Hurricane Expo at MOSI

The City of Tampa and Hillsborough County, in conjunction with the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), will host the 2009 Tampa Bay Hurricane Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, at MOSI. Admission to the Tampa Bay Hurricane Expo is FREE!

In addition, Hurricane Expo guests can enjoy MOSI exhibit galleries and one standard IMAX® Dome Theatre* film for only $8 per person. *Special engagement films not included.

This year, the Tampa Bay Hurricane Expo theme is “Run From the Water, Hide From the Wind” and will feature seminars on the importance staying safe this season by knowing the possible threats to your community, knowing your evacuation zone, and what preparation steps to take if you are required to evacuate your home due to an impending hurricane.

Held in Kids In Charge! The Children’s Science Center at MOSI, the expo will feature over 40 vendors, educational seminars, emergency vehicles, giveaways (while supplies last) and much more! Visit www.tampabayhurricaneexpo.com.

New Seawall Stairs

Early this morning the sounds of construction returned to Blvd 15. A piling is being hammered into place... the beginnings of a new seawall staircase.

What a pleasant surprise.

Photo of the Century

A most amazing event was captured on film today by Ron Jeffries, Marine Committee chairman. He was over at the docks by Junglelandia, looking for problems after all the rain we've been having every day this week. One of the resident's boats was showing signs of holding too much rainwater, so Ron went to notify the guy. The boater came over to open his drain, and just look what followed. Ron ran home for his camera and captured this once in a lifetime scene...

"Nothing like a cold one, on a hot spring day"

Board Meeting Tomorrow

There will be a Board of Directors meeting tomorrow at 2pm.
Some of the Agenda items include:

Old Business:
Docks amd seawall stairs
Defribulator
Microhones and conference
Decorative lighting in clubhouse

New Business:
Infrastructure Study
Seawall on Pelican
Pool solar heating
Fire extinguishers
Comittee assignments

Mary Rambler Retires

In a private gathering in the Office on Thursday, May 14, 2009, Mary Rambler, our office assistant, quietly retired from 9+ years of service to Regency Cove. The following day, Mary left on vacation to Pennsylvania to visit her daughter. Mary was happy to have no schedule, no reason to rush through her family visit. She will return and will continue to reside in Regency Cove, with much free time available to her.

Mary was hired as a part-time employee in March, 2000. For many years, she carried on the tradition of Outlook editor, working under the manager Tom Merriwether, and presidents Dan Dillon and Ellen Nimon. For many years she sat in on board meetings and took minutes, and dutifully recorded them in the archives, and in the Outlook.

Mary was always one of the friendly faces you encountered at the Office, or when you made a phone call. Mary will be missed!

Summer Storms

I heard on the news tonight that we have about 2 weeks to go for the Tampa summer storms. In the last few days, however, we have finally accumulated a few inches of rain. In the last month, we have had half an inch accumulation. The ground is so dry and so hard, that the first heavy storm carried away much of the mulch protecting our gardens all over the park. Our maintenance crew has swept up the run-off, and will shovel that mulch right back where it belongs.

Most of the lawns in the park are destroyed by the drought. The residents honoring the turf irrigation ban have watched their sod turn from dark green to brown and tan in the last few weeks. Its funny to see one or two residents still sporting a lush green lawn. It makes me sick to see such water abuse, knowing that certain Hillsborough County communities are without water.

Regency Cove is committed to comply with the drought restrictions. The irrigation on Sunset Point has been turned off, the decorative fountain outside the clubhouse has been drained. Our association is doing whatever it can to adhere to the severe Tampa water restrictions. We can only assume that our residents will comply as well. Turf/grass can only be watered once a week. Flowers and gardens can be hand-sprinkled with a hose, or micro-irrigated every night after 6pm.

If you have any questions, call the Office.

Boating Seminar May 14

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

The Dept of Homeland Security with the Coast Guard Auxilliary is planning a Boating seminar at the Jan Platt Library on Manhattan, just south of Euclid on May 14. Boat inspections will be done onsite for trailerable boats. Many interesting topics will be covered at the seminar from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.

Swine Flu Update in Hillsborough County

Just received from a resident:


THE STATE OF FLORIDA OPENS TOLL FREE SERVICE FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO RECEIVE INFORMATION ON SWINE FLU

The Florida Flu Information Line is 800-342-3557


TALLAHASSEE—As of 11 a.m. today, the State of Florida has opened a toll-free telephone service where residents and visitors can call to receive health information about swine flu.

The number for Florida residents to call is 1-800-342-3557.

The line will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until further notice. After hours calls will be handled by an automated service.

As Florida responds to swine flu, the Florida Department of Health offers the following recommendations:

People with respiratory illness or fever should stay home from work or school to avoid spreading infections, including influenza, to others in the community. .
Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear ill.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.
Symptoms of swine flu are rapid onset fever, cough fatigue and in some cases vomiting and diarrhea.
If you think you have the flu, please call your health care provider and discuss whether you need to be seen in their office or an emergency department, or stay home.

Swine flu is not transmitted by food and you cannot get swine flu from eating pork products.

The State of Florida is receiving frequent updates from the CDC, and working with local health departments to monitor the situation and immediately follow up on suspected cases. The Florida Department of Health has created a webpage with information at www.doh.state.fl.us, and the CDC has a web page at www.cdc.gov/swineflu .

What is VE Day?

Today is VE Day. VE Day signifies the Victory of Europe during the WWII.

VE Day arrived on May 8, 1945 after fierce efforts by the Allied forces. The previous year British, Canadian, and U.S. troops invaded Normandy, and began to drive the Nazis out of France. At the same time, the Soviets were launching their own counter-offensive. They pushed the German army completely out of Europe. Seizing their advantage, the Soviets advanced into Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania.
By 1945, the German defenses had begun to collapse. The Soviet army occupied the eastern one-third of Germany. Eventually, the allies surounded Berlin. On April 30, Adolf Hitler commited suicide. Germany surrendered soon after.

Sixty-four years ago, American GIs were fighting overseas in an international war that encompassed the globe. There are many veterans in our park today who served the American and Canadian forces during WWII. We wish to honor you Vets today. We are proud of your accomplishments, and we thank God for your devotion to our safety and security. Thank You! Thank You!

source: http://hearitnow.umd.edu/1945.htm

Communication Committee Meets

Tomorrow, Friday May 8, 2009 there will be a meeting of the Communication Committee. That comprises the manager, Cheri Scobee, the Outlook editor, Judy Webb, the web page administrators Cheri Scobee and Sandy Ross, and Ruth Paruszkiewicz, the head of the volunteers who deliver anything door-to-door in the park.

Many of the block captains who serve the park during high season have left for the summer. We desperately need summer replacements to fill the block captain positions for summer season, in the event of a disaster. Volunteers will be asked to deliver notices to all residents in the event of an emergency.

The office staff has been keeping tabs on the snowbirds who leave for the summer. Our guess is about half of our residents leave for the summer. We need to maintain contact with those remaining during hurricane season.

Please help us! If you can't come to the meeting tomorrow, please call the office to volunteer for a block. The safety of all the summer residents depends on your participation.

More Derby Party Photos

Jody Cooper is the volunteer who took the photos under the arch at the Derby party last weekend. She has ordered copies of the pictures she took from a Kodac site. Be patient, they will arrive in your mailbox by the mysterious Regency Cove pixies who do wonderful things for the park residents, and rarely get a thank you.

Next time you see Jody, give her a hug!

Her photos are online at a Kodac site. You can view them, and even order your own at the following link. (Be patient while it loads up.)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=5y3yes7c.b2v4zhd4&x=0&h=1&y=qhx88e&localeid=en_US

More pictures are on the Regency Cove website, but you must have a password to access them. Shareholders can access more photos at: http://www.regencycove.com/

New Pool Lights

On Monday, May 4, an electrical crew completed the installation of the electrical connections for the new pool lights. There will be 7 poles erected for the lighting fixtures. Stay tuned. Once the lighting requirements have been met, the pool will be in use in the evenings.

A Regency Cove Hero

Saturday morning, resident Warren Mansefield left his house and thought he smelled smoke. He drove around the park to determine the source. Sure enough, on Blvd 5, he found a palm tree burning, close enough to a house that the siding was blistered. This could have been a catastrophe! Warren's alert response certainly saved one family from a heartache. Warren is a truely a hero.

Fire officials were unable to determine how the fire started. This is a good time to remind everyone to watch your grills and cigarette butts, because everything is so dry. Thank you Warren, from everyone in the park.

Summer Bunch Photos

A nice album of Summer Bunch's Kentucky Derby party has been put in an album on the web page. After you login you should easily find the album under "What's New" or "Activities".

Go to: www.regencycove.com

A few people have complained about their inability to log-on. Be very careful to check your o's and zeroes, or number 1 and the letter l. I don't know why they do it like that. The web host issues your password and user name, you can change it under "My Profile". Just remember to scroll to the bottom of the page and save it.

Swine Flu Song

If you have been in the clubhouse in the last few days, I hope you have seen the posters we've put up to stop the spread of any disease here in the park. The posters were a download from CDC in Atlanta, reminding us to "COVER OUR COUGHS" and "WASH OUR HANDS". That seems to be the solution right now, recommended by our government officials.

Gees, my Ma taught me that before I went off to kindergarten. Just in case the years are wearing heavy on you and you may have forgotten, we ask you to cough into your sleeve, and not into your hand if you are in a social situation. Carry a tissue, and discard it after use. Don't leave your mess behind for someone else to pick up. And finally, if you get a fever, and you don't feel well, STAY HOME!!! Don't go to work! Don't go to Euchre! Don't go anywhere. Stay-the-hell Home! Call someone to give you a hand.

Only God knows where this epidemic is going.

Here's a cute Swine Flu Song from my buddy Bill. Hope it opens for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbt_PuVAVTU