Archive of News Items
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Special Meeting about Road Assessment (April 14, 2008)

Board Special Meeting (April 14, 2008)

A special meeting of the board was held on February 26 to handle several issues, since no meeting was held in January and Mike Cover has resigned from the board. Among the issues discussed were a letter about the CC&Rs that will be sent to residents, the need for a special membership meeting to replace one of the plows, and a replacement for Mike as president. For details, see the unofficial meeting Minutes.

Natural Gas Expansion Project Contacts Update (February 25, 2008)

To contact Avista about the project to bring natural gas to the Spirit Lake area, use the phone number below. The people who answer that number are trained to handle these inquiries.

1-877-GAS-TEAM, (1-877-427-8326).

Avista is considering including SLE in this expansion project and they need to know if there are enough people interested in this service. Contact the number above if you are interested in converting to natural gas.

Roads (February 24, 2008)

Road Committee:

I was very disturbed to receive the letter from SLE Homeowners Association telling of threats made against our Road Committee and members!! It makes me wonder what these complaining individuals were thinking. My family has lived in Spirit Lake East for 10 years, and we have taken care of property for the two years prior. The last winter we had like this was 11 years ago! I remember because my husband had to shovel his fathers roof twice and we had to hire someone to plow out his property more than once. I am a native of North Idaho and winters like this were the "Norm" when I was growing up.

The Road Committee, Plow Operators, and Grader Operators need to be commended!! This is the best our roads have been taken care of in years. We can tell the grader operators are experienced and know what they are doing. If we had gotten this much snow in years past we would have been down to a one lane road by now. Hopefully the grader operators have noticed that I have given them the thumbs up when I have seen them plowing!!

For those people who have threatened our Road Committee and members you should be ashamed of yourselves!! These threats should be immediately reported to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office and charges should be filed. We don't need neighbors like you making threats. We live in the "Snow Belt" of Northern Idaho. We can get more snow than any of the five northern counties. In fact we should feel very lucky we didn't live in South Spokane County or South Kootenai County (Worley) this winter. Some of the residents in these areas had 6 foot drifts blocking all incoming and outgoing roads for up to 5 days. There were people that could only be reached by snowmobiles and had been without food and medical attention for days.

You need to remember you are responsible for your own snow removal, and yes you might need to help the road committee by plowing out the ends of your roads. A big thanks goes out to my neighbor for getting me unstuck and plowing the dead end section of West Liberty Drive. The plows hadn't gotten a chance to plow and Mr. Larson came to our rescue!! If you don't have a plow, tractor or a backhoe (as we do) you will need to pay someone to plow you out at times. If you don't have a vehicle that is prepared to push through snow, you need to move somewhere else. This is the Great Northwest and snow is a part of its beauty!!

Road Committee keep up the good work, the sane people of Spirit Lake East know how hard you have worked. Don't tolerate anymore threats your safety is important to you and your families!!

Thank you,

Natalie Allred

P.S. Please feel free to print all or part of this in your news letter or on the website!!

Roads (February 13, 2008)

This is our fourth winter in Spirit Lake East and by far we have had the most snow this year. We have been pleased with the job our road workers have done in maintaining our streets. Please let them know they are appreciated. We have been on the streets in Spirit Lake, Rathdrum and Coeur d'Alene and you're right, they are not maintained as well as ours.

Jim and Kathy Maupin

Note from the water company

We talked to the men from the water company who are working on the leak detection project. They are almost done, so we can hope the water will stay on for a while. They suggested that we try to avoid plowing snow over the meter boxes. They do need to acess them occasionally--for more than just billing--and you may need access to turn off the water in an emergency.

Tree Order Form

Lowell Hayes has provided an order form that you can use to buy trees from the Kootenai-Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District. Order Form

Bear Sighting (August 28, 2007)

Just an FYI...we had a bear (approx 300-400lbs worth) coming into our yard the past few nights and early morning. The first night this hungry bear (I am sure a Fall thing as bears are trying to put on their winter
fat) made quite a mess with our garbage and refused to leave. This bear seems to be not too afraid of humans because we tried to scare it off with poor results. He seems to like peanut butter and Chinese food...he does not like cheetos.

People should start keeping their garbage inside their shops/garages...

Steve Lane

Webmasters Note: Steve is on Priest River, but there was another sighting on Tahoe.

Paul Peloquin Resigns from Board (Posted August 27, 2007)

Spirit Lake East Homeowners Assn.
P.O. Box 217
Spirit Lake, Idaho 83869

Attn: Board of Directors

I presently hold the position of Board Member At Large and liaison to the Road Committee. Unfortunately, due to the current state of my health, I must resign my position effectively immediately.

Respectfully,

Paul A. Peloquin
Homeowner Lot 148

Stage 2 Burn Ban Announced (Posted August 18,2007)

Stage 2 includes a ban on operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails; and blasting, welding or operating chain saws or other equipment from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. The restrictions apply outside city limits throughout North Idaho, and most cities and fire districts are enacting similar bans. This is particularly important in SLE where there are many homes put at risk and a poor water supply for fighting fires.

Updated Website (Posted August 17, 2007)

As you can see, the SLE website has been updated with a new look and improved organization. Please take some time to look around. From now on, the home page will have just navigation to other parts of the site and the latest news. If you have information to share, send it to sle@spiritlakeeast.org

If you have suggestions or comments or problems like broken links, please send them to the email address above. I am particularly looking for updates to the map showing which lots have houses on them and any information that would be useful to new or prospective SLE residents.

Natural Gas (Posted July 24, 2007)

Al and Robin Near report that they spoke with Rick Berger of AVISTA regarding the possibility of getting natural gas service here in our community. He seemed quite interested. Rick said that folks can call 1-800-227-9187 to reach AVISTA and add their support. The more who respond, the better the chances that AVISTA might bring this utility our way.

Fishing Pole Found (Posted June 27, 2007)

Fishing pole was found on Kelso the morning of June 25. Please call Chris and John Kopp at 623-6101 to ID and claim it.

Road Oiling (Posted June 11, 2007)

Those individuals interested in oiling their roads should contact Jane at Lyman's Dust Control 772-5665. Tell her that you are in Spirit Lake East and you would like to have your road oiled. They will give you the rate that the Association is paying of 90 cents a lineal foot - 22 foot wide, if you have it done at the same time that the association is doing the entrances and circles and other members are doing their roads. Please attempt to contact as many of your neighbors as possible so it can be coordinated at this time, as they will not come out for one or two at a time for that price.

The roads will be graded where needed prior to oiling. Oiling will probably begin either Friday, June 15th, or Monday or Tuesday of the following week. Please slow down.

Tom Hansen, Road Committee Chair
Paul Peloquin, Board Member

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors (Posted June 11)

Those whose property backs up to the new R Ranch development to the west of Spirit Lake East might want to contact one of the directors, Bob Holland, Paul Bogaert, or John Meredith regarding a fence to separate the development from Spirit Lake East Property. 208-691-0115.

Community Garage Sale?? (Posted June 11)

Is anyone interested in having a community wide garage sale this summer. We could get together and figure out which month and day(s) works for everyone. If interested contact Janet Parker at 623-5156

SLEWCO Update
The Spirit Lake East Water Co. request for reconsideration and modification of the rate increase was denied. The PUC pointed out that they can get an increase when they fix the generator and leakage problems. For details, see the order on the PUC website at http://www.puc.idaho.gov/orders/recent/Reconsideration_Order_No_30315.pdf
SLEWCO has begun efforts to find leaks in the system and engineering firms are working on plans for fixing the reservoir roof and upgrading the generator to run the pump which brings water up from the well as well as the distribution pump. For more details, see the PUC website

Board Meeting June 5, 2007

Board Meeting minutes will be posted when they are available. Some highlights:
New officers are Mike Cover (President), Darrell Richardson (secretary), Dave Sincerbeaux (Vice President), Cindy Murphy (Treasurer). Other board members are Paul Peloquin, Kathy Gray, Jeff Hill. The contact emails on this website will be updated soon.
The association will be oiling the roads from Highway 54 and around the circles where the worst road problems occur. It is hoped that this will stabilize the road surface and reduce potholes and maintenance. If this works as expected, it may be possible to do less to these areas next year and extend the oil somewhat beyond the circles.
The water committee reports that there is a new operator for the water company and they are working to find the leaks in the system as well as doing some neglected system testing. Watch for work being done on and near the roads. They committee has also explored the feasibility of getting tender refill (hydrants used to refill fire department trucks) at the circles.
If you are concerned about shooting occurring in SLE:
At the membership meeting in May, Dan Edginton reported complaints about shooting in SLE and suggested that anyone concerned about the problem contact the Kootenai County Commissioners as there is currently no law against shooting in the county. The address is
Kootenai County Commissioners office
PO Box 9000
CdA, ID 83816-9000

If you are concerned about shooting occurring in SLE: (Posted May 2007

At the membership meeting in May, Dan Edginton reported complaints about shooting in SLE and suggested that anyone concerned about the problem contact the Kootenai County Commissioners as there is currently no law against shooting in the county. The address is
Kootenai County Commissioners office
PO Box 9000
CdA, ID 83816-9000

Be sure your house numbers are on your mail box

and clearly visible. In case of a fire or medical emergency, missing numbers may keep emergency personnel from finding you promptly.

Be sure the board has your phone number (and email address) so we can contact you if there are water supply problems or other important issues.