Those hot days of summer are on us! The July 4th activities went off very well and I hope everyone enjoyed the day and the evening finale – the fireworks show. Thanks to everyone who contributed to make our celebration spectacular. Hopefully, all of you found your beach, pool, restaurant, and other common grounds in good order.
Last month in the early morning hours of July 3rd, the pool at the lodge was vandalized. Chairs, lights, and doors were broken and along with the concrete umbrella holders thrown into the pool. The damage to the bottom of the pool is yet unknown. The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Office was contacted and HAWL put out a $500.00 reward for information on the perpetrators. As stated last month, issues like this have been happening in our community. Let me emphasize that it will take everyone refusing to tolerate this destructive and offensive action to make it stop. We will prosecute to protect our community – your community - and provide a safe environment for all. Please keep your eyes and ears open and report any suspicious activity.
In addition, litter/trash along our roads has become a major nuisance which reflects badly on our community. Our Maintenance Department spends a lot of time weekly picking up litter. And we are so thankful to those great property owners who do more than their share of policing these areas as well. However, this is an unacceptable task when there is simply no reason for the trash or litter to be there at all. We want our community to look clean but our Maintenance Department could use those hours doing other tasks and I’m sure those property owners have things they had rather be doing as well. Bottom line, if you litter, STOP! If caught, there is a $150.00 fine for littering or dumping of trash. If you see someone littering, get a car tag number or other identification and call Security. Let’s put a stop to this!
During July our water system tower was taken offline and we went back to our hydro system to perform an inspection on the tower. I’m glad to report everything is still in great shape. This will be done every three to four years for preventative maintenance.
A meeting was held July 10th with the State of Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the Department of Health and Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to discuss “Channeled Applesnails” which have been found in our lake. Test were performed a month earlier on about 50 snails to check for the parasite called “Rat Lung”. All the snails taken from our lake tested negative for this parasite which is good news. The problem with these applesnails is that they will over populate very quickly. However, in talking with many of the property owners who have lived in Hide-A-Way for 20 or more years, the snails have always been here. The first visible signs are usually the egg clusters which are bright pink clumps of 200-600 tiny eggs attached to a tree, stump, pilings or other objects at the water line. If you see these egg clusters, please scrap them off into the water where they can’t hatch. This will help to reduce the population. If you handle the snails, make sure to wash your hands well. More information is posted on our web site and will continue to be updated as needed.
And as always, if you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call at the office.
Bruce Devillier
General Manager
