April News - Lake Desire Community

1. Community Meeting tonight at 7pm – Clubhouse Please join us to contribute your time and ideas to bettering our community. Thanks!
2. Lake Desire Community Center cleanup Thanks so much to our volunteers!  We had 21 people come out to help us clean up the grounds around the clubhouse, clean inside, fix hinges on broken cupboards, etc. We really appreciate the time and efforts of the following people, thank you!
Sonja Kairis, Lynn Jameson, Rob and Suzy Gillett and family, Tom and Heather Stafford and family, Heather Smith family, Skyler and Cody Jensen, Roger Danneman and family, Karen Walker, Girl Scout Cadettes – Micah, Lauren, ZZ, Anne, Natasha.
3. Found Cat Since late March there has been an extremely friendly cat hanging around our yard. Several neighbors said it’s been visiting their homes too. It is so friendly it runs up to us and purrs. Seems young, white feet and chest, very sweet face. It is quite thin so we are worried it has been separated from its family and not getting enough to eat. Here are a few photos to share around the lake in hopes of finding who it belongs to. If someone recognizes him/her they can call the Wall family at 425-235-9961.
4. Plant and Seed Swap – Sat. 5/11/13 – Gardeners, mark your calendars for our 2nd annual Plant and Seed Swap at the Community Club on Saturday, May 11th at 10am. Bring your extra seedlings, plants and seeds to share with your neighbors and come see what everyone else has to share. You are also welcome to bring other items to share if you would rather, i.e. plant pots, homemade items (jam/jelly, pesto, baked goods, craft items) or eggs. Also, we are working on getting a special plant to raffle. This was a big hit last year, looking forward to it again this year!
5. Weed Abatement Update – From Ben Peterson at King County. All the volunteer work and materials contributed during last summer’s control work resulted in over $1,500 in “in-kind” donations being credited from the Lake Desire Community to the Department of Ecology Grant (which is funding the aquatic weed control). This “in-kind” community based match to the grant really benefits the long term success of the project.
This year we will have a few different strategies to continue to knock back the aquatic noxious weeds:
· Continued surveying and spot spraying of the purple loosestrife plants that ring the lake. We are tentatively planning on doing the first round of spot spraying of the purple loosestrife plants the week of July 29, with possible re-treatment the week of August 19.
· Continued surveying and spraying of the fragrant water lily plants. The first round of spraying is tentatively scheduled for the week of June 24 (ideally on June 25), with possible re-treatment the week of August 19.
· Surveying for the Eurasian watermilfoil in early July. At this point we don’t plan on using the submersed aquatic herbicide that we used last year on the milfoil. We are hoping that the treatment last year was sufficient to really knock it back. We may hire scuba or snorkel divers to pull any remaining plants we find during the survey. What this will ultimately mean is that we don’t foresee any restrictions regarding the use of lake water for irrigation (unlike last summer).
· We will have a coordinated volunteer effort to cut or pull any remaining/missed purple loosestrife at the end of the season (September).
· We (Sasha Shaw and I from the King County Noxious Weed Control Program) will be hosting a Lake Weed Watcher volunteer training on Saturday, June 29. This training will open to all people in the county interested in the Lake Weed Watcher program (see this link for more information:http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-watchers/lake-weed-watchers.aspx). By chance the training happens to be at the Lake Desire Clubhouse this year:

Lake Weed Watcher volunteer training:
10:00 am – 2:00 pm Saturday, June 29
Lake Desire Community Clubhouse
18118 172nd Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058

Thank you for your continued support in this project. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Questions? Contact Ben Peterson ben.peterson@kingcounty.gov, (206) 263-6466.

6. Roadside Cleanup – Sat. 5/18/13 - Mark your calendars as well for our twice-yearly roadside cleanup. We will meet on Saturday, May 18th at the Boat Launch to fan out and clean up the roads around the neighborhood. We do this twice a year, May and October, and King County provides bags and will come collect the trash when we are done from the Community Center.  Can’t make it on Saturday 5/18? Feel free to pick up trash in your own area and drop it by the tree closest to the street at the Community Center any time before 5/20. Questions? Contact Heather Stafford at staffordlkdesire@gmail.com. 

7.  Girls Empowerment Camp - Girls entering 7th, 8th or 9th grade next year are invited to participate in a Girls Empowerment Camp from July 17th to the 21st at the Lake Desire Community Clubhouse. The girls will host a speaking event on the 20th. They will also host a children’s camp using the arts to teach virtues on the 21st. There will be time for swimming, boating, hiking and for a tennis clinic during the camp. The cost is only $25 and scholarships are available. More information about the public speaking event and the children’s camp will be posted later. Attached is a flier about the Girl’s Empowerment Camp.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Lake Desire Community Center cleanup THIS WEEKEND – Sat. 4/20/13 – 9am Please join us THIS Saturday, April 20th, 2013 for some pre-Earth Day volunteer fun. We will be doing our spring cleaning of the grounds, spreading gravel in the parking lot to fill in pot holes at the Community Center and also sprucing up the inside. We also need someone to help with a drill and some screws to fix a broken hinge, and the flag holder that has fallen off the wall. We need help! So come on out and bring your gloves and sturdy rakes. Please reply to this email if you can make it out to help us for a few hours and let us know if questions.

2. Easter Egg Hunt was a great success! We had about 20 neighbor kids and grandkids join us the day before Easter for an egg hunt at the Community Center. It was super and a lot of fun. Thanks to the Girl Scouts for decorating and filling eggs, and the Gillett and Stafford families for their help.

3. Lake stocked – Activity has really picked up at the Boat Launch and indeed, the lake has been stocked! Thanks to neighbor Craig Wallace for the link. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/weekly/search.php?searchby=County
&search=KING&orderby=StockDate%20ASC

4. Plant and Seed Swap – Sat. 5/11/13 – Gardeners, mark your calendars for our 2nd annual Plant and Seed Swap at the Community Club on Saturday, May 11th at 10am. Bring your extra seedlings, plants and seeds to share with your neighbors and come see what everyone else has to share. You are also welcome to bring other items to share if you would rather, i.e. plant pots, homemade items (jam/jelly, pesto, baked goods, craft items) or eggs. Also, we are working on getting a special plant to raffle. This was a big hit last year, looking forward to it again this year!

5. Weed Abatement Update – From Ben Peterson at King County. All the volunteer work and materials contributed during last summer’s control work resulted in over $1,500 in “in-kind”donations being credited from the Lake Desire Community to the Department of Ecology Grant (which is funding the aquatic weed control). This “in-kind”community based match to the grant really benefits the long term success of the project.
This year we will have a few different strategies to continue to knock back the aquatic noxious weeds:
· Continued surveying and spot spraying of the purple loosestrife plants that ring the lake. We are tentatively planning on doing the first round of spot spraying of the purple loosestrife plants the week of July 29, with possible re-treatment the week of August 19.
· Continued surveying and spraying of the fragrant water lily plants. The first round of spraying is tentatively scheduled for the week of June 24 (ideally on June 25), with possible re-treatment the week of August 19.
· Surveying for the Eurasian watermilfoil in early July. At this point we don’t plan on using the submersed aquatic herbicide that we used last year on the milfoil. We are hoping that the treatment last year was sufficient to really knock it back. We may hire scuba or snorkel divers to pull any remaining plants we find during the survey. What this will ultimately mean is that we don’t foresee any restrictions regarding the use of lake water for irrigation (unlike last summer).
· We will have a coordinated volunteer effort to cut or pull any remaining/missed purple loosestrife at the end of the season (September).
· We (Sasha Shaw and I from the King County Noxious Weed Control Program) will be hosting a Lake Weed Watcher volunteer training on Saturday, June 29. This training will open to all people in the county interested in the Lake Weed Watcher program (see this link for more information:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-watchers/lake-weed-watchers.aspx).
By chance the training happens to be at the Lake Desire Clubhouse this year:
Lake Weed Watcher volunteer training:
10:00 am –2:00 pm Saturday, June 29
Lake Desire Community Clubhouse
18118 172nd Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058

Thank you for your continued support in this project. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Questions? Contact Ben Peterson ben.peterson@kingcounty.gov,(206) 263-6466

6. Roadside Cleanup – Sat. 5/18/13 - Mark your calendars as well for our twice-yearly roadside cleanup. We will meet on Saturday, May 18th at the Boat Launch to fan out and clean up the roads around the neighborhood. We do this twice a year, May and October, and King County provides bags and will come collect the trash when we are done from the Community Center. Can’t make it on Saturday 5/18? Feel free to pick up trash in your own area and drop it by the tree closest to the street at the Community Center any time before 5/20. Questions? Contact Heather Stafford at staffordlkdesire@gmail.com.

7. Girls Empowerment Camp - Girls entering 7th, 8th or 9th grade next year are invited to participate in a Girls Empowerment Camp from July 17th to the 21st at the Lake Desire Community Clubhouse. The girls will host a speaking event on the 20th. They will also host a children’s camp using the arts to teach virtues on the 21st. There will be time for swimming, boating, hiking and for a tennis clinic during the camp. The cost is only $25 and scholarships are available. More information about the public speaking event and the children’s camp will be posted later. Attached is a flier about the Girl’s Empowerment Camp.

8. Power Washing Offered by Woodside teen
My freshman son, Jordan, is offering power-washing services again this Spring to fund-raise for a Quarterback Camp to be held in Louisiana this Summer. So if you are looking to clean up that deck, path or driveway of dirt and mold, please give us a call. We would appreciate your support and promise top quality service.

Standard Rates:
Driveway (2-car garage) $40
Driveway (3-car garage) $50
Deck $25 for a standard size
Path $20

Please call (425) 306-2213 if you are interested in getting a quote or to book in a date.

Thanks! Kim Lawson

Crime Report - http://www.crimereports.com/
(also note Fairwood Community News' Police Blotter)

Lake Desire Greetings – Do you have a new neighbor? A new baby in the neighborhood? Our Lake Desire Greeter, Susan Hill, would like to come by and greet them. Please contact her at bellafloragirl@yahoo.com.

Lake Desire Clubhouse Rental – Contact Heather Smith,
Heather@smith.net, 425-917-9533. Backup is Heather Stafford staffordlkdesire@gmail.com . The clubhouse features a full kitchen, tables and chairs to seat up to 40 people (max 60), and restrooms. The rate is $100 to rent the clubhouse for 12 hours or $75 for 3 hours. Members can rent the clubhouse at a discount for only $65 per day or $50 for 3 hours. Membership is $20 for the calendar year for individuals/families or $15 for senior citizens. See pictures of the facility online at http://www.lakedesire.org/.

Heather Stafford
Lake Desire Secretary