Rob Collins

Rob Collins brings many of years of knowledge of the area and people to the CLV Property Owner’s Association Board.

“I’ve lived in this house for 20 years,” Collins said.  “The whole time I’ve lived here I’ve thought about serving on the board and then I finally decided to do it.  I firmly believe all the board members are there for the same cause.”

Collins said living here is a real family affair.  Collins’ parents, Bob and Virginia have spent nearly their entire life in and around Spencer County.  His son Casey and his family as well as two brothers and their families live in the area too.

“Of course most important would be my wife, Debbie,” Collins said of his partner of 31 years.

Collins runs his own lawn care business when weather allows and on the off season he devotes his time to selling a fishing rod holder that he invented and patented.

“I wasn’t trying to invent anything, I just wanted to make something that would work in holding my fishing rod,” Collins commented.  “Two or three guys I fish with kept saying, ‘You should sell these things’ so I looked into it.”

As far as being on the board, Collins “just wanted to be a part of it.”  He noticed in the past few years many of the people on the board were relatively new to the area and he wanted to include his perspective as a long term resident as well.

Vectren Cable

Noticing big holes and lots of dirt in folk’s yards around Balthazar?  The village has not been invaded by gophers but is actually being improved on by Vectren.

Over the next several years Vectren will be replacing the primary lines between transformers throughout all of CLV.  This process will be done in pieces for different sections of CLV.

“The bottom line is we’re replacing old cable with new cable,” said Craig Miller, Vectren employee.  “The old wire gets brittle while the new wire will be more reliable.”

The new cable will be in conduit and will make future repairs easier.

Over the next few weeks the Balthazar, Arctic Circle and Mistletoe area of replacement should near completion.  During this time there could be brief power outages.

Christmas Lake Garden Club

Put your orders in now for the Garden Club’s annual Fall Mum Sale.  There is no better way to spruce up sparse landscaping with these beautifully colored mums.

Mums will be sold at the gatehouse on September 19 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. or when they are sold out.  There will be a selection of yellow, red, lavender, white and bronze mums with the cost of each plant at $7.

Pre-orders may be placed until September 12 by calling either Sue Fuhrman at 544-3365 or Karen Hayes at 544-2960.  The Garden Club greatly appreciates pre-orders.

The Lincoln Memorial Garden at Buffalo Run will be dedicated on September 27 at 10 a.m.  The Garden Club adopted this ground over a year ago and have cultivated a garden “with plants that were around during Lincoln’s time here” said Garden Club president Sue Fuhrman.

“As the local Garden Club we felt we should do something to commemorate the Lincoln Bicentennial,” Fuhrman said.  Members of the club have dedicated many hours to research plants and flowers from the time that Lincoln lived here and how best to create this unique garden.

After the dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. Buffalo Run will sponsor a free buffalo feeding as well.  Buffalo Run will be open until 6 p.m. that day and for more information please contact Kathleen at 937-2799.

On September 15 the club’s the Director of the Spencer County Solid Waste Management District Debbie Steinkamp will present a program regarding “Recycling and Composting.”  The October 20 meeting will be lead by Master Gardener Karen Hayes about Fall and Winter preparation for flowers and landscaping.  There will also be a seed and plant exchange at this meeting.

A spokesperson for Santa’s Elves will speak at the November 12 meeting to inform members how they can participate and help with this program.  The December 8 meeting will be the club’s annual Christmas party at Santa’s Lodge.

The Garden Club is open to anyone wanting to learn more about plants and flowers.  For more information please contact Sue Fuhrman at 544-3365.

Board Member Gene Allen

I’m beginning my 2nd year serving on your Christmas Lake Village board, and I’m finding it more and more challenging as time goes by.  It’s still exciting to see things come together and big things getting accomplished.  In my original profile, I stated I looked forward to serving on the board and I still do.  One concern I have is the low turnout of homeowners at monthly board meetings, using our parks, and attending the free concerts in the park.  These are for our benefit and enjoyment and a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors and let your board know what’s important to you.

A group of 9 very dedicated homeowners, just like you, serve on the CLV board.  My hope is that all would get behind these board members and give them support and suggestions.  After all, we are living together with the same feelings of the good life in Christmas Lake Village. In the next couple months some major decisions will need to be made by your board and we would like to hear from you on these issues.

In the very near future we are taking a very strong approach to those property owners who are avoiding paying their assessments.  These people are getting the same benefits yet not paying their fair share – and this is not fair to the vast majority who are paying in a timely manner. Very soon, we will be taking legal action against these delinquent property owners, which will also cost them the legal fees in the process to collect what they owe CLV.  This will provide us the additional funds to do some of the repairs that are currently not being done due to lack of money.

Finally, I’m hoping to see more of you getting involved in our beautiful community.

Thank You

Gene Allen

Lincoln Heritage Public Library

Starting in September story times for toddlers and pre-school children will begin again.  Each Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Children’s Librarian Mrs. Rebecca will encourage young imaginations with fascinating stories.

The Backyard Book Club will also begin meeting the 2nd Thursday of each month.  This book club includes second through fifth graders and meets from 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.  Each month the club chooses a topic to discuss and children read a book on that topic.  Then they brief the group on their book, make a craft and have refreshments. 

The Teen Advisory Group (TAG) will be trying to plan some activities for the 6th through 12 graders.  The 2nd Friday of each month is Gaming Unplugged from 3:30p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

“Adventures in India”, stories from Tan, Jennifer, Gabby & Grace Mayhall’s recent two month stay in India, will be presented September 30 at 6:30 p.m.  Come hear about everything from riding elephants and fighting crowds of people as the Mayhall family shares some of their Indian experiences.  There will be some light refreshments as well as some Indian snacks.

September is also National Library Card month.  The library is not just book bank.  They provide services to homebound people; they have book clubs, kid’s programs and an excellent genealogy room.

The Library also offers free concerts the 3rd Thursday of each month as part of their Underground series.  For more information about the library please contact 937-7170.