We received a pretty funny neighborhood newsletter yesterday. One item was a letter to the editor about the association rules against loose dogs. Dogs are to be leashed unless they are on the homeowner's property. Frankly, I think dogs should be leashed whenever they are outside. Although I myself don't put Soya on a leash when she goes out. I don't because she's so old and stiff that she really doesn't go more than several feet from our door. But if there were a rule saying she needed to be, I'd gladly clip her to a leash.
Most dogs in the neighborhood do not have Soya's age and medical problems. And most do not have Soya's habit of staying close to the house. Some of them don't stay in their own yards. And this is becoming a problem. I have photos of two dogs that belong to some neighbors up the street. They are standing in the middle of the road about 7 houses away from their own. When they aren't in the street, they tend to be nosing around other houses. And they get quite territorial when people walk by them. Even when they aren't in front of their own house. One Sunday morning about 6:30 I took a walk around the neighborhood and those two dogs were several houses away from home. They kicked up quite a barking fuss when I went by. It was one of those cooler days and nights when people had their windows open. Imagine waking up to two strange dogs defending your house. I'm saving the photos. Next time they are out, I'm going to print them up and put them in the owner's mailbox.
The letter in the newsletter also asked about loose cats. We do have quite a few of them. The letter writer was complaining that they are digging holes in her landscaping and leaving treasures in the holes. We don't have any rules about cats.
The editor had some suggestions for the letter writer and that was were the humor came in. She mentioned petitioning the association board to impose fines for pets. She also suggested sprays or powders that could discourage unwelcome visitors. And traps could be obtained from animal control. If animals are caught in the traps, animal control will come pick them up. Her 4th suggestion was this:
"The recommendation that most tickled the editor's fancy is to return the treasures to the pet owner's doorstep with a note, or knocking on the door and handing over the treasures personally. While the editor makes no endorsement, nor asserts any legality, of such action, the editor does assure effectiveness."
I liked the disclaimers.
But perhaps one of the best articles in the newsletter was about speeding. The speed limit in our neighborhood is 20 mph. We receive constant mention about speed and one month there was a shrieking headline about a child almost struck by a speeder. The child's clothing was actually brushed by a speeding vehicle.
I've always thought the most, if not all, the speeding was from construction traffic. Those people don't live here, and they have deadlines on the work they do. The worst offenders that I've seen are the gravel trucks, who must be paid according to the number of trips they make. They race up and down the through streets in excess of 40 miles per hour.
But this newsletter article pointed that some repeat offenders who are homeowners. And pointed out that we will not/can not put in speed bumps. Apparently the county will not assume maintenance of our roads if there are speed bumps in place. The association also feels they are an eyesore, although I think the newer, wide ones aren't.
Also since our roads are not part of the county system yet (they will be once we get a certain percentage of our neighborhood built out), the county can't patrol them and issue tickets.
So the Community Watch Committee is asking the board to impose fines on speeders. And they are giving block captains access to a hand-held radar gun. Block captains will position themselves on high-traffic roads on random, unannounced days and record violator speed, car make and license plate number. Until fines are possible, that information will be published in the newsletter! Cool! Nothing makes a newsletter or paper more interesting than crime reports!
I was sharing this newsletter yesterday on the phone with Tony. I spent several minutes dissing parents who would have their children out in the street unsupervised. "Child almost hit by speeder"...sheesh! The child could have been almost hit by a non-speeder. Could have been hit by a person simply backing their car out of the driveway. Where were the parents? Why was the child in the road? Chasing a ball? Chasing a dog? When our kids were small and playing outside, they were in a fenced yard or I was sitting out there with them. Ball in the road? Get Mom...she'll get it for you.
Tony's suggestion? Invisible fencing. The association board could pass an ordinance that all children under the age of 12 must wear a collar that will beep or shock them when they cross the invisible line. Ingenious! Or better yet...put a bracelet on the kid and the shock collar on the parent.
That's it! And remember: Don't buy Benchcraft Furniture!
7:26:13 AM 
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