The information below was prepared by Mary Beth Huffman, President ILPOA. If you have any questions on the material covered below please email Mary Beth at bod.mbhuffman@ilpoa.org.

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Coronavirus

We are in uncharted times – this Coronavirus has uprooted all of our lives to some extent.  At this time, our Neighborhood Watch is so very important.  Our elderly and others who may need help are not easily identifiable, even though we have tried to reach out to the Community numerous times to offers to shop, medicine, etc.  It is up to each and every one of us to know and keep an eye on our neighbors.  We have many, many folks who have offered to help in any way, but nobody has actually reached out for help.  Neighborhood Watch captains/volunteers are needed, please message Kathy Kamper if you wish to know more about our Neighborhood Watch program. 

In the meantime, as has been communicated previously, we have made provisions for the office to stay open with business being conducted through the door and mail slot.  The community center is closed until further notice.  The quarterly meeting has been canceled.  Keep an eye out for when Club’s resume their meetings/business and events.  Also, maintenance continues to work, but we want to remind members to not make any contact with any of our maintenance employees.  If you have an issue, please fill out a maintenance form, or contact Gary Campbell at bod.gcampbell@ilpoa.org.  BE SAFE!  

Bridge

Cochran Engineering has completed the preliminary drawings for the bridge.  They have also submitted the necessary permits.  We will be ready to put the completed drawings out for bid by late spring/summer.  Again, if you know of a contractor that is interested in bidding, please contact me.  We will require the bidders to prequalify – meaning they will have to meet insurance requirements, have references, etc. 

Beavers

Our trapper ended up with 11 beavers!  Are they all gone?  No, we have always had beavers and we will always have them.  But we hope that the reduction will help immensely in the extreme damage members have been receiving to their properties in the last 3 months.

Crawford County Sheriff Department

We met with a representative of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department along with Neighborhood Watch.  Our meeting mostly concentrated on the approximately 10 residents that cause most of the issues in Indian Hills.   We are feeding information to CCSD from ours and other cameras around the neighborhood, as well as the gate logs.   Most of these folks are members not in good standing, so they do not have their names in the directory-which has allowed us & CCSD to identify all their “friends”-friends that help them in their suspicious behavior and “maintaining” their nuisance properties.  We know the members who aid these folks by opening the gate for them and their friends, and those member’s names are also being forwarded to CCSD.  Remember if you are letting somebody into our Community you are ultimately responsible for their behavior.  Sometimes they will make “cold calls” in the directory and just hit random names and say “Please push 9”.  Don’t fall for that, only open the gate for those you know.  And of course, the “pleas” you hear from these folks on social media are extremely one-sided.  

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs

Loose and stray dogs are becoming an incredible nuisance at Indian Hills.  They are everywhere, aggressively charging neighbors, biting members, aggravating the dogs that are restrained, chasing cars, defecating in everybody’s yard, etc.  And we’re not talking about the occasional, “my dog got out of the yard and I am chasing it”……this is a consistent problem from the same owners over and over again, and more and more dogs seem to have no home.  

Crawford County DOES NOT have an animal shelter.  Cuba has a shelter, but we are not in Cuba, they CANNOT take our problems, they have a full house of their own.  Indian Hills security, maintenance, board members are not trained to handle dogs/cats, nor is it safe for them to do so.  

Our rules are clear.  No dogs/cats are to be off the premises of the owner when not under the control of a leash by a person over the age of 12.  If you see a dog/cat running loose, and know who the owner is, please send an email to our office at ILPOA.org with the info – when and where you observed the dog, what kind of dog, who is the owner, the address, etc.  We will write the member a citation, after 3 they will be considered members, not in good standing.  

As many of us are dog lovers, it is heartbreaking to see irresponsible members letting their dogs run as they do.  Please make it clear to those members your feelings, as some folks just don’t seem to care about their pets or the rules.  Perhaps we can come together as a community to help these poor animals.

Board Position Opening

On March 14, I received a resignation from Bill Brumitt from the Board.   Our By-Laws, “Article V, Section 11. VACANCIES.  Any vacancy occurring on the Board of Directors must be filled within ten (10) days by the next person in line from the previous election of Directors with the largest number of votes, and be appointed by the Board of Directors, to serve until the next regular election of members of the Board.  If no candidates are available, the Board of Directors shall fill the vacancy by appointment.”

On March 22, as the next person in line, Dale Brunts was offered the position.  He accepted and was appointed that position on March 23.  

As the temperatures start rising, the days get longer, let’s hope that we get through this COVID-19 crisis quickly and safely.  Please speak up if you hear of any member in need!

Mary Beth Huffman, ILPOA President (bod.mbhuffman@ilpoa.org)