Columbia and the Yukon was completed by 10,000 American Army Engi-neers and 6,000 civilians. The first boardwalk and pool facilities were built by the American Army in 1942. Liard River Hot Springs Provin-cial Park was created in April 1957.

George Burke At our March meeting we had 17 members attend. Club president, George Burke, gave a review of the Highland Lakes Computer Club website, and answered questions concerning the site. He introduced the new Help Desk Support feature. Other topics of discussion included Internet Security, Smart911.com, Password Managers, VPN and word processing options. Just a reminder, the May meeting is sched-uled for Tuesday May 15 in the Great Room from 1 to 3 p.m. Here are six red flags that might indicate that someone is trying to scam you online:1. THE LANGUAGE ISN’T QUITE RIGHTLuckily for potential scam victims, one of the biggest clues that you’re about to get scammed is the fact that whoever is trying to scam you doesn’t have a strong command of the lan-guage of the country they are attempting to scam you in. If the language is off in any way, you should be on alert and look for other red flags that might confirm your suspicions.2. THEY NEED TO “CONFIRM” SOME PERSONAL INFORMATIONIn order to bypass your mental defense mech-anisms, scammers will often tell you that they already have your information and just need you to “confirm” it for them. In reality, this is just a roundabout way of obtaining the

Computer Club



• Roofs

• Decks

• Driveways

• Walkways

• Fences

0192

0535

information they want from you through decep-tion. They might also tell you something that they know is incorrect in order for you to pro-vide them with the correct information. What they are doing is just giving you a made up piece of information so that you will give them the real information.3. THE DEAL SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUEIf the deal sounds just way too good to be true, then it is probably a scam. Do your home-work, Google words and phrases used in the ad and see if they pop up associated with known scams. Many scammers simply cut and paste what works into their scams so, chances are, a scam buster site likely has the verbiage they used on file somewhere so you can check to see if it’s a scam or not.4. THEY TELL YOU TO HURRY UP! DON’T MISS OUT!Scammers will often use the psychological prin-ciple known as the Scarcity Principle to their advantage using words such as “don’t miss out” and “only a few left” to try and rush you into a decision that you would normally not make if given time to think it over.5. SCARE TACTICSFear is another powerful motivator. Scammers may make both overt and/or veiled threats that they are going to turn you in or that you will be sued for not complying with their requests. 6. SHORT LINKS OR OTHER LINK ODDITIESMany scams will use short links to hide the intended destination URL where the scammers want to send victims. Also, if the URL is over-ly long and has strange characters in it, it may

Computer Club from Page 13 also indicate a scam or a link to malware that is attempting to use URL encoding to hide the true destination.

Lucy Peak**PLEASE NOTE: The St. Petersburg Community Band Concert scheduled for April 30 has been cancelled.A limerick for you: The spring season has come to an end; a fond farewell to the performances and audiences we send. There was the Sunshine Steel Band who the audience did adore; also Bonnie Whitehurst where the crowd wanted more. The Crystal Beach String Band was a treat for their fans; in April, the Suncoast Symphony Orchestra, a coup for Concert Club to land. We’ll look forward to see you in the fall; with a smile we will meet and greet you all. In October The Dulcimer Society we wel-come to our hall; we expect sweet sounds in our Auditorium to sound so tall. November we bring The Dueling Pianos of Allon Sams; this is a first for Highland Lakes we are glad for that, we “am!”

Concert Club

Palm Harbor University High School Band will be the last concert of the year; as we bid adieu to 2018 and welcome 2019 with a cheer. Don’t forget $15 gets admission to perfor-mances all; affordable high quality entertain-ment Mary Branham fills the order oh so tall.

Don J. Mariani Saturday, April 21 was the scheduled date for our fifth annual Highland Lakes Spring Landscape and Garden Tour. Eight residents graciously showcased their beautiful creations. Each was unique and offered an opportunity to sample various styles ranging from the traditional to innovative. Our thanks to this year’s participants: Jean Castello, Nan Cunningham, Patti Ganong, Anna Marchand, Ellen Nagle, Lucy Peak, Pat Rewolinski and Rick Molinari. Each was pre-

Garden Club



0158

0084

sented with an ornamental garden feature to commemorate their participation on this year’s tour. Thank you to the Garden Club’s Executive Committee and residents Frank Delano, Sandy Fogarty, Betty Gehris, Val Lester, Nancy Mar-iani, Linda Nelson, Tom Peak, Janet Roseland and Celia Teare for assisting in the event. (Look for photos online and in the June issue of the Highlander.) Garden Club programs are offered on the third Thursday of each month from January through May in the Great Room at 3 p.m. For those who enjoy the ambiance of the Lodge, we have reserved that space for programs in June, July and August. And remember, Garden Club programs and activities are open and free to all residents. For more information, email us at [email protected] or call 727-784-4204.TIPS OF THE MONTH for May:•As the weather warms and new growth starts, you may notice chlorosis (yellow leaves) on some plants such as bottlebrush, citrus, eu-calyptus, gardenias, oleanders ixoras, azaleas, camellias, roses and lawn grasses. Yellow foli-age, especially if the veins remain dark green, may be a sign of an iron deficiency. Use iron chelate or iron sulfate to correct the problem. If yellowing continues check for other prob-lems such as deficiencies of nitrogen, magne-

sium or manganese. Over-watering and poor light also result in yellow foliage. Plants such as hibiscus and gardenia’s old leaves may turn bright yellow before being shed. •The battle with maintaining our grass lawns has now officially begun. Is this the year when you finally stop putting money, time and effort into replacing grass in areas where foot traffic and pets are not necessary and can be planted with ground cover? There are several tough, ground covers that will grow where grass may not do well. For more information visit www.pinellascountyextension.org.• Harmful insects become more active as the weather warms. Watch for thrips, scale and mites on ornamental plants. Watch for damage from chinch bugs in St. Augustine and begin searching for newly hatched mole crickets in Bahia lawns. Prevent or minimize lawn diseas-es by following proper cultural practices when caring for lawns.• Prepare for the summer rains and hurricane season by checking trees for damaged or weak branches and prune if needed. Remember always use a certified arborist. WHAT TO DO EVERY MONTH• Adjust irrigation based on rainfall. Remem-ber that we are currently under water restrictions for county, well and reclaimed water users.

• Deadhead flowers to encourage new growth.•Monitor the garden for insects and disease.•Plant trees, shrubs and perennials and water until established. (Information for this article was provided courte-sy of the Pinellas County Extension Program. The Highland Lakes Garden Club thanks Doris Heitz-mann and her colleagues for their ongoing cooperation and support.)

Garden Club from Page 14

Stan Rosenfeld It’s magic time. Lucy, Desi and the Clampetts are coming to town. These are a few superla-tives to describe our play - Extraordinary, Mag-nificent, Sensational, Amazing, Pure Entertain-ment. We welcome and encourage all residents of Highland Lakes to join us for our performances of “Hey Lucy, Meet Uncle Jed.” It’s going to be terrific. Allow us to provide you with some teasers - David Hall, aka Rod Serling, will take us back to a more innocent time in life. Tim Manigan will blow us away with his likeness to Ricky Ricardo; LeRoy Schreiner will amaze us with

Little Theatre



Men’s Club

9 to 5 PM9 to 5 PM

Cannot be combined with any other offers.

his portrayal of Jed Clampett; Tom Cappiello will trigger belly laughter as he portrays Jethro; Brenda Shiffer and Sue Samuel will take our breath away with their representations of Lucy and Ethel; Connie Meax will stun us with her depiction of Elly May; Kay Turner will over-whelm us as Granny. She will have us rolling in the aisles with her rendition of “I’m a Wom-an.” We hope to astonish you with the cast of our other characters. We expect sellout crowds. Show times are Friday, April 27 at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at 7 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday April 29 at 2 p.m. Pre-sale tickets are $10, and at the door $12. Ticket sale dates are Tuesday, April 10, 17 and 24 in the Great Room from 9 to 11 a.m. This annual event has garnered much attention and attendance. You don’t want to miss this phenomenal performance. We are most appreciative of our loyal audiences. We value and respect your time and dollar. We are very excited about our new sound system. Little Theatre continues to thrive. Our con-tinued growth is due to our veteran members. Our new members further enhance and com-pliment our objective to provide our residents with vibrant entertainment. Thank you for your

continued support. We sincerely hope your schedule will allow you to be with us.

Little Theatre from Page 15

Victor Pohan Hope everyone enjoyed our Spring Fling, Ladies Night in Paradise party. Thank you for attending our last party of the season. All future events for the year have been planned. Our third men-only dinner meeting will be on Tuesday, September 11. At that time, officer nominations for 2019 will be tak-en. This is the meeting where new members can accept the role of leadership in the Men’s Club and be of service to the community. We have 11 officers with a one year length of ser-vice and term limits of two years in the same office. I am looking forward to meeting many of our new residents who want to serve. An evening of dinner and magic is planned. Thank you to all the volunteers who serve and bring a vision of comradery and fellow-ship to Highland Lakes. Mark your calendars for the return of our Old Fashioned Breakfast on Saturday, October 13, and Nov 17. Pancakes, sausage, scram-

Men’s Club

bled eggs, biscuits, gravy, orange juice, coffee and tea are prepared and served by the Men’s Club of Highland Lakes. Tickets are sold at the door and are still only $5. A “breakfast of champions” is always a sellout. Tuesday, October 23 is our Ladies Night and The Haunted Mansion Halloween party. Music will be by OOH LA-LA. Kelly, Chuck and Andre will keep us on the dance floor all evening. As we look forward to the summer break, many residents will be vacationing and vis-iting family. We wish everyone safe traveling and will see you in the fall.

Carolyn Solenday Our March dance was well attended and we saw lots of western attire. Residents enjoyed having their picture taken behind the “Wanted” posters. Once again we were able to give back our entire Share the Wealth with two lucky residents receiving envelopes containing $100. Our band “Happy Together” did a great job and we plan to have them back again next year. By the time this article is published our April

Midwest Club



05950015

dance will have come and gone. Kay and David and Bob and I will be heading back to Pennsylvania for the summer. Bob and I will stop in North Carolina to visit our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter as they just re-cently moved from Seattle to the Raleigh area. Our new season will begin on October 27. This will be our annual Halloween dance and our band “Sax 5th Avenue” will be a new one for the Midwest Club. We have already booked “The Tampa Bay Travelers” for November, “Flashback” for December and “The Little Kings” for January. Our band for February will be “Happy Together” and March our band will be “Flashback.” We would like to find a new band for our April dance and have information on several that we want to pursue. We will spend the summer working on themes for the dances. Any suggestions you have are welcome. We are always actively looking for new bands for our dances. If you know of a band that would be good for one of our dances, please contact me at [email protected] or 412-260-8701. Have a healthy and safe summer and we look forward to seeing you at our October 27 Halloween dance.

Midwest from Page 16

Sandra Bernard What I like about photography is that they capture a moment that is gone forev-er, impossible to reproduce. – Karl Lagerfeld Come join the Highland Lakes Photography Club to learn new and exciting ways to im-prove your photography. Our once a month meetings give our members an opportunity to share their photos with one another. You are even invited to participate in our new Mentor Program in which our more advanced pho-tographers are committed to assist our novice photographers. At each of our meetings a particular theme is designated for that month. In March, members shared photos taken at night with our guest judge and presenter, Lisa Sibley, treating our members to ideas on creativity with photo editions. Lisa is a capti-vating speaker and her presentation was just the right information that our club has been talking about for the last few months. The results for Advanced Print competition was as follows: 1st place LeRoy Schreiner, 2nd place Jim Scenna, 3rd place Richard Gor-don. Photos selected as Honorable Mentions: Bruce McConnell, Julie Cross, Gail McCon-nell and Marilyn Howerton. Free Style Cate-gory: Dick Faucher, Shirley Gorg and Bruce McConnell. Congratulations winners! A photograph of our veterans memorial

Photography Club which was taken by one of our photographers, Julie Cross, has been matted and framed and presented to the Highland Lakes Board to be hung in a prominent spot in the Highland Lakes Clubhouse. We are so very proud of Ju-lie and her very well done photograph of our new memorial that is right outside our Club-house. Thank you, Julie, for your contribution. Come join us on the fourth Tuesday of each month in the Great Room. Join us early at 12:30 to get to know our group and to enjoy the incredible photos displayed around the room. Our meetings begin at 1 p.m. Our club will not meet in June, July and August. Our theme for April was Birds and we hosted our Birding Bunch here at Highland Lakes. The theme for May will be USA Patriotic. We are looking forward to seeing you at our May 22 meeting.

Joan Aquilla We are already into May’s Highlander and saying goodbye to our snowbirds. We are put-ting great efforts into working with our three travel agencies to give you trips during the summer months and we would appreciate it if you use these travel agents who are keeping the Highland Lakes travel desk operating. They are Accent on Travel, Diane at 727-786-3336; Advantage Cruises and Tours, Alex and Cullen

Travel Club



$3.00 offOVER $30.00

5-31-18

5-31-18ENTREE OVER $18.00

Mexican TrainDOMINOESMonday nights6:30 - 9:30 PM

BAGPIPER ROOM

Monday nights 6:30 - 8:30 PMRoom 3

CLUBHOUSE

www.eastlakecafe.com

5-31-18

Women’s Club

Pinochle Monday nights 6:30-10 PM Great RoomThursday nights 6:30-9:30 Room 3

Mah JongThursdays 12:30-4 PM

Room 3

at 727-576-4010; and Diana’s Travel, Melva and Marshall at 352-616-0864. We need your support in using them on your cruises, riv-er cruises, 2-5 day trips which keep them in business and let them offer the best rates and incentives to us. The day trips are the extras they give us but do not make money on these. To keep them and us operating we need you to select them for all your travel vacations. Be-cause we are working so hard to give you day trips I am listing those we have on the books today, but know these agents are working with us all summer on trips to keep those who are not snowbirds traveling during the summer months. Day trips and short trips:Accent on TravelEscape for the Day - Tarpon Springs, April 11Murder Mystery Train - Fort Myers, May 20St. Armands Circle - Sarasota, June 15Advantage TravelOld South Huntsville to Atlanta, April 9-13Silver Springs State Park - Ocala, April 13A Slice of Georgia, April 18-20Mt. Dora Lakeridge Winery, May 3Diana’s TravelLas Vegas, June 4-8Harry Leu Gardens - Orlando, June 9Honky Tonk Laundry Show Palace Hudson, July 2Scarlet Pearls Casino Biloxi, August 21-24Alpine Helena Georgia October Fest, October 21-24

We hope you will take advantage of these trips. You can go to highlandlakeshoa.net, then to Activities, then to Social Clubs, and then Travel Club to get all the information on these trips. Stevi in Resident Services and our vice president Vicki are doing a great job of keeping this up to date. All flyers are on this website. Once again, we appreciate your working with our travel agents who are working so hard for all of us, so let’s support them. They will give you the best deals. We will all be happy with the results. Call them direct or call Vicki Richardson at 727-437-7365. We thank you all for your support. Happy Traveling!

Travel Club from Page 17

Valerie Demu Can you believe it? This is the last event of the season. Also, our luncheon is a bit earlier in the month, the first Tuesday of May, rather than the second Tuesday. We wanted to get together with the ladies one last time before they head north. Since the Women’s Club 2018 schedule said that the May event would be a “party,” it seemed like an appropriate time to celebrate our friends and neighbors to the south with a “Mexican Fiesta.” On Tuesday, May 1 at noon the Auditori-um and tables will be decorated with a Latin theme. There will be Mexican serapes, fans, sombreros, tiaras and fiesta hats to add to the

Women’s Club


festivities. Our decorating committee always comes up with creative ideas to set the mood for an enjoyable afternoon. Please feel free to wear your favorite Mexican hat, dress and accessory. The luncheon, of course, will follow a Mexi-can theme. Salsa and tortilla chips will be on each table as you enter the room to be fol-lowed by a Mexican “almuerzo and postre.” Now it is time to get up and get moving. We have invited Cathy Scavelli, who teaches dance at the Lodge on Tuesdays and Fridays, to teach us a few dance moves. So come and

committee


0735

0538

0716

0744

Luz Meyer

Pinochle Monday nights 6:30-10 PM Great RoomThursday nights 6:30-9:30 Room 3

Thank you for making our March performance a success. We try our best to find talent that you will find entertaining. Gathering from the comments I heard I am sure that Monday, Monday’s performance ex-ceeded everyone’s expectations.What’s coming up, you might ask:

May 5 - Yachta, Yachta, Yachta -

activities committeeshow

This is a new group to Highland Lakes. They will provide you with a night filled with smooth and breezy sounds, featuring the music of Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Sade, Michael McDonald, Boz Sca-ggs, Captain and Tennille and several others. They are bringing their own giveaways to increase that “Yacht” feeling. There will be captain hats, mustaches, sun glasses and champagne flutes. It will be as if you are aboard someone’s yacht. This one should really be fun! Even better - because we actually made money on the last two shows - we are able to lower the price on this one. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 24 (and if not sold out, May 1) in the Great Room from 9 to 11 a.m. The tickets are marked as $20 but ACTUALLY are $15 for residents; $17 for guests.

June 9 - Rocketman! Rocketman, an Elton John tribute, was here three years ago to a sold out crowd. We are pleased to be able to bring this show again, and all because the last two shows were sell outs. This will be the start of our summer enter-tainment. Tickets go on sale May 29 and June 5. In the next issue of the Highlander, we will publish a list of

all the Activities Committee summer entertainment.

Watch for it!


0751

July 31, 2018

0728

activities around campus ...

0754

0755

Jim Acre of the Board of Directors administers the oath of office to Joe Corcia as Commander for a second two-year term.

Thank you to our volunteer boat captains.

First Adjutant Nancy Mariani accepting Appreciation Award from Commander Joe Corcia.

Bocce governing body, from left:Susie Norris, Sue McConnell Dan Cunningham, Nan Cunningham, Carole Friedman, Terry Comperatore, Jim Hannaman, Karen Prymicz, Dick O’Hare.

Members of the winning team of the first annual Bocce World Series championship. From left: Tony Vasquenz, Dick O’Hare, Bill McKee, Jim Wells. Not pictured: Bill Reid.

Highland Lakes Highlander May- 2018 21

0653

HIGHLANDERTraveling

0754

Our graphic artist took the Highlander to the WASP luncheon at the Lakeland Sun ‘n Fun fly-in. Pictured from left: 98 year old Kay Hildebrand, Mary and 94 year old Bee Haydu. The Women Air Service Pilots flew over 60 million miles during World War II, transported every type of military aircraft; towed targets for live anti-aircraft gun practice; simulated strafing missions and transported cargo, freeing up men for military service.

CPR at the Lodge with instructor Jerry Allen.

Block 40 had a Meet and Greet Party at the Greenview Condo Pool lanai. Turnout was excellent with about 30 residents in attendance.

Winners of Men’s Tennis TournamentA Flight: Min Lee and Tom WilsonBelow: B Flight: Bob Castell and Vince Cascone.

Residents fill the Great Room as Creative Corner instructor Gail McConnell guides them in a paint-in.

Wanda and Charles Brower in trouble at the Midwest Club Dance

Midwest Club Share the Wealth ticket sellers.

Pottery Classes are Mondays 1-4 PM in

the Annex 1A


Expires 5-31-18

0722

D. VA Group Annual Dinner from left: Tim Manigan, Fred Serrano, Rose Acre and Neil Ducharme with two members of the Florida Military Vehicle Preservation Association.

B. All branches were represented by uniform.C. A military jeep was brought in.

A. VA Dinner Veterans and guests second annual gathering to share a meal in remembrance.

VA Dinner

A

B

C

DSlimnastics ladies, Geri Bouchard, Lois Carron, Sandi Kilgore, Pat Walsh, and Joan Greene enjoyed a pontoon boat ride on Lake Tarpon and lunch at the Tarpon Turtle.

Shuffleboard tournament from left: Larry Maida, 2nd place; Steve Lilly, 1st place; Diane Jacques, rookie of the year

BINGO is over for the season. See you in the fall.

Men’sClubMen’s Club Old Fashioned Breakfast always draws the crowds.


$54.95 plus tax

[email protected]

join us for Latin music and dance instruction. It should be fun! Tickets will be on sale Tuesday, April 17 and 24 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Great Room. The price of tickets is $11. As you travel this summer and collect those cute little toiletries from hotels, inns and B&Bs, please consider donating any that are unused to FEAST. We continue to collect unused cell phones with 911 capacity, also donated to FEAST. The basket for you to donate these items is on the table just inside the Auditorium door. We thank you for your generosity. If you know of a Club member who is ill or grieving and would appreciate a card, please call Eileen Holler at 727-900-7214. She will be happy to send the appropriate card. Would you like to be on our email list? If so, send your email address to: [email protected]. Check us out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Highland-Lakes-Women’s-Club-487762894610257/ We wish those of you who are leaving us for the summer and the many folks who spend the summer right here in Highland Lakes a very happy, healthy and safe summer season.

Women’s Club from Page 18 Golf Tournament

David Lee Highland Lakes Third Annual Mixed Better Ball of Partners was held on Tuesday, April 3. This is the largest tournament at Highland Lakes that takes place every year. There were 67 teams with 134 golfers; 67 men and 67 women. Men’s par was 60; women’s par was 62. Here are the results:Low Gross Team Score (actual minus handi-cap): 1st place with 61, Rita and Bob Down-ing; 2nd place with 62, Dianne and Tom Maynard; 3rd place with 64, Sue and Bob McConnell; 4th place with 65, Vandalea and Danny Creaser; 5th place with 66, Sharon Potter and Mike Neese; 6th place with 68, Judy and Don Czarnecki; 7th place with 69, Kathy and Karl Behnken.Low Net Team Score (actual): 1st place with 47, Joanne Gonzalez and David Stilson; 2nd place with 48, Bonnie Swauger and Rick Filber; 3rd place with 48, Judy Lepel and Daryl Hesson; 4th place with 49, Marilyn and Leo Parwicki; 5th place with 49, Gae Sherwood and Nick Georgion; 6th place with 49, Myrtle and Wayne Oickle; 7th place with 50, Valerie and Jerry Carlquist; 8th place with 50, Shirley Gorrell and Gary Monroe; 9th place with 50, Sonja and Ron Micinski; 10th place with 51, Betty and Art Mumberson.

BIRDING BUNCH MEETING“Watching Birds”FRIDAY, MAY 4

2 PM IN ROOM 5

Nancy Hughes Highland Lakes residents proved that we have nature lovers in our community. We completely filled a travel bus to Myak-ka State Park in March with the Travel Club. The airboat trip was full of wildlife. Alligators abound there. We also saw several limpkins, black and white stilts, lesser scaups, crows, vultures, and even a black glossy ibis. The naturalist did a good job of describing the animals that we saw such as the difference be-tween an alligator and a crocodile as well as a turkey vulture and a black vulture. A photo overview by our photographer friend, Mary Jo Wisniewski, was sent to all the members on the email list. We have had several newcomers showing interest in our group, so much so that we now have 98 email addresses that receive notifications. Clarification that we do more than watch birds is often needed. The group meets every first Friday usually in Room 5 of the Clubhouse at 2 p.m. for an education-al meeting on announced topics relating to birds. Notices are posted on the wall outside the Auditorium, the lobby electronic board, and here in the Highlander. We donate items of need to the Moccasin Lake Bird Rescue in Safety Harbor such as bleach, sanitary wipes,

Birding Bunch



0707

0714

Blue Dawn dish soap, paper towels, egg car-tons, old sheets and towels. We participate in the February Backyard Bird Count as Citizen Scientists, reporting on counts on Lake Tarpon with the Clearwater Eagle Watch. We have sponsored a day bus trip for the past two years to Florida State Parks. Our list of birds sighted in Highland Lakes continues to grow to over 75 species. Several residents have observed the large grey sandhill cranes wandering on the golf courses and in neighborhoods. Most of the sandhills have migrated north for the summer but apparently a few stayed here. There are families of hooded mergansers and mallard ducks in the Clubhouse pond. The duckling count was nine; however, some will not sur-vive due to the natural predators nearby. We want reports on the swallow tail kites if you spot them soaring overhead. They are large white birds with a black wing trim and a forked tail. They soar and eat bugs midair! There are only a few of these birds in Florida and we spotted them here all last summer. Residents are reporting bluebird nests. A flock of migrating white pelicans high overhead was sighted by a resident in March. It was fun trying to identify birds by sound on the TV coverage of the Valspar Golf Tour-nament. Ospreys and cardinals were the most often heard. We would like to support the Travel Club day trip on June 9 to the Harry P. Leu Gardens and Winter Park in Orlando for lunch on your own and shopping. Sign up at the Travel Club tables. The next meeting is Friday, May 4 at 2 p.m. in Room 5. The topic will be “Watching Birds.” Sighting birds with binoculars, scopes and camera lenses has been requested by several interested in purchasing binoculars.

Birding Bunch from Page 23

Von James On Friday, May 4 you will find us in the Annex Building from 1 to 3 p.m. making foil embossed sculptures. Our pottery guru, Marty Ferguson, will be the instructor.The class will be limited to 20 and tickets will be sold on Tuesday, April 24 and May 1 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Great Room. Tickets are $5 and BYOB. The samples she has are really different and something everyone can do. We will have decorative birdhouse paint-ing on July 6 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Annex Building. Tickets will be sold on Tuesday, June 26 and July 3 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Great Room. Tickets are $5 and BYOB. Be sure to come early because there is only room for 25. Everyone enjoyed the last one so much, that we are offering the event again. Pottery classes continue every Monday from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Annex Building. Stay up to date with our Facebook page, Creative Corner Highland Lakes.

Creative Corner

Sandi Kilgore April showers bring May flowers. We remember how exciting it was up north to see the colorful buds peak through the ground in May. Here in Florida we enjoy the flowers all year round. May usually brings humidity and the beginning of hot temperatures, but it is still spring and should be enjoyed before the arrival of the lazy days of summer. The Chefs are happy to announce that Thurs-day, May 3 is the date of our next Trivia Night. Our delicious menu for the evening features meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad, veggies, rolls, apple pie, coffee and tea. Come join the fun and challenge your memory and recall. Every person at the winning table of eight will receive a $25 gift certificate. Also,

Highland Chefs

keep those thinking caps on because we plan to offer three Trivia Nights during the summer months. The Chefs’ highlight event for the month of May is our outstanding Mother’s Day Brunch held on Sunday, May 13. We wish to honor all mothers, grandmothers and great grand-mothers with a divine meal. The scrumptious menu will include omelets (made to order), baked french toast, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, bagels with lox and cream cheese, mini muf-fins, roast beef, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, tossed salad, veggies, rolls, dessert and coffee. A special feature will be mixes for Bloody Marys and Mimosas. So, come for breakfast, come for lunch, or come for brunch. Enjoy it all! The Chefs wish to extend our sincere thanks to the Highland Lakers who have attended our 2018 culinary events. During the first three months of 2018 we have served over 1,500 people at our dinners. Your support is truly appreciated. To our Highland Lakers who leave for other locations during the summer, we wish you a safe and happy time with your family and friends, and we look forward to your return in the fall. Enjoy your food. Enjoy your friends. Guten Appetit!

Dianne CrossonThe Nix

Nathan Hill The Reporter says of this debut novel: “The Nix is a sprawling novel, but in the best way.

Ravenous Readers



0212

0621

It creates a world that, despite its characters’ foibles and imperfections, readers will delight to inhabit.” The story follows failed writer and disillusioned English professor Samuel Andresen-Anderson and the mother who abandoned him when he was eleven. The tale moves between 2011, the 1980’s and 1968 Chicago and the Democratic Convention. The over six hundred pages of the novel tackle, among other things, politics, ghosts, online role-playing games and logic. It is satirical, smart, funny and moving. There has been talk that a TV series based on this novel will be made starring Meryl Streep and produced by J. J. Abrams. Please join us Thursday, May 10 at 2 p.m. at the Lodge for a discussion of this American story.

Ravenous Readers from Page 24

Sandy Bernard Greetings to all of Highland Lakes Residents! Monthly our group gathers together to relax and share in a few laughs. In March we had a very relaxing early evening at the Lodge shar-ing dinner dishes. To top it off two of our sin-gles took us out for an outing on Lake Tarpon on the pontoon boats. What a perfect evening for such an encounter with what Lake Tarpon has to offer. Our May event will be May 20 at the Pavilion beginning at 5 p.m. for just a good ole fashion summer pool party. Bring a dish to share and as always BYOB. Come in something cool and relaxing whether it is shorts, bathing suit and cover-up or a sundress. Just be sure to come out for a time of fellowship. If you are not

Singles Group

getting my emails, please contact me at [email protected]. Until next time, stay active, stay connected and have fun.

Bonnie Corcia The Highland Ukers have been meeting on Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. at the Lodge. We have been having a fabulous time learn-ing and sharing some fantastic ukulele singing and playing together. We already have a play list starting and we are hoping to play at some senior centers when we come back together in the fall. Since some of our group will be leav-ing for the summer we will be taking a break from our official meetings on Wednesday mornings to resume in the fall. But a few of us will be meeting casually to practice together. If you are interested in learning to play the ukulele this would be a great time to start learning the basics. Please contact me at [email protected] or call my cell at 732-718-5840. Here’s hoping you all have a fabulous sum-mer wherever your travels take you.

Ukulele Group

Fred Serrano This month, I need to take time to send out a bunch of thank you words to all those who participated in making our second annual din-ner dance a special time. Special thanks go to Rose Acre. We had asked her to take care of decorations and she not only made certain each table had fresh flowers and that the hall was beautiful, but she surprised us by arranging to have a WWII

Veterans Group

Willys Jeep driven right into the Clubhouse to the front of the stage. That was the surprise hit of the evening and all night long individuals and couples posed beside the Jeep or actually got behind the wheel for collectible photos. Members of the Florida Military Vehicle Preservation Asso-ciation drove the vehicle down from New Port Richey for our event. Our thanks go to Rick Deren and Roland Grady for that special effort. They brought the vehicle to us com-plete with a machine gun mounted along with other weapons. We also thank the 170 people who showed up for dinner and dancing, and as usual Dino was a hit entertainer. Thanks also go to Stan and Trudy Monti for taking care of all the tick-et sales. Thanks, too, for all the photography work that was done by Rick Del Col and Le-Roy Schreiner, who made a big effort to take current photos and collect old photos of our Highland Lakes veterans to be part of a show at our Veterans Day event in November. More thanks go out to the Highland Chefs under the direction of Dave Jones, who once again went all out to supply us with an out-standing meal. Remember, the Veterans Group has been asked to play a key role the planning the Highland Lakes 2018 Veterans Day observa-tion. We are still putting together a core group of about 10 of our members to take charge of various aspects of the planning. We need to hear from you. As veterans, it is our obligation to honor all those who served. We need to hear from female veterans from Highland Lakes as we continue to plan the



0683

06570029

0344License #OCL6994

2018 Veterans Day ceremony. We know there are a few, but we want to make certain we have not missed anyone and would like to get you on our list. We hope to have Highland Lakes women veterans present the wreath at the next Veterans Day ceremony. Please show your support for all we are doing by contacting me at [email protected] or call 727-789-2424.

Veterans Group from Page 25

Dan and Nan Cunningham Our banquet was a great success with nearly 100 folks attending. We hope that this year with the playoff and bowl we added a little fun for our members. It is a long season with 19+ games and we hope that everyone will come back next season ready to play. As was mentioned at the banquet, there were six different ways a team could win a category for the season and/or the playoffs. Team 13 won most wins for the season and their division. Team 16 won their playoff division and the Super Bowl. Team 2 won the most games in their league division. Team 1 won their playoff division. Congratulations to all and now we all have a target for next year. We again want to thank all the members for their understand-ing and assistance with helping us get through this new event.

Bocce

As most of you know, most of our officers are staying with us another year: Dan Cun-ningham, president; Jim Hannaman, vice president; Terry Comperatore, secretary; Karen Prymicz, treasurer; Nan Cunningham, com-munications; Carol Friedman, sunshine coor-dinator; and Dick O’Hare, league chairman. Thanks to all again, and have a safe summer!

Shirley Gorrell Happy spring! Hope everyone feels that way. Our game of Chair Volleyball sure feels good. We continue to have more people coming to play our fun game. It is such a great feeling to get exercise and have a good time competing to win. We will miss our friends as they head north. Hope you all have a good summer and we look forward to your return. We will continue to play in the Auditorium ev-ery Monday and Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m.

Chair Volleyball

Jeannette Wilson So how are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions? Are you sticking strictly to that cabbage soup diet to lose a few pounds? Have you started an exercise pro-gram? Or has that cabbage soup gotten boring

Fitness News

and you are still waiting for the motivation to get off that couch and take advantage of all the fitness classes offered at Highland Lakes? Diet is a four-letter word so maybe it would make more sense to make a lifestyle change rather than go on a diet that you know you are not going to stick with. We all know the foods that are not good for us but you don’t have to exclude them totally from your food plan; just cut way back on those foods and go heavy on the fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Just because they say dark chocolate and red wine can be good for you doesn’t mean you should eat a chocolate bar every day or drink the whole bottle of wine. The benefits of exercise are too numerous for me to go into in this article but we all know how important it is that we keep moving and to stay strong. We lose muscle mass as we age but it’s never too late to build it back up. There are so many opportunities here at High-land Lakes to get involved in a fitness class. We have water aerobics, yoga, Latin dance, slimnastics, line dancing and chair volleyball. Check the Highlander, the website or the no-tices on the wall by the Auditorium for times and places. All of these classes are appropriate for all levels of expertise and are open to men and women. Check with your doctor before starting an exercise program if you have any issues that may prevent you from exercising or



0027

0747

to get their advice as to what program would be best for you. Don’t be afraid that you won’t be as good as the other people in the class or that you won’t know the routines. Everyone had to start some-where and the more you come, the stronger you will get and the easier it will be. Plus, you will have the encouragement of instructors and other participants for motivation. Don’t let your ego get in the way; do this for yourself. None of us are 20-something anymore; we come to these classes so we can have a long, healthy, productive life and so we can stay in our homes independently for a long, long time. An added benefit of attending a fitness class is that you will meet some really nice people who are all coming for the same rea-sons.

Fitness from Page 26

Pat Webber On March 6 we had a paddle on the Weeki Wachee Springs and it was an extremely easy paddle due to the river being a little high. There was not much paddling, just laying back relaxing and soaking up the warm sun. It was mostly just steering and letting the current guide us. This is always our most popular trip for all levels of skill because of the crystal clear, beautiful water, wildlife and ease of navigat-

Kayakers Group

ing. We did see a couple of manatees even though most had already left because of the warmer waters. There is a certain spot where they hang out in the winter, but we didn’t see any in their usual spots, just a few stragglers in other areas of the river. We put in behind the attraction at the Boat-ing in Florida launch area. They have rentals and for a small fee they allow access to their launch for people with their own kayaks and a shuttle ride back to their parking lot. Reser-vations are a must now. Thanks to Jerry Allen, our coordinator, for organizing it. They have done a great job with the take out area at Rogers Park. The once slippery launch area has been worked on and now has new rubber matting and handrails. The parking lot has been completely repaved, new landscap-ing, covered picnic tables and there is even plenty of staff there to assist you in getting out of your kayaks and carrying them to a designated area for you to retrieve them. This

service is much appreciated after sitting for a couple of hours, then trying to get out of your kayak on your own power. Typically, this part of the trip provides a lot of humor not just for the kayakers, but also for the people on land watching as we struggle with the effects of aging bodies. You all know what I’m talking about. There were several short trips during the win-ter months that were organized by individuals in our group, some of which had to be can-celled because of the really cold weather and windy days. We appreciate the group mem-bers planning outings on their own initiative and we are always happy to assist by sending out email blasts with the details and contact information. Just let us know what you are thinking of planning or would like to try. We are a Special Interest Group in Highland Lakes and always welcome new members. The influx of new residents due to our robust hous-ing market in Highland Lakes is helping and you can be a part of it by contacting [email protected]. There is no fee to join. Check out our group Facebook page at Highland Lakes Kayakers to see pictures of past events. Just request to join the group page and we will respond. Spring has arrived, so let’s get out on the wa-ter and enjoy the Sunshine State. This is why we live here, right?


Non-Slip Floor Coatings

0642

Lucy Nobile We had our spring luncheon on Friday, April 6, at the First Watch Cafe in Countryside. They offer healthy choices on their menu and we all had a great time. We have a poem from one of our members, Stanley Cohen, to share with you. This one is not about weight loss, but we think you’ll enjoy it. THE SPIRIT OF SEVENTY-SIXThe average man dies at 76That’s how old I am nowAfter this, I’m on borrowed timeWill I still have fun?All the law and my wife will allowI still like to ride my bikeGo for a walkOr garden for an hour or twoI can’t perform like I was 25But I still enjoy what I doI look forward to the rest ofMy life with enthusiasm, not sorrowI learn from yesterdayLive for todayAnd hope I’ll see tomorrow“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow” - Albert EinsteinThank you, Stanley, for your great poems. We meet every Friday morning in Room 3 at the Clubhouse. We weigh in from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and then have our meeting from 10 a.m.

Lighter Lakers to 10:30. Anyone may sit in at a meeting as a guest to see what we are all about. New mem-bers are always welcome.

Men’s Golf League

through the completion in September. We encourage players to play ready golf and move along as quickly as possible. The putting green is scheduled to be expand-ed in June. Full details of course renovations will be fully explained by the Golf Committee. We will work to make Wednesday fun and competitive. All players are asked to sign in 20 minutes before your tee time, and to be at the tee 10 minutes before your tee time. Remembering to fill divots and repair ball marks will be more important than ever as we enter the summer months and have renovations on our courses. May your drives be long and your putts find the hole.

Bill Shiflet Fore, Golfers! The winter season is over and we wish our snowbirds safe travel. We will see you this fall. We all enjoyed our spring luncheon and recognizing the flight winners of the spring tournament.

The big news is about plans for our golf courses. All three nine-hole courses will be closed to get rid of weeds and re-establish grass. This project is scheduled to begin on April 16 with the White course. Tentatively the Blue course will close in June and the Red course will close in July. All dates will depend on work and weather so that two courses can remain open throughout the summer season. The work on the courses means there will be only two courses open for league-play April

Alyce Buckley Hi Fellow Pickle Ballers! Our original party was canceled due to weather but we had it a week later. We had 48 people in attendance with 11 huge pizzas, sal-ads and dessert. We played Pickleball before and after dinner at the Pavilion. Our first tour-nament of the year, run by Bob Cross, was also very successful. Winners were 1st place - Bill Bidinger and Joe Uhrinek; 2nd place - Dave Clegg and Doug Schmitt. I want to remind all the newbies and

Pickleball


studio

k

Brian KomerskaStylist/Colorist 07340752

0753


0748

through the completion in September. We encourage players to play ready golf and move along as quickly as possible. The putting green is scheduled to be expand-ed in June. Full details of course renovations will be fully explained by the Golf Committee. We will work to make Wednesday fun and competitive. All players are asked to sign in 20 minutes before your tee time, and to be at the tee 10 minutes before your tee time. Remembering to fill divots and repair ball marks will be more important than ever as we enter the summer months and have renovations on our courses. May your drives be long and your putts find the hole.

intermediates that we have opened up two courts on Saturday at 1 p.m. so that they can play at their own level. The beginner’s court will have one of us with them at all times to get them started. Loaner paddles are available. The first time we announced this, we had two courts packed and the other two being used by the advanced players. Unfortunately, we have not seen them since. We are encourag-ing new inexperienced players to join us so that we may “grow” even more than we have been doing. Please come out and join us. You can’t get better unless you play. Pickleball hours remain the same - every day from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from1 to 4 p.m. We anticipate another tourney and hopefully another party before the season ends.

Pickleball from Page 28

Steve Lilly The 2017/2018 season was a success with all the shufflers enjoying the season. The offi-cers for the 2018/19 season are: Steven Lilly, president; Rich Fogarty, vice president; Sandy Fogarty, secretary; Sherrie Bourgeois, treasurer. The season banquet was held on March 20 at Daddy’s Grill and a nice time was had by all. The shuffleboard tournament held on March 13 was an interesting day for all. A total of 15 shufflers competed in the single elimination tournament that took four games to complete and ran from 10:30 a.m. through 2 p.m. Here are some highlights of the games: Game 1 was Larry Maida with a high score of 75. After game 1 refreshments were enjoyed. For game

Shuffleboard

2, eight shufflers competed, and Rich Fogarty had a high of 45. For game 3, four shufflers competed, and Robert McConnell had a high of 48. For game 4, the final two shufflers com-peted. Ed Horrocks scored 30 for first place and Robert McConnell scored 28 for second place. Congratulations! The season leaders were Steve Lilly, first place; Larry Maida, second place and Diane Jacques, rookie. Congratulations to all shufflers that competed and made this an awesome year for the High-land Lakes Shuffleboard team. We have casual play at 9 a.m. starting April 3 and running through September 25. This is a great time to check out the game of shuffleboard if you are one who lives here year round. Hope to see you this summer whenever your schedule allows. Tidbits about Shuffleboard: It is not a team sport. You play against only one other player so you are playing for only yourself. Do you have to attend every week? Nope, and nobody gets upset if you have other obligations and can’t make a game. We are happy to see you when you do come but you will find that you will look forward to coming every week. What if you have never played before? No problem. Those of us that have played before are willing to show you the ropes. We were all rookies once and understand. What is the difference between “league” play and “casual” play? League play means that the game results are recorded and count towards the end of season awards. Casual play means that the results are not recorded and do not count towards any end of season awards. So how do I join and what are the dates/times? Thought you would

never ask.Mark your Calendars and Join Us! All games are on Tuesday. For the 2018/19 season the hours have changed as follows:League Season - October 9, 2018 to March 19, 2019. Official Play - 9:30 or 11:15 a.m.Casual Play - April through September - 9 a.m. Come check out the game!

Carol “Nemo” Meginley Sometime during April the chilly, cool and nippy weather departed. All of a sudden May arrived; the hot, humid and sweaty conditions returned to Highland Lakes. Many of us had been planting and painting, weeding and feeding and working on home improvements projects. But how many of us have taken the opportunity to consider the renovation of our bodies, physical fitness or diets. Truthfully, my body could use an HGTV extreme make over. But Chip and Joanna aren’t about to feature my defects covered with shiplap on their next Fixer Upper episode. So, you guessed right! It’s Demo Day in May! Are any of your body parts labeled flip

Slimnastics



0700

License # EC13006362

07190713

0249

0649

0733

Tennis Club

or flop?” Would you rather love it or list it? Want a surprise visit from those hot Property Brothers? Are you considering downsizing to fit into a tiny house? Renovating your body with a refreshing spring makeover takes a bit more effort than lifting up the remote and watching HGTV. It is time to shake off those dusty winter muscles, aches and pains. Look through your pretty French doors at a new open-concept life style. Walk into the Highland Lakes Au-ditorium, pass the barn doors and join the Slimnastics Team. We really empower you to DIY. Although, we don’t guarantee that you’ll look like Ms. Magnolia Farms. Jeanne Schleifer, Slimnastics Instructor, leads the team every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting at 9 a.m. for about one hour in the Auditorium. We are not gender specific and there are no contracts or fees. The pro-gram includes a stretch, low-impact exercise

0733

Slimnastics from Page 29 routine, a quick aerobic burst and a session with floor mats. You can participate in the stretching session, the floor mat exercises or both. And, here is a bonus. If you would like to just observe our routine, please feel free to see just how we achieve results. You can too!

Sue Samuel The month of March was filled with practice and a show with Sun City Swim Dancers in Bradenton. This was their annual show and we swam two routines to an audi-ence of over 100 Sun City residents. Fun was had by all! Then the Sun City Swim Dancers joined us at the Highland Lakes Clubhouse pool for practice and lunch at the end of March. Each group taught the other a few skills and a few routines to music. Again, we got some exercise, and laughter abounded throughout the day. The Newcomers Night was well attended and Pat Pusateri, Chris Pickens,

Synchro-Belles

Kathleen Brinkmiller and Eloise Hayes greet-ed the new residents and shared photographs from our Synchro-Belles shows over the years. In the month of April, the Synchro-Belles concentrated on learning new stunts and swimming strokes in unison at the clubhouse pool. We want YOU to think about swimming with us. If you can float, you can become a Synchro-Belle. Come and join us at the Club-house pool on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. Our motto is “Fitness, Fun, and ‘F’ilanthropy! Call Debbie Noble at 716-553-3685 or Sue Samuel at 727-510-8874 with questions or for further information.

From the left Karen Stalter, Kathleen Brinkmiller, Judy Stumpmier, Kathie Behnken, Eloise Hayes, Sue Samuel, Helen Schmitt, and Debbie Noble.

0699


0638

0733

0418

Susan Jones The three day Men’s Tournament was highly anticipated and did not disappoint the fans of these talented courts men. The final day’s matches were Mike Neese and Larry Maida vs. Tom Wilson and Min Lee in the A Flight, and Bob Castell and Vince Cascone vs. Ben Sellers and Doug Schmitt in the B Flight. Tom and Min took the honors in the A Flight and Bob and Vince in B. As promised there was also a Mixed Dou-bles Exhibition Game in the A Flight which was won by Sherrie Bourgeois and Min Lee. Congratulations to all our winners and partic-ipants! Dilly, dilly! We had a mixed doubles round robin play followed by a social at the pool pavilion on Sunday, April 22. Don’t forget that there is mixed doubles open play every Tuesday evening. Any level of play is welcome. TENNIS TIP OF THE MONTH: Don’t go out on the court cold. Do those warm up exercis-es and stretching before your first swing.

Tennis Club

Carol Fenn The Women’s Golf League Member/Member two day tournament was a success. It was completed on March 22. The

Women’s Golf League

weather was a bit chilly but we still had a good time. After play on the last day the ladies were treated to hot dogs, chips, cookies, lem-onade and ice tea. Thank you Narcine Lam-brecht for putting on this wonderful treat; you did a great job as our new vice president! Our new HOA manager, Bill Berthold, joined us for lunch and updated us on many things that will be going on with the golf course. A BIG thank you, Bill. The following members were declared win-ners.9 Hole League –A Flight: Catherine Naranjo/Sally Edlin, 1st place; Dolores Moffo/Car-ol Hetzel, 2nd place; Missy Schroeder/Tully Wise, 3rd place. B Flight: Virginia Fields/Helen Steidl, 1st place; Pam Culligan/Patti Cain, 2nd place; Ellen Nagle/Arlene Tierce, 3rd place. C Flight: Denise Muirhead/Lois McCandless, 1st place; Sharon Lovell/Teddy Miller, 2nd place; Rose Stearns/Prim Rock, 3rd place. D Flight: Elke Tyburski/Jackie Lee, 1st place; Beverly Curtis/Susan Jones, 2nd place; Bonnie Swauger/Mary

Justiana, 3rd place.18 Hole League A Flight: Rita Burt/Rita Down-ing, 1st place; Betty Mumberson/Sharon Potter, 2nd place; Lena Norfelt/Colleen Long, 3rd place. B Flight: Bibs Weins/Judy Moeke, 1st place; Carol Germann/Darlene Henderson, 2nd place; Judy Lepel/Carol Fenn, 3rd place. C Flight: Mary Ciszak/Beverly Rathbun, 1st place; Helen Borders/Jean Butters, 2nd place; Helene Berg/Valerie Carlquist, 3rd place. D Flight: Maryann Costigan/Dee Ferworn, 1st place; Kay Nielsen/Barbara Katcha, 2nd place; Betty Laquaglia/Margie Friedman, 3rd place.CONGRATULATIONS LADIES! Handicaps were run after play on March 22. The Member/Guest 9 Hole Golf Scramble/Luncheon was held on April 12, with a lun-



advertisers index

0694

ADVERTISERS PG#Air Conditioning/Heating Air Zone 34All Star 27JTF 8Seabee 24Attorneys at Law Thomas W. Rezanka 11Beth S. Wilson 13Wollinka/Wollinka/Doddridge 14Autobody/Detailing Day’s Collision 4Beauty AVON 36BK Hair Salon 29Sophisticate Nails & Spa 33Temple Float Spa 20Salon Sass 38Care Services Amy Kidder Compassion Care 32At Home Senior Care 31Care Placement 14Harmony Home Care 19Need a Caregiver? 11Preferred Care At Home 15Classified AdWanted to rent 3Cleaning/Housekeeping Doug Bilbrey Windows/Vinyl 3Christopher Cleaning 5HL House Cleaning 30Judy’s Hm./Window Cleaning 29Just Windows 3Martha’s House Cleaning 18Top Notch Carpet Cleaning 32Computer Repair Dan Brothwell 15Geekmatics 25Concrete/Driveway/Patio Birge’s Concrete & Bobcat 5John Dobrzeniecki Concrete 32Modern Design 6Dental Comprehensive Dental Care 19Larry Leiberman 11Dermatology Countryside Dermatology 20Dryer/Vent Cleaning Richard DuBay 11Drywall Services Bill Livingston, Inc. 36Stuller Drywall 27Electrical Gabriel Electrical 32Super Electrical 30Your Electrician 13

FinancialEdward Jones 28RJ Mary Hayes 26Celine Pastore, Retirement Adv. 24Flooring/Tile The Grout Doctor 28Palm Harbor Flooring 36Paul’s Professional Tile 3Furniture UpholsteryWorrall’s Upholstery 36 Garage Door Hawkins Door Service 9Integrity Garage Door Service 15Overhead Door 26Golf Carts & Service Golf Cart Services 23Golf Instruction-John Hayes 25Handyman Ace Handyman 8Jim Eicholz Handyman 30Handy Hubby 14I Replace 29Mr. Handyman 26Sam Ultimate Handyman 26Home Services/Inspections At Your Service 30Commendable Home Inspection 24Insurance AAA-Krystyna Zakrzewski 38Sihle Insurance-Lou Biron 33WFI Sandy & Bill Faulkner 7Landscaping/GuttersAssure Green 32Bright & Sunny Lawn Care 29LocksmithFlorida Keys 38 Management CompanyMonarch Management 32Medical/HealthTemple Float Spa 20Total Vitality 40 Paint/Decorating Services Bill’s Decorating 24Giovanni Painting 38McGinnis Painting 7Shore Painting 26Pet Care Earth Wise 29Happy Paws Pet Care 11Plumbing Bob Barnes Plumbing 5Jones & Sons Plumbing 35The Plumbing Patrol 18Zoltan Kovacs Plumbing 6

Podiatrist Joel Epstein 7Family Foot & Ankle 25Pressure Cleaning Chicka 14Realtors Garry M Carlo/CR Realty 12Jill Hagist-Dade Wade Realty 20 Nancy Glenn/Future Home 32 Maryjean Hardman/CB Realty 8Karen Horvath/Future Home 3Donna Larson/Sheri Ragsdale 31Mary Marconi/CB 21Pat Vernon/Camelot 4Retha Wright/BH 19Restaurants Chicken Salad Chick 20East Lake Cafe 18Marathon Grille 18Remodeling/Renovations Alling Construction 38Bath Masters 19Mike Conley Renovationist 12You Dream It, We Build It 33Roofing Done Rite Roofing 10No.1 Home Roofing 16Senior Lifestyle Harbor Chase 9St. Mark (Assisted Living) 6St. Mark (Ind. Living) 17St. Mark Respite Care 27Stratford Court 39Social Clubs HL 12 Club 30Sprinklers/Irrigation Lipsey’s Irrigation 28Sky Tears Sprinklers 26Transportation Two Gals Airport Transport 5Travel Accent on Travel 17Diana’s Travel 20Travel Leaders 30Tree Service Stevens Tree Service 39Warner Tree Service 31Well Drilling Dennis Kimball-Southern Irrig. 12Windows/Treatments All About Blinds 3 Budget Blinds 9Clear Vue, Inc 12Gulfside Windows/Doors 22Shutters Plus 29

0723

0708

050260-9

Support Our Advertisers

0647

0742

0732

0757


06935-31-18 5-31-18

0729

Lou Biron 800-728-0988 x1407

0468

0757

cheon in the Auditorium after play. There were putting contests on the putting green and contests on various fairways and greens. Share the wealth tickets were sold and all the money was given out for prizes. This event has always been an enjoyable time and we were happy to see lots of guests there. Any guest who joins the league with her five cards by May 31 will be given a 50% discount toward the yearly dues. Winners will be listed in next month’s Highlander.

Women’s Golf League from Page 31

news

Happy April and May! As always Florida weather came through for Easter Sunday and I trust you all enjoyed the day. Duplex II is beginning to shine with fresh landscaping, flowers and plants tended by their homeowners. Board members placed a pole with the American Flag at the entrance of Mc-Math coming off of Lake St George. The little tree on the same mound has been pruned and the area looks full of pride! What a great way to welcome folks to Duplex II community. The second planned lunch of the Ladies of Du-plex II had a great turn-out with 15 women enjoy-ing Daddy’s backroom for lunch together. There were plenty of laughs, memories and new plans

BLOCK5

Duplex II, McMath Dr., & Gorse CourtPat Drayer

discussed. Ladies stood up after lunch just walking from neighbor to neighbor to socialize and catch up with distant neighbors. Izzy Howard initiated this walk-a-bout and several others joined in to chat it up with ladies they were not sitting next to. This is such a great way to get know our neighbor-ing ladies. Terry Brodnick offered to organize the April 27 lunch at Cuban Breeze. Please contact Terry before April 25 to confirm you will be attending so that she’ll have a good count of attendees. Early arrival is highly recommended at 11:15. Cuban Breeze is at 13980 Hillsborough Ave, Tampa. I think we are looking forward to Cuban homecooking. The pontoon boat ride on April 10 for the Ladies of Duplex II was a huge success. Both pontoons were filled and captained by our own Tom Sel-bach, Bud Juckett, Bernie Yoffredo and Michelle Rizzotto. As always Tarpon Turtle was prepared with its Florida tiki-style foods. Laughs were plenti-ful and the ride through the canals and Brooker Creek canal were interesting as told by our seafaring captains! Welcome to our newest homeowners and we hope you’ll feel comfortable with your new neigh-bors. If you have any questions please ask and I’m sure someone will be able to help. The Wel-come Gals should have been able to provide an-swers as well as fill you in on all the great things happening in Highland Lakes and Duplex II.

BLOCK25

Queen Anne Blvd., Lomond Dr., Tarns, McTavish, Brae Cts.Dave Clegg

This is time for a little bit of Block 25 pride. We have doctors, artists, as well as horticulturalists among our midst. Some of you may already know that Brian Evans is a veterinarian. But did you know that he was Chief Veterinary Officer as well as Chief Food Safety for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency? Why, he even birthed a yak in Katmandu. Now, that’s an accomplishment. And here he lives right around the corner! He even knows Prince Charles. And, oh yeah, he has great seats for all the Toronto Blue Jays spring training games. I might have made up the story about the yak. Poetic license. We are also happy to note that Ellen Nagle’s front yard garden was selected to be in the Highland Lakes Garden Tour which took place on April 21. Ellen is one of the founding members of our Gar-den Club. She is very knowledgeable



0024

on indigenous and non-invasive plants in Florida. I asked her about planting medicinal marijuana. Discouragingly, she has not returned my phone call. Our resident artist is Pat Delano, who has paint-ings on display in the Dunedin Fine Art Center. She has generously shared many of her beautiful watercolors, and I am the proud owner of one. But now she has stiff competition. There is a new kid on the block and she also has showings in Dune-din. Oh, and she’s Pat’s daughter, Jen. I’d like to be a fly on the wall in that house when Jen sells a painting before Pat does. Pat Weaver just returned home from a Caribbean cruise where she spent a special occasion. Joining her were fellow residents Karen Horvath, Sandy Norris and Maggie MacAulay. Also joining them was her friend Bernie Reid. Now, Bernie is a true character, and I am sure he enjoyed being the rooster in that hencoop. Welcome back y’all. Valerie Demu is home safe and sound following knee surgery. She looks as though she can run a marathon right now. I’m sure she is in a lot of pain, but she is not showing it. Get well soon, Valerie. Miss Jean Evans has also just returned from a visit with her son in The Villages. But her other son, Brian is suspicious. We all heard the stories of what goes on up there, and she is wearing a happy glow these days. Well, it’s not like me to spread rumors. Ginger Clegg just had her driveway re-finished with pavers, and I must admit it looks pretty good. The only problem is, it’s about 12 blocks short of completion. The funny thing is neighbor Jim Pow-ers’ patio is a little bit longer than it was before. About 12 pavers longer. But, you know me. I don’t

Block 25 from Page 33 like to cause problems. He must still be upset with me using his mulch. The nerve! Enjoy the spring season folks.

The warm weather has finally returned. Let’s spend time working on our tans at the pool. I (Joanne Morgan) had a festive Easter dinner with friends on the other side of Lake Tarpon in East Lake. Frank and Carol Schiotis of Hilary Circle traveled to New York for their great-granddaughter’s First Communion. Al and Lillian Mott of Dunbar Court spent four days at Disney with their girls. Ken and Donna Memken of Dunbar Court are having a five day visit from their son and grand-kids from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Louisa Seijo of Hilary Circle just got back home from a weeklong trip to New Jersey including snow! She had fun with her brother and sister who visited with her for two months. Dick and Bonnie Faucher of Hilary Circle are traveling to New England in search of some awe-some antiques. The monthly ladies luncheon was held on April 2 at Olive Garden with 17 attendees. Thank you to our hostesses Joanne Morgan and Janet Dearth. Next month’s luncheon will be hosted by Ama-ryllys Kehoe and Jeannette Luald. Remember to watch your email for a notice of the May lun-cheon, and if you know of any neighbors, who do not have email, let them know about the date and

28Dunbar Ct., Glengarry Dr., Hilary Circle, Skene Terr.Joanne Morgan

BLOCK

location. Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful Florida weather. The weatherman keeps bringing more snow to the northern states! Don’t forget to let me know any news for Block 28.

32 Brunswick Circle, MacDonnell CourtDennis Palmer

BLOCK

Spring has sprung! And wouldn’t it be great if we could capture these perfect weather days and plug them into the month of August? You gotta love this time of year with spring training baseball, mild temps, light winds, outdoor concerts, horse races, and beautiful nights. It’s a great time to be in Flori-da and Highland Lakes. Hello. My name is Dennis. I am replacing Art Ruddle as the Block 32 reporter. Art provided us with several years of Block 32 happenings and events. Thank you, Art! I will continue providing coverage of Block 32 events but I also want to change things up just a bit. For example, I plan to interview residents to find out some interesting things about them. Most people have some intriguing but little-known ideas, quirks or experiences to share. It’s just a matter of a little digging to uncover those fun nuggets. I thought it might also be fun to feature a “ques-tion of the month” and report the answers. This can get interesting. Do you put ketchup on your hotdog? Elvis or the Beatles? On a serious note, beware of the 4-way stop at Highlands Boulevard N and Highland Boulevard.



.

0738

A couple of Brunswick Circle residents recently got whacked there by a young driver who blew through the stop sign. Fortunately, no one was hurt but our couple’s car was totaled - and they drove a tank! I have seen several drivers go right through the stop signs at this intersection while on my walks, so take heed. We had our Block 32 spring golf scramble on April 7 followed by a catered pig roast and live music at the Lodge the next day. What a terrific venue the Lodge is. It’s kind of ironic that the Block 32 golf scramble had 32 golfers. Thanks to Judy Lepel for putting together the tourney. Judy says that the neighborhood tournament goes back at least ten years. Thanks to Daryl Hesson for put-ting together the pig roast that featured delicious pork, black beans and rice and coleslaw from Havana Dreamers in Trinity. Desserts were provid-ed by the residents. Yes, a good time was had by all. And a special thanks to my friend and fellow Highland Laker Scott Crouch for playing bass guitar at the golf awards and pig roast. Scott and I provided live music and enjoyed every second of it. So the next issue of this article will feature a resident interview and hopefully some responses to our yet-to-be-determined poll question. If you have an idea or input for this article please let me know.

Block 32 from Page 34

2nd ANNUAL GOLF SCRAMBLE: The Block 33 Golf Scramble will be held on April 28 with a start time of 1:51 p.m. $5 will be collected the day of the scramble. Please RSVP by April 24 to Bill Vestevich at [email protected] or call 727-953-3358. Fairway Pizza at 5 p.m. will be the location for dinner and prizes. Prizes will be awarded for highest and lowest score plus closest to the pin and longest drive. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Pool Pizza Party is scheduled for May 12 from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Clubhouse pool. Coming up: October 21 - Pig Roast but without the pig. We will have pulled

33East Dorchester Dr., East Dorchester Ct., Dugall Ct. and moreLucy Peak

BLOCK+

pork, etc. from Ozona Pig. December 9 will be the date of our 15th Annual Winterfest. DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE NOTICES of all fun activities and important information regard-ing homeowner news (such as updated irrigation schedules etc.)? Contact Lucy at [email protected] or call 727-608-0811 to be placed on the list. DID YOU KNOW? Palm Harbor Library offers a multitude of services including a one-time per month delivery of books for the homebound. For more information call 727-784-3332. Available too is the Pinellas Talking Book Library which encour-ages and supports reading by providing free library services to Pinellas County residents for whom conventional print is a barrier. The Talking Book Library offers recorded books, assistive devices, Braille books, large print books, reference services and BiFolkal Kits. To obtain more information or an application call the Pinellas Talking Library at 727-441-9958. More on other services: http://www.palmharborlibrary.org/services.

Hello neighbors, it’s May! It’s often been said that there are two things in life that are inevitable. I’ve been thinking a bit differently lately and have de-cided that there is another thing that is inevitable. Change. Change is inevitable, and constant. Some-times we may welcome change, and other times we resist change with all our strength. And either way, change happens. Our neighborhood has been full of residents for the past months, yet soon we will be missing the faces of neighbors who will travel to other states, and even other countries, back to their “other homes.” Each one will be missed, and we will look forward to next autumn and the joy of reunions. If you are traveling, may you travel in safety. If you are staying, may your AC remain highly functioning! Our neighborhood women’s lunch at Ozona Blue provided food, conversation and fun! Our final lunch of the season will be hosted by Carol Levinsky and Rosalie LeValley, and will take place at Bon Appetit at noon on May 7. Watch for an email, and please RSVP. We have truly enjoyed

36Gillespie, Gillespie No. Sutherland Dr., Carmichael, MacClymontAnnie Britton

BLOCK+

each other’s company and a wonderful variety of restaurants this year. Thanks to everyone who hosted, and espe-cially to everyone who attended! The golf scramble was held on a beautiful day. Thanks to the commit-tee who organized the event: Bob Williams, Tracy Talley, Bill McK-ee, Barbara Klein, and Sharon Beck , who always finds plentiful prizes to share with the neighborhood. We also were able to enjoy a meal together at Leo’s following the golf scramble. If you are interested in help-ing out with the next golf scramble, please contact any of the folks named above! So, back to change for a moment. I have fully enjoyed writing these articles for the

past few years, even when I had no clue what to write about, and no real news to relate. I am grate-ful for your feedback, your senses of humor and your encouragement. Next month will be my last neighborhood column, and I will join the ranks of encouragers of the next neighborhood reporter. No prior experience is required, and I promise my willingness to assist someone getting started! I end this column as usual, with gratitude. Shady, Sunny, quirky, and funny - our neighborhood retains a spirit that supports the inevitability of change.

The BOD meeting was held on March 20. The attendance was very good for our first evening meeting with the new BODs. Fifteen residents were in attendance along with five board mem-bers. Topics discussed included:Monthly business: Treasurer’s report and minutes from last meeting were approved.Pool news: The Greenview pool will be quick patched and permanent repair will be complet-ed this winter. This will allow full use of the pool throughout the summer. July BOD meeting: The board approved a July meeting to be added. A tentative date is Tuesday, July 24.Tree trimming: The trees were inspected by Dan-ny’s Tree Service and three members of the board on Monday, March 26. A full report will be de-livered and reviewed by the board. FYI: Give or take a couple, we have around 50 trees on GVV1 property.Pressure washing and painting: The BOD will be scheduling quotes for both in the upcoming months.Pest control: BOD voted to accept new bids for a new contractor. In the week following the meeting the BOD voted unanimously to approve a recom-mended contractor at a lower cost.Landscaping: The hedges at the end of Madrid Drive and the plants around the Golf View Villas sign were addressed and they will be maintained by a volunteer group or landscaper. More to come.Street paving: BOD looking into where this stands. More to come.New owner interviewing: Jean Campbell vol-unteered to interview new prospective owners. Thanks Jean; the board and all the owners thank you for taking this on. March 24 was our Meet and Greet Party held at the Greenview Condo Pool lanai. Turnout was excellent with about 30 residents in attendance. Food was plentiful with everyone bringing a dish to share. Everyone had a good time getting to know one other better or for the first time. Those in attendance voted to follow up with a BYOB at the pool lanai on Thursday, April 19. The event will start at 5 p.m. Bring a light snack to share and your drink of choice. We will order pizza at approxi-mately 5:15. The holiday party on December 12 will be here before you know it. The activity committee is forming. If you have some free time and want to get involved with event planning or have ideas for additional events, sign up at the next get together or at the BOD meeting.All residents and guests are welcome at all events, and we hope to see you there. Planning on selling your villa? To avoid a last minute issue or worse yet a delay in closing, keep in mind that new prospective owners need to fill out an application through Caliber Management, read a copy of the by-laws and be interviewed by one of our board members before your property

Gulf View Villas I, Tartan, Seville, Madrid and Madeira DrivesTom Arbasak

40BLOCK



regular events

Wood ShopAnnex 3-A •Mon., Tues., Thurs. 9AM- Noon

•Wednesday 5-8 PM

Needle Art SocialLodge •Tuesdays 10:30 AM-2 PM

Homeowners OrientationRoom 5 •Tuesdays 3-4:30 PM

Teddy BearsAnnex 1-A & 4-A •Thursdays 1-4 PM

ARTS/CRAFTS /CLASSES

DIET & NUTRITION

Lighter LakersRoom 3 •Fridays 9:30-10:30 AM

EXERCISE

SlimnasticsAuditorium •Mon. Wed. Fri. 9-10:15 AM

Water AerobicsClubhouse Pool •Mon. Wed. Fri. 10:30-11:30 AM

YogaLodge •Mondays 2-3 PM •Thursdays 11 AM-Noon (May 10 & 28 in Great Room)

Dance & FitnessLodge •Tuesdays & Fridays 9-10 AM (except May 29)

Synchro-BellesClubhouse Pool •Tuesdays, 9-11 AM •Saturdays 8-10 AM

Line DancingGreat Room •Wed. Advanced 6:30-7:30 PM Beginner 7:30-8:30 PM

SPORTS

PickleballTennis Courts •Open Play Sun., Tues., Thurs. 6-9 PM, Sat. 1-4 PM •Advanced Play Mon. & Wed. 7-9 PM

Tennis - Women’s Tennis Courts •Mon. Wed. Fri. 8-10 AM

Tennis - Mixed DoublesTennis Courts •Tuesdays 7-9 PM

Tennis - Men’s Tennis Courts •Tues. Thurs. Sat. 8-10 AM

Golf-Men’s League •Wednesdays

Golf-Women’s League•Thursdays

TABLE GAMES

Bridge - Ladies Room 3 •Mondays 12-4 PM

Bridge - Duplicate Great Room •Mondays 12-4 PMRoom 3 •Fridays 6:15-10 PMAdvanced-Annex 4-A •Wednesdays 12-4 PM

CribbageRoom 3 •Mondays 6:30-9 PM

PinochleGreat Room •Mondays 6:30-10 PMRoom 3 •Thursdays 6:30-9:30 PM

Bridge - WednesdayLodge • Wednesdays 12:30-4 PM

Hand & Foot CanastaRoom 3 •Wednesdays 12:30-4 PM

Mah JonggRoom 3 •Thursdays 12:30-4 PM

ScrabbleRoom 3 •Fridays 1-4 PM

Ravenous ReadersRoom 4-A •2nd Thursday 2-3:30 PM

Pottery ClassesAnnex 1A •Mondays 1-4 PM

Women’s Study GroupLodge •Mondays 10 AM-Noon

FOR EVERYONE

Bridge - PairsRoom 3 •Tuesdays 6:45-9:45 PM

Dominoes (Mexican Train)3-G Bagpiper •Mondays 6:30-9:30 PM

Stained Glass Annex 2-A •Monday-Friday 8 AM-Noon

CeramicsAnnex 1-A •Tues., Wed., 9 AM-3 PM

Golf Practices & Procedures ClassBagpiper •3rd Monday 4-5:30 PM

Chair VolleyballAuditorium •Mon. & Wed. 1-3 PM

Drywall RepairPopcorn Removal

Texturing

727-239-26660636

Artists/Crafters Open StudioAnnex 1-A • Fridays 1-4 PM

KaraokePool Pavilion •2nd & 4th Sundays 1-4 PM

Movies Auditorium •Sundays 7-9 PM

Ticket SalesGreat Room •Tuesdays 9-11 AM

Calendar provided by Resident Services 4/2/18

Easy Eight4-A •1st & 3rd Tuesdays 12-3 PM

Shuffleboard Casual Play Shuffleboard Courts •Tuesday 9-11 AM

BocceBocce Courts • Mon. 9 AM-2 PM •Tuesday Open Play 10 AM-1PM•Thurs. Open Play 6:30-9 PM

May

0739

0613

Personal Life HistoryRoom 3 •2nd Saturday 1-3 PM

JammersGreat Room •Fridays 1-3 PM

Ukulele GroupLodge •Wednesday 9-11 AM


special events & meetings

0739

MayTuesday, May 1Women’s Club Event Noon to 3 PM in the Auditorium

Wednesday, May 2Nature’s Cove Meeting 3-5 PM in Room 5

Thursday, May 3Highland Chefs Preparation 8 AM-10 PM in the Kitchen

Boating Association Officers’ Meeting 4-6 PM in Room 5

Activities Committee Ballroom Dancing 5-9:30 PM in the Great Room

Skene Terrace, Dunbar Court, Glengarry Drive Block Party 5-10 PM at

the Lodge

Highland Chefs Trivia Night 5:30-10 PM in the Auditorium

Friday, May 4Birding Bunch Meeting 2-4 PM in Room 5

Timberlake Village Picnic 4-10 PM at the Lodge

Saturday, May 5Unit 5 Phase 2 Derby Party 4-8 PM at the Lodge

Activities Committee Show 6-10 PM in the Auditorium

Sunday, May 6MacAlpin Dr. N, S, W and Chalmers Court Block Party 5-9 PM

at the Lodge

Monday, May 7VOG I Board Meeting 9-11 AM in Room 5

Tuesday, May 8Architectural Review Committee Meeting 10 AM-Noon in Room 2G

Little Theatre General Meeting 6:30-8:30 PM in the Auditorium

Wednesday, May 9Technology/Audio-Visual Meeting 7-9 PM in Room 5

Thursday, May 10Facilities Committee Meeting 9:30-11:30 AM in Room 5

Boating Association Monthly Meeting 10 AM-Noon at the Lodge

Activities Committee Ballroom Dancing 5-8 PM at the Lodge

Friday, May 11VOG III Association Meeting 10 AM-Noon in the Great Room

Saturday, May 12Highland Chefs Preparation for Mothers’ Day Brunch 8 AM-3 PM

in the Great Room

East Dorchester Drive and Dugall Court Block Party 5-10 PM

at the Lodge

Sunday, May 13HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY

Highland Chefs Mothers’ Day Brunch 10:30 AM-2 PM

in the Great Room

Monday, May 14Women’s Golf League Board Meeting 8:30-10 AM in Room 2G

Duplex Village II Board Meeting 9-11 AM in Room 5

Golf Committee Meeting 2-4 PM in Room 5

Tuesday, May 15Computer Club General Meeting 1-3 PM in the Great Room

Golf View VLS I Meeting 5-7 PM in Room 5

Wednesday, May 16Little Theatre Executive Committee Meeting 3-4:30 PM in Room 5

Thursday, May 17Garden Club Program 3-5 PM in the Great Room

Activities Committee Ballroom Dancing 5-8 PM in the Great Room

Friday, May 18Patio Condo I BOD Meeting 10 AM-Noon in the Great Room

Finance Committee Monthly Meeting 10 AM-Noon in Room 5

Saturday, May 19Private Party 9 AM-3 PM at the Lodge

Pristine Pointe Block Party 5-10 PM at the Lodge

Private Party 6-10 PM in the Auditorium

Sunday, May 20Private Party 3-9 PM at the Lodge

Singles Group Pool Party 5-9 PM at the Pavilion

Monday, May 21Activities Committee Meeting 1-3 PM in Room 5

Tuesday, May 22Travel Club Monthly Meeting 9:30 AM-12:30 PM in the Auditorium

Architectural Review Committee Meeting 10 AM-Noon in Room 2G

HL Photography Club Board Meeting 11 AM-12:30 PM in Room 5

HL Photography Club General Membership Meeting 12:30-3:30 PM in

the Great Room

Thursday, May 24

VOG IV Board Meeting 9:30-11 AM in Room 5


Friday, May 25

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING 10-11:30 AM in the Great Room

Monday, May 28Memorial Day Holiday

Tuesday, May 29Sutton Place Association Meeting 12:30-3 PM in the Great Room

Thursday, May 31


Calendar provided by Resident Services 4/2/18


0740

& REMODELING

0750

0749

0756

0758

can close. I recommend connecting with Shirley at Caliber Management early in the process to avoid any issues. If using a realtor make sure your realtor is aware of the process.Meeting reminder: BOD meetings for 2018: Tues-day May 15, Tuesday July 24 (tentative), Tuesday September 18, Tuesday November 20. All meet-ings are from 5 to 7 p.m. in Room 5 at the Club-house.

Block 40 from Page 35

I would like to extend a hearty welcome to our newest neighbors Kathleen Conway on Oak Lake Drive, as well as Darlene and Bob Des Forges on Maplewood Court. We have an active neighbor-hood and we are looking forward to your partici-pation. By now, everyone has received a copy of the updated “Declarations of Restrictions for Unit 18 (Timberlake Village), the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Third Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Homeowners Association. While there are some items that we felt needed updating, the administration did not want to upset the apple cart with the county and insisted that we reissue exactly as it was. Special thanks to David Hall, Tony Fiorello and Richard Robinson who served on the committee to see this process through. This will be my last article for the Highlander. We are looking for someone to take over this function. I am taking on additional responsibility as the new-est member of the ARC Committee. I will have responsibility for Timberlake Village and Nature’s Cove. Anyone planning changes to the exterior of your property, feel free to ask for my assistance with your ARC application.

55Timberlake VillageOak Lake DriveMaplewood CourtPine Lake CourtRay Comperatore

BLOCK

I would like to thank Patricia and David Hall and their committee for another successful St Patty’s Party. We had about 50 people in attendance. A great meal was catered by Flapjack’s and served by volunteers from our neighborhood. Entertainment was provided by Kelly O’Reilly. They did a great job. Any profit that was realized will go towards our Christmas Party. The Halls have chaired the St Patty’s party for the last four years and are looking for someone to take over for next year. The next Ladies that Lunch group will be in May. Pat Hall will be organizing. Please look for addi-tional information from Pat. Please contact Terry Comperatore to coordinate for one month. All you need to do is determine how many women intend to go and make a reservation at a local restaurant. Our next major activity will be our picnic which will be held on Friday, May 4 at the Lodge. David Ostroski and Corinne Glawson are organizing. Anyone wishing to help, please contact them directly. Please check your email for further infor-mation. Ari Vergos is our Sunshine Chairman. Please con-tact him if you know of a neighbor who is ill. The Happy Hour originally scheduled for April 25 has been cancelled due to its proximity to the pic-nic. We have Happy Hours scheduled for the last Wednesday of the month from June through Sep-tember. These are always held at the Lodge. Thank you Sandy Burton and Mary Shiflet for organizing these. Anyone wishing to help out, please contact Sandy or Mary directly. Much of Highland Lakes depends on volunteers to make our community work. Timberlake Village is no different. We are looking for people to help out in the following areas: Highlander Reporter; St Patty’s Chairperson; Christmas Party Chairperson (Terry and I will follow through for 2018); Ladies to step up and select a month for Ladies that Lunch.

Bowling News

HL II Monday BowlingHARD splits/spares made: 4-5 Selene Nolan, 5-10 Bruce Hughes, George Grant & Bob Wargin, 1-3-6-10 Don Hole, 6-7-10 Prim Rock, 4-6-7 Selene Nolan & Gary Rock, 6-7 Joan Hughes, 3-7-10 Marie Elgin, 5-6 Narcine Lambrecht & Mike Trifunovic, 9-10 Dee Ferworn, 3-9-10 Nancy Clarry(twice), 3-6-7-10 Bob Wargin.Men’s Bowling High Scratch Game: 238 Mike Trifunovic, 236 Gary Rock, 200 George GrantHigh Scratch Series: 620 Gary Rock, 587 Mike Trifunovic, 543 George GrantHigh Handicap Game: 268 Gary Rock, 261 Mike Trifunovic, 259 Bruce HughesHigh Handicap Series: 716 Gary Rock, 710 Bob Wargin, 695 Patrick SheridanLadies Bowling High Scratch Game: 212 Dee Ferworn, 190 Nancy Thomas, 181 Marie ElginHigh Scratch Series: 500 Nancy Thomas, 484 Marie Elgin, 475 Dee FerwornHigh Handicap Game: 271 Dee Ferworn, 255 Nancy Thomas, 248 Jean ButtersHigh Handicap Series: 698 Nancy Thomas, 691 Carol Ulrich, 668 Joan HughesHL I Friday Bowling HARD splits/spares made: 1-2-4-10 Skeet Schwacke, 3-6-7-10 & 4-9 Gary Rock, 3-9-10 Alice Maloney, 5-7 Dan Lentricchia, 3-5-7, 1-3-7, 5-7 & 3-7-10 Prim Rock.Men’s Bowling High Scratch Game: 224 Gary Rock, 201 Tom Cappiello, 200 Larry MaidaHigh Scratch Series: 614 Gary Rock, 517 Larry Maida, 511 Tom CappielloHigh Handicap Game: 247 Tom Cappiello, 240 Tony Laquaglia, 239 Armond IannoneHigh Handicap Series: 674 Gary Rock, 666 Skeet Schwacke, 662 Tom LyonsLadies’ Bowling High Scratch Game: 180 Jane Lyons, 175 Cheryl Siart, 172 Prim RockHigh Scratch Series: 469 Cheryl Siart, 435 Jane Lyons, 434 Prim RockHigh Handicap Game: 258 Prim Rock, 254 Jane Lyons, 244 Evelyn CappielloHigh Handicap Series: 692 Prim Rock, 674 Evelyn Cappiello, 657 Linda McKee & Jane Lyons

No Baby Boomer scoresMonday & Friday Bowling Gary Rock


04850485

Sue Oldenburger received a cake and a beautiful plant from theActivities Committee to celebrate her years with the committee.

Friday Bowling League - from left: Alice Maloney, Tom Cappiello, Cheryl Siart, Evelyn Cappiello.

HL Chefs Friday Fish Fry was very popular.

40 Highland Lakes Highlander April - 2018

0743

WINNERSphotography

0743

A. Advanced 1st-Night Watch: LeRoy SchreinerB. Advanced 2nd-Night Light: Jim ScennaC. Free Style-Too Many Margaritas: Dick FaucherD. Free Style-Alcatraz: Shirley GorgE. Free Style-Blows My Mind: Bruce McConnell

A. B.

C.

D. E.