Happy Holidays!

Happy Holiday wishes to everyone. Things here at the canal are doing well. We hope that everyone is having a great Christmas weekend and that the new year brings good health and happiness to all.

Quick Update on Clean Up

Dan and Pat from Northshore Nursery have cleaned the upper culvert and have been working, along with the county this week on cleaning up and filling Brooke Drive. What a difference from last weekend. It's beginning to look more normal around here. Once the basic clean up has been done I have asked Dan and Pat to give us a bid on any culvert repair replacement work that needs to be done in the future. I will keep you apprised but as for now everything is going well here at Shorehill.

County Scheduled to Clean Community Entry Tomorrow - December 14th

I spoke with the road crew manager and we are on their schedule for tomorrow, December 14th. They will work on the entryway to the community and North Shore Road. They will move the debris back into Brooke Drive to start filling the ravine in the middle of the road.

Update on Flood Damage

If anyone has ended up with extra shovels or rakes let me know. We and Goranson's are missing tools.

North Shore Nursery is currently working up on Brooke Drive to open up one of the major culverts and try to get the water flowing back into the proper channels. This will help if we have some more heavy rains. I have also contacted the county to get on their list for cleanup of the entry into the community since it is a county road. Pat from NorthShore is also going to talk to them about getting some of the fill they are picking up to fill Brooke Drive.

North Shore Road is now accessible. There are still piles of mud and debris on the road but one lane has been opened up so that you can get in and out. Use caution. Vehicles low to the road may have difficulty.

Pictures of Flooding

What a day! We had an amazing crew of people come out to help save the community as best we could. Pete, Sandy, Dennis, Chris, Trina, Tom, Sally, Ron, Gayle, Greg, Keith, Gloria, Bill, Randy, Harold, Paul, and Chrystal all showed up and did all that could be done in a fight against mother nature to help divert the water and avoid damage. We checked the houses on the waterfront and worked hard to keep the water from flooding. Everyone's homes seem okay at this point. As you can see from the pictures, there is alot of work to be done once the floods are over. North Shore Road has been closed most of the day. Ron and I went for a drive about an hour ago to see if any progress had been made to open up the road. In a 4 wheel drive vehicle we made about seven miles, crossing 4 major slides on the road. Huge piles of dirt are across the road. One side is opened enough that with a 4x4 you could climb slowly over. We then came across county trucks working and turned around. Here are some pictures. Pete also has a PDF file with lots more but I could not post the PDF file here. I believe he has emailed them to most of you but if you didn't receive a copy and would like one just email me and I'll get them to you. We'll let you know more as there is more to tell. Please feel free to call me if you have any specific questions about your residence. Thanks again to everyone to worked so hard today. This picture was taken later in the afternoon, after the rains had calmed down.

This was a good thing to see, the beach still not damaged and the water flowing

through the culvert. It got a little rougher later in the day but the beach is still okay.

Thicker than it looks.
Where few men dare to venture.
Pete takes a strole up to see what's going on at top of Brooke Drive. Not a pretty site.

Gary and Karman's home doing fine. Ostranders' place okay but getting a little mud and water flowing through their property.

One of the first morning photos. Tom and Sally's and Brooke's cabins did okay.

No coffee, no breakfast. The floods got us all up and out working early.

Beginning of the day photos

Having seen some of the other places down the canal, we have faired well thus far, although there is major work to be done on Brooke Drive. Pray for sunshine!

Flooding at Shorehill

I hate to report that we are experiencing flooding again at Shorehill. Brooke's cabin and Tom and Salley's cabin are doing okay at this point. Brooke Drive is not holding up well. Dirt and rocks are flowing down the center and into the entryway and the canal. Work at beach is doing fine. I will post some pictures soon. Ron, Tom and Pete have assessed the situation and are going to trying doing a little shoveling to divert water and rocks but the consensus is that there is probably not much we can do until after it stops. The volume of water seems to be the main problem. The work done behind Tom's cabin last time seems to be holding up well.

If you are at the canal and able to help Ron, Tom and Pete, please grab a shovel and come on down.

I will update the blog as anything new transpires.

Gayle

4 Waterfront Homes Burglarized!

Four homes located on the waterfront of our community were recently burglarized. Liquor, sleeping bags, misc. items were taken, along with furniture items presumed to be used to remove items from the homes. Drawers and cabinets were gone through and homes were left in disarray. PLEASE HEIGHTEN YOUR AWARENESS OF UNFAMILIAR PERSONS AND ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. If we together keep an eye out for the entire neighborhood and report any suspicious activity, hopefully we can help prevent the success of any future breakins. To those who experienced the recent breakins we are sorry to hear of your losses. Thank you for letting us know so that we can all work together to hopefully tighten up security within the community. If you need any assistance with clean-up, etc. please let us know.

Congratulations to Mike Veseth - Washington State Professor of the Year

CONGRATULATIONS to Mike from all of us at Shorehill Estates!

The following article was published is the Tacoma News Tribune:

For 35 years, popular University of Puget Sound economics professor Mike Veseth has used a distinctive personal approach, getting to know students individually and finding unusual – some might say bizarre – ways to help them learn and grow. Today, his fame goes national.

University of Puget Sound professor Mike Veseth shows how he uses the study of soccer and wine as ways to examine world problems from a political and social perspective. Veseth was chosen by the Carnegie Foundation as Washington state’s Professor of the Year.

In too many places, Mike Veseth says, college classes are like ATMs.
"They've become transactions," he says. "Students turn in papers and get grades. If that's all it is, then there's no relationship that's going to grow." Chances are no one will ever describe one of Veseth's classes that way.

For 35 years, the popular University of Puget Sound economics professor has used a distinctive personal approach, getting to know students individually and finding unusual – some might say bizarre – ways to help them learn and grow.

He teaches complicated international economic theory in classes about soccer and wine. He demonstrates educational principles through juggling and has been known to set heavy economic theory to music, encouraging students to sing and dance to the “Gross Domestic Polka.”
Veseth’s approach has earned him the adoration of hundreds of UPS students over the years. Today, his fame goes national.

Veseth flew Wednesday to Washington, D.C., and accepted the Washington state Professor of the Year Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

It’s a prestigious, competitive award, bestowed each year on professors who demonstrate “extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching.” Veseth learned about the award last week, but was asked by its sponsors to keep it a secret until today’s announcement.

On Tuesday, in his office on the UPS campus, surrounded by books, soccer paraphernalia, wine bottles and juggling balls, Veseth seemed slightly embarrassed by the award. “It’s a nice recognition of a lifetime of effort,” he said. “Personally, I’m pleased because of what it says about my students. My own mentors helped me so much, it makes me proud to think I contributed that to my students.”

Student testimonials figured into the Professor of the Year selection process, and the students who wrote in support of Veseth were lavish in their praise. Some went so far as to say he changed their lives.

“I was a prickly, argumentative and contrary student,” wrote Kirsten Benites, who graduated from UPS in 2003 and now lives in London. “Regardless of whether he personally believed my arguments, he taught me how to defend my position in a logical way.”

Theater artist Seema Sueko, who graduated from UPS in 1994, said she was a shy student and that Veseth’s popularity initially intimidated her. That feeling quickly disappeared, Sueko said.
“He transformed me,” she said. “He gave me a voice and laid the foundation for me to excel.”
Veseth is an instantly likable guy, with a muff of gray hair around his bald head and a big friendly smile. He picks up a soccer ball and acts as if he wouldn’t mind spending a few minutes tossing it back and forth.

He was born and raised in Tacoma, and his family background is classic for the area: A father who migrated out from the Midwest after military service in World War II. His dad was a blue-collar worker at the old Hooker Chemical plant on the Tideflats. Veseth graduated from Lincoln High School, where he was the editor of the school paper, the Lincoln News. He attended UPS as an undergraduate and got his masters and doctorate in economics at Purdue University.
With his Ph.D in hand, he came straight back to Tacoma and a job at UPS. He’s been there ever since, except for brief teaching posts at the American Institute on Political and Economic Systems in Prague, Czech Republic, and Johns Hopkins University’s Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy.

Now he lives with his wife, Sue, just three blocks from the UPS campus. He walks to work.
“I’m a lucky guy,” he said. Veseth is most famous for his teaching, but he has other academic credentials. He co-founded and directs UPS’s International Political Economy Program, an innovative interdisciplinary approach to the study of international and global problems.
He’s written several books, including “Mountains of Debt,” “Selling Globalization” and “Globaloney: Unraveling the Myths of Globalization.”

A new book, “Wine Wars,” due out next year, is based in part on globalization issues his students explore in his popular class, “The Idea of Wine.” Why wine? And why soccer?
Veseth lights up at the question. It goes to the heart of his teaching philosophy. Both are accessible subjects that students don’t have to struggle to work up an interest in, and they open up worlds of topics including racism, nationalism and marketing. His excitement is contagious.
UPS Academic Vice President and Dean Kristine Bartanen put it this way: “Being an outstanding teacher is not just what Mike does, it’s who he is.”

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/11/18/1429330/tacoma-kid-now-states-professor.html#ixzz15rODdt1r

Welcome to the finish line!

Good job and congratulations to Gayle and Laura for walking 60 miles in the 3 days to support breast cancer research. Crystal Gray also walked but we don't have a picture.

Thank You So Much For Your Support!!!!!

On September 24, 25 and 26th I will be walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-day 60 mile Race for a Cure for breast cancer. Crystal Gray from Shorehill Estates is also walking.

I would like to personally thank those of you who have donated in support of finding a cure for breast cancer. It has been an amazing year training for the event and fundraising. I could not have done it without the support of all my family and friends. Thank you so very much!

I invite you to attend the closing ceremonies at Memorial Stadium (near the Space Needle) at 4:30 pm on Sunday the 26th if you happen to be in the area. If not, please just think of me and also Crystal as we both walk the 60 miles.



Gayle Robbins


PS - If you have not had a chance to donate and would still like to you can visit http://www.the3day.org/

Crab-a-licious

Crab season is all but over for the year but it is good to know that the crab are returning. Thanks, Sandy, for showing us that some big 'uns might still be out there.

If you have photos of Shorehill people or activities, and if you are willing to share them, send JPEG files to Sue or Gayle with relevant information.

September 11th - Fall Work Party and Community Meeting

Our fall work party and community meeting will be on September 11th. Work party begins at 8:30 am - Please sign in at the beach and pick a project to work on for the day. Our community meeting and potluck will begin at 4:30 pm at the beach. Hope to see you all there.

Projects for the work party:

Trim hedge at the beach
Work on pump house at water shed
Trim vegetation from edges of roads
Clean ditches of debris to prepare for good drainage this winter

If you see other projects which need to be done during the work party please let us know.

Thank you all for planning to come and help. We appreciate the time you commit to our community. See you on the 11th!

Travel with Karen

Our own Karen is on an adventure to Kenya with a group from her church to support children in the community of Meru. She has been preparing for this trip for months. The team leader is recording the group's activities and impressions on a blog; you can follow along.

We look forward to hearing Karen's stories when she returns.

Great Day for a Great Picnic

Thanks to Karen, Judy, Sandy and grillmaster Pete for putting together a great community picnic.

The weather was perfect.

The food was delicious.

The games (cakewalk, water balloons, egg toss) were fun.

 

 
 

And the company was the best.

Picnic!

Saturday, August 14

11 a.m.

Lunch at noon

Food!

Community will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, beverages

Bring a dish to share: salads, chips, desserts

~ Games ~

~ Prizes ~

~ Great people ~

~ Lots of fun ~

Bring your beach chair or blanket

Thanks to Karen and Judy for planning the picnic for all of us to enjoy!

PAVING SHOREHILL ESTATES

The beginning of a new Marine View Drive



Baja Vista after paving

Alta Vista after paving

Quite a process!

Pictures and commentary by "Keith" -

Before the paving starts, a gooey liquid substance is sprayed on the right and left side of the road but not the middle. The asphalt is 300 degrees when it is loaded into the dump trucks at the factory (I don't know where that is). When it gets here, the truck is skillfully backed up to the front end of a machine I call the paver. The front end of the paver is equipped with something like crabs claws which are opened to receive the load from the rear of the dump truck.

The truck and the paver look like they become one machine as they both creep down the street, with the hot asphalt dumping into the paver's front end and coming out the paver as 2" think roadway. The paver can pave up to 4" thick. After the dump truck empties it's load, the "claws" of the paver close up so that more paving material is forced into the paver's machinery. Another dump truck is soon backed up and the paver and the claws open up again.
As the roadway is laid, one operator uses a testing tool to monitor the depth of the
paving. Another operator steers the machine along the edge of the road (in our case, the curb) and constantly signals the truck driver to raise or lower the dumper of the truck to keep material flowing out of the truck.

After the paver goes by, a man comes along with a small compactor to compact the asphalt along the curb. Meantime, a roller works its way up and down the street to compress any seams and to smooth the roadway to a better degree. If any gaps are found the paving (as happened on Marine View, all the crew members carry shovels full of asphalt and fill in the hole, which is then compacted by the roller. It was quite a process and I enjoyed watching it. The roads look great.

CHANGE IN PAVING PLAN

Tomorrow (WEDNESDAY), beginning at 8:00 am ACE paving will begin paving BAJA VISTA and ALTA VISTA. On THURSDAY, beginning at 8:00 am they will begin paving Marine View Drive. At the end of each day roads can be driven on but during the day please do not drive on the roads being paved that day. Prior to paving they put a sticky substance on the roads, so walking on the roads is not recommended either. Should you have questions please contact Gayle or Dennis.

Paving Project Begins

The paving project will begin on Tuesday June 22, and be completed by Thursday, June 24. Here is the schedule.

• Tuesday, June 22 – Prep work with grader and sweeper
• Wednesday, June 23 – Pave Marine View and Baja Vista
• Thursday, June 24 – Pave Alta Vista

The paving company will place a 2” overlay on all the main roads throughout the community. The pavers will be tapering the edge where the surface meets driveways where they are currently paved so there will not be an abrupt edge in those locations. If the driveway is gravel, that taper will not be done and those owners may want to plan for the transition.

If anyone in the community wants paving work done of their own property, this would be an excellent time to contract for that work. Mike from Ace Paving has made himself available on Monday, June 21, to meet with any property owners who are interested in obtaining bids and can schedule that work for you to be completed while they are here next week. Call Mike at 360-479-4200 to schedule an appointment for any private party paving work that is desired.

If anyone has any questions or concerns please be sure to communicate those concerns as soon as possible to Mike from Ace, Gayle or Dennis G.

In Memory of Mary Elizabeth (Bryan) Gross - December 24, 1922 - May 29, 2010

In l980 Paul and Mary Gross built a beautiful house on Hood Canal and were active members of Shorehill Estates. Paul, along with other long-time Shorehill residents built the dock which is still used by all of us today and was instrumental in much of the building and maintaining of our community amenities. They loved growing a garden, entertaining, boating, crabbing and shrimping and Mary cooked the best fried Oysters on the Canal! They, like many other Shorehill families, taught their children to swim here on our beach. Memories made here on the Canal stay with our families for years. The family shared with me that just this past week one of the grand daughters brought her children here to play on the beach where she learned to swim with grandpa. The full obituary will be in Wednesday's Seattle Times. I could not paste it here in the blog but will forward a copy via email to those who may remember Paul and Mary. Paul was a Navy veteran and Mary a Marine. They served their county, their community and their family with pride and a dedication from the heart that I am honored to share this Memorial Day with all of you. They were special people and I feel very blessed to live in the house that Paul and Mary built. Services will be on Thursday at 9:30 am at Mt Tahoma Cemetery.

Gayle

Save the date!

Shorehill Annual Potluck Family Picnic

at the beach

Saturday, August 14

Food!

Community will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, beverages

Bring a dish to share: salads, chips, desserts

~ Games ~

~ Prizes ~

~ Great people ~

~ Lots of fun ~

Bring your beach chair or blanket

Watch this site for details

Thanks to Karen and Judy for planning the picnic for all of us to enjoy!

Potluck/Community Meeting Including Summary Minutes

Good Food!

Good Company!

Good Conversation!

Good Meeting!

Summary of Meeting Minutes:

Members were welcomed and thanked for a good workday.

Gayle announced that Shirley's mother Harriette had passed away and that she had taken a Hydrangea plant to Shirley from the community along with a card.

Minutes from Fall meeting and financial reports were presented and approved.

There was a discussion about delinquent accounts and what was being done to collect.

Community was advised that liens have been filed on three residences.

There was a discussion regarding the idea of a "profit/loss" statement instead of present financial report format. The treasurer and board will explore the idea further.

The Assessment Vote passed

42 ballots were returned out of 48.

Vote #1 regarding spending $15,000 for repairing the crack and having Aquatapoxy liner sprayed in water tank passed - 41 Yes - 1 No

Vote #2 regarding borrowing from the water fund to begin paving project and then replenish water fund from the assessment funds passed - 32 Yes - 10 No

Vote #3 regarding implementing an assessment of $5,000.00 per family to be paid within 3 years after implementation; each community member being given the option of three installment plans passed - 32 Yes - 9 No

Gayle reported that the biggest issues with no votes were related to those who do not use the roads or those who do not use the docks and therefore do not feel they should pay.

The billing for the assessment will go out within the next couple of weeks and the first installment will be due July 5th.

Bylaws will be presented to the community hopefully by the September meeting.

Suggestion was made that we raise community dues to provide a better financial cushion.

It was reported that the water tank has been repaired and the aquatapoxy liner had been applied.

Bids for paving the roads were discussed. Dennis and Grant will proceed with narrowing down the bids and securing a contract for the paving of the roads.

Pete and Brooke discussed the dock project and the various bids obtained. They advised that the contracting process could take up to two years.

A summer picnic is being planned for August. Karen and Judy will take the lead and advise when a date has been determined.

Voting of officers took place and the results were as follows:

Gayle - President

Brooke - Vice-President

Pete - Water Commissioner

Trustees (2 year term) - Judy, Grant, Tom, Dennis

Trustee (1 year term) - Nancy

September 11th will be the Fall work party and community meeting.

159 Shrimp Caught On Opening Day!

Spring Work Party 2010 Pictures

We can see clearly now that the new mirror is up - Thanks Chris! Our newest community member jumps right in to help pull weeds and rake at the beach.

Thanks for coming and helping at the work party Jeff! Welcome to the community. Judy, Karen and Brooke work hard to clear winter weeds from the entryway.

The girls put a fresh coat of paint on the bathroom doors

(With just a little help from their assistants Bill, Ron, Pete and Corrine)

WOW, what a difference you made!

Karen and Gayle strategize - The hands say it all!

Pete enjoys a well deserved cup of coffee after pressure washing the beach house while

Corrine works hard at getting rid of clover in the grass.
Sally and Nancy catch up on news while also working on the clover