CROCKERY LAKE ASSOCIATION
June 2023 NEWSLETTER
CROCKERY LAKE WEBSITE: www.crockerylake.org
CROCKERY LAKE FACEBOOK: www.facebook/crockerylake
EMAIL ADDRESS: crockerylakeassociation@gmail.com
CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY CROCKERY LAKE STYLE
MONDAY, JULY 3, 2023
1 - LAKEFRONT DECORATING - We would like to encourage everyone to put out your best Independence Day decorations on the lakefront. It’s like decorating for Christmas but doing it for Independence Day instead. The yard that decorates the best will have a special sign to display in their yard and bragging rights as the winner! Elliott’s were last years big winner. But our shoreline looked very patriotic!
2 - BOAT PARADE will get underway at 7:30 pm. Entries will register at the Gaggin’s house the day of the event. Make sure you register with Mollie Gaggin at 2149 VanDyke. You can call or text her that you will be participating at 313-712-6437.(Gray house on the south side of the lake, there will be a banner in their yard by Saturday July 1) Each boat will be given a numbered sign which is to be attached to the boat and visible for the judges to see. The numbered signs must be turned back in to Mollie Gaggin after two circuits of the lake are completed. Any lake resident may enter a boat in the parade, Boats will queue up at the Gaggin’s house directly across from the park by 7:15pm. Get your number before the parade. Please display it clearly on the starboard side of your boat (Right side) for the judges and for pictures.
~ A head judge and 4 other judges have been appointed by the CLA Board.
a. Judges must be members of the Crockery Lake Association.
b. Judges must phone, text, or email their votes to the head judge within thirty minutes of the last boat passing the judge’s house.
c. The head judge will tabulate the votes and phone or email the results to the Treasurer within one hour after the parade is over.
d. The treasurer will phone or email the winners before the fireworks begin.
e. The Treasurer will distribute the prize money within five days of the parade. If there is a tie, the money will be divided. Only CLA members can win the prize money.
Prizes - First place - $75. Second place - $50. Third place - $25
3 - RING OF FIRE will start at 9:45 pm. Candles will be available through your board representative listed below for $1.25 each. Light your candles and participate in this special tradition. Don’t forget to save your milk jugs, ice cream pails or ball jars work well too! Candles are also available at Pat Wolters home at 2442 Crockery Shores Rd on her porch. The price per candle is $1.25.
4 - FIREWORKS will begin at dusk which is between 10:15pm and 10:30pm. Watch from your yard or boat. Be mindful of other boaters and stay safe. Be sure to have all boat running lights working properly. On Tuesday, July 4, at 9:00am help is needed to clean up Gunkle’s field where the fireworks are set off. There are many empty mortars and lots of paper laying around the field. Bring a garbage bag and start the day being a true patriot! This is a team effort!
5 - We are encouraging you to safely have your own fireworks. Please conclude any loud noises by 12:00am or before. Be mindful of your neighbors, their homes, their boats, boat covers, umbrellas, and awnings so that no sparks land on them. We should also be kind to the pets because many are spooked and anxious by the loud noises. Last year there were still some loud explosions at 2:00am.
FIREWORKS FUNDRAISERS FOR 2024
We will still be collecting donations for the 2024 fireworks. As soon as possible, we will contract with a company for next year. Usually, this can happen in the fall. However, as mentioned before the cost of goods has greatly increased. This means that the great show we have always had for about $6,000 will now cost a lot more. It’s not possible to predict how much more. To ensure that we do have a memorable fireworks display in 2024 we would like to collect more money. All donations to the fireworks are tax deductible. The funds that we have designated for this year will now go towards the 2024 fireworks.
2. The Lesha and Cole are selling T-shirts to raise money for the 2024 fireworks. Call 616-822-7139 to place your order. All profit from the sales will go toward the 2024 fireworks fund.
Another beautifully designed T-shirt. Cost is $20
Sub-watershed Meeting
Thursday, July 13⋅2:00 – 3:00pm
Location: Grose Park (22250 24th Ave, Casnovia, MI 49318
Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds
Join us for LGROWs quarterly sub-watershed meeting at Grose Park, in the Crockery Creek sub-watershed. We will be touring and discussing the area by Crockery Lake that was restored by the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership in 2012. Natural shorelines are something that can be applied to all sub-watersheds. LGROW will have a natural shoreline restoration certified professional to answer questions.
Everyone and anyone is welcome. Let’s let the watershed representatives know how much we love our lake.
SWIMMERS ITCH
Avoid Swimmer's Itch! Watch the weather!
When the wind is blowing perpendicular to the shore, blowing the water straight into the shoreline, cercaria, the swimmer's itch parasite, will concentrate in the shallow water. A steady to light wind carries the water into the shore, bringing the cercaria with it. The most common summer breeze comes from west-southwest. Thus, beaches on the east side or northeast side of a lake are most apt to have concentrations of cercaria after several days of steady breeze. The highest concentrations seem to be in the morning, making the later afternoon a better time to swim.
(The above information is adapted from a GR Press article, June 8, 2021, page B1.)
These tips might help reduce the itch:
Apply a cream or medication.
Don't scratch.
Cover affected areas with a clean, wet washcloth.
Soak in a bath sprinkled with Epsom salts, baking soda or oatmeal.
Make a paste of baking soda and water, and then apply it to the affected areas.
SWIMMERS EAR
When a person/child spends a lot of time in the water and going under water they may develop an ear ache. This is prevented and helped with a very easy home made solution.
A homemade cure can be mixed from a solution of half rubbing alcohol and half white vinegar. The alcohol combines with water in the ear and then evaporates, removing the water, while the acidity of the vinegar keeps bacteria from growing. Apply a couple of drops of solution in each ear after swimming or if an earache occurs.. If the earache persists consult a physician.
MORE FUN--EELGRASS SEASON IS FAST APPROACHING
Per Professional Lake Management, removal of eelgrass by chemical control is generally not recommended (1) because of oxygen depletion in the water, (2) the disruption of fish habitat, and (3) the chemical treatment will only be effective for 2 weeks—then the eelgrass quickly grows back.
Luckily, eelgrass has shallow roots and it is easy to pull out. The earlier you pull it out, the less work it will be for you. Be a good lake neighbor--like milfoil, be sure to remove all fragments as they may reroot in another spot. .
SEPTIC CONTRACTORS
We cannot emphasize enough the need to check and pump your septic and check your drain field. There is very little runoff coming in by the tributaries so most of the problem in the lake is from septic tanks. The CLA Board is working very hard to remediate the quality of our lake but we need YOUR help! Save our lake, Save your septic tank and drain field! Keeping the septic pumped and healthy is a lot more cost effective than replacing it.
FUZZY ROCKS
Many of us have experienced the rocks on the shoreline that are in the water sporting a very green hairy look. This is a microscopic look of this particular aloe that is growing. This was identified by Dr. Jennifer Jones from Restorative Lake Sciences.
“I have attached a microscopic image of the algae on the rock sample. It was Cladophora. Definitely likely due to septage leachate!”
Which means our septic tanks are a big part of the problem.
DOG LEASH LAW IN MICHIGAN
Michigan has a leash law that requires all dogs to be on a leash, which means the owner is responsible to enforce this law by keeping their animal securely on a leash and under control when in public areas. Unfortunately, many dog owners do not implement this law and allow their dogs to run freely in streets and parks. When a person is injured after being pursued by a dog, the dog owner is accountable for the injuries suffered in the attack. This includes compensation for pain and suffering, a scar or disfigurement, and payment of medical expenses related to the dog bite attack.
There have been complaints about dogs running through yards around our lake. Please, please before someone or a pet gets hurt, keep your dogs on a leash. Also please pick up after them. There is nothing worse for a non-dog owner to be mowing and come upon a pile!
Also, as a courtesy to all neighbors please try to keep your dogs from barking ceaselessly. The sound carries even more on a lake.
JOIN THE LAKE ASSOCIATION
WHY BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION?
To ensure the lake remains useable and healthy for the residents.
If the Crockery Lake Association cannot get the proper funding to support the lake’s health, then the fate of the lake will remain in the township’s hands. The board gives a voice to members of the lake association.
The lake board does their best to listen and implement your ideas and concerns. As lake residents, we have a responsibility to treat the lake with respect and try to minimize the damage caused by OUR use of the lake. If we don’t take this responsibility seriously, no one will.
Why not leave the lake health in the hands of the people who live on it?
The dues are just $35 per year.
Below are some CLA responsibilities:
MAINTAIN THE LAKE’S USABILITY THROUGH WEED TREATMENTS
Our lake has a substantial amount of weeds that if left untreated would make portions of the lake unusable.
Since the lake is only 108 acres, not treating the lake would severely limit boat traffic. Untreated “Eurasion Milfoil” will be cut and spread by boat motors. Within a couple of years, the lake would require more chemical treatment for the milfoil. Increased chemicals will also increase the cost to you. Because of the high phosphorous level in our lake, untreated weeds will accumulate a large amount and sit on top of the weeds, created an unsightly and smelly lake. The CLA only treats the lake with as small amount of chemical as needed. Options for treatment vary each year, along with the types of weeds and where they grow throughout the lake. They work with Professional Lake Management to decide what type of treatment(s) are needed and when they should occur.
ORGANIZE THE YEARLY FIREWORK SHOW
The firework show is 100% funded by the lake residents, friends and family.
Obtaining permits for the show and boat parade, donation collection, contract negotiation, coordination with the fire department and owners of the firework site, and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department are just a few of the tasks required to put the show on every year. The Board member in charge of the fireworks spends a substantial amount of time on the day of the event dealing with problems and questions from the various involved parties. (Fireworks donations are over and above the association dues)
INFORM RESIDENTS ABOUT IMPORTANT ISSUES IMPACTING THE LAKE
Because of our lake’s continued membership in the Michigan Lake & Stream Association, our lake stays better informed than many other lakes in the state.
Michigan Lake & Stream is a nonprofit organization which keeps lake boards up-to-date on a huge variety of issues—lake studies, grants, pending legislation, monitoring programs, education, boating laws and regulations. CLA members attend regional and annual meetings where this valuation information is obtained (they are not reimbursed for their attendance at these meetings, they attend to help with the well-being of the lake!). As an active member of ML&SA, we obtain additional help and immediate help with any lake problems. Additional perks to us being a member include: the best ways to handle weed treatments; a heads up on any legislature pending in Lansing that may affect our lake, being the first in line for lake monitoring studies, and working relationship with other lake associations. We also coordinate with many governmental entities—The Drain Commission, The Road Commission, The Parks Commission, and Chester Township on lake problems.
PROTECT THE LAKE THROUGH ACTIVE TOWNSHIP ORDINANCES
We were the first lake association in the state to implement a total fertilizer ban around the lake, other lakes request our ordinance to implement to their own.
Education from ML&SA programs, including phosphorous loading from fertilizers and water runoff are the #1 reason for algae problems. The newspapers are loaded with articles on lakes in our area with chronic algae problems which keep residents from swimming and boating in the lakes. Because of CLA actions, a smaller amount of fertilizer is now entering our lake and helping to ward off algae blooms. Residents should take credit for this also, because without your cooperation, this ordinance would not be as successful as it is!
The second ordinance is the “Dock/Funneling” ordinance. “Funneling” is when there is one undeveloped lot on the lake and homes built in the vicinity of the lot, but not on the lake, are given lake access on their deed to own a percentage of the lot. Without specific ordinances against this, these undeveloped lots have the potential of turning into a small marina—a dock holding an unlimited number of boats from all the residents given lake access. The ordinance also limits the number of docks per household to one, and motorized boats to three. An example of funneling is Lake Bella Vista. Hundreds of homes have lake access. The lake has problems with heavy boat traffic. By maintaining the Sheriff’s PWC, they get extra hours of patrol between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Residents can only operate their boats on an every-other-day basis and pay the salary of the deputy sheriff.
Our lake ordinances appear in a brochure entitled “Township Powers” that is available for purchase through Michigan Lake & Stream Assn. Overuse of the lake is dangerous and counterproductive to lake quality and residents’ safety.
SUPPLY INFORMATIVE NEWSLETTERS
The newsletters are an important source of information and allows residents to stay connected as a lake family. Careful research is done before any article is placed in the newsletters. Upcoming meetings and events, planned weed treatments, lake health results, new neighbors, and general information that lake residents would want to know about, are just some of the topics provided in the newsletter.
As your Board of Directors is working intensely on cleaning up the lake and finding all of the reasons the water quality is not good we want to keep you informed. Newsletters are fine but publishing comes at a cost. There is cost for the website and cost to send out mailers. Your dues can help keep you more informed. There is a lot of work happening right now and we want to inform you of it and get your input. We have been having the board meetings at the Chester Township Hall. We have to rent it. Right now your volunteer board members are paying for the rental out of their own pockets. But we believe it is important for you to have the opportunity to attend these important meetings. The more Association members we have the better we can serve you.
The Crockery Lake Association Board of Directors are all volunteer positions working for YOU and YOUR LAKE. Please support the Association by joining. Dues are $35. You can join from the website and pay via paypal or complete the form at the end of the newsletter and send it to the treasurer, Greg Slater.
We all have the same goal - to enjoy our beautiful little lake.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President / Betsy Ludwick
Position Expires: 4/30/24
616.723.5704 / betsylud@gmail.com
Newsletter Editor, Website and Facebook page Administrator
Vice President / Dan Atwood
Position Expires: 4/30/26
616.240.5670
Represents: 2833 - 2871 Crockery Shores, Kaycee Lane, Crockery Woods
Treasurer / Greg Slater
Position Expires: 4/30/25
616.638.6930 / greg.gsesllc@outlook.com
Representing: 2221 Van Dyke St - 2391 Van Dyke St
Secretary / Paula Humphrey
Position Expires: 4/30/25
616.498.0363 / paulah2700@gmail.com
Representing: 2392 Van Dyke - 2516 Van Dyke
Immediate Past President / Bob Blauwkamp
Position Expires: 4/30/24
616.957.9007 / rblauwkamp@gmail.com
Representing: 2332 - 2550 Crockery Shores Road, 24th Ave, Hoover
DIRECTORS
Mollie Gaggen
Position Expires: 4/30/26
313.712.6437 / molliesterr@gmail.com
Representing: 2081 Van Dyke - 2211 Van Dyke
John deGeneres
Position expires: 4/30/24
225.287.1420 / johnkassidegen@gmail.com
Representing: 2563 Crockery Shores Road - 2798 Crockery Shores Road
Bill Ferrier
Position Expires: 4/30/26
616.255.7913 / b.ferrier@yahoo.com
Representing: 2519 - 2681 Van Dyke
Bill Marks
Position Expires: 4/30/2026
616.430.8372 / williamjrix@gmail.com
Representing: 2705 Van Dyke St - 2835 Van Dyke
Advertisers Corner
Advertising in this newsletter is FREE to Crockery Lake Members.
Advertising for business is $25/year.
Inclusion of any advertisement in the CLA Newsletter does not equate to an endorsement by the Crockery Lake Association.