Wow, what a snow storm we had on Ground Hog Day 2011. Hardly knew it was Ground Hog Day with all the news of the Blizzard.
This is just a reminder that the Georgetown Township requires that sidewalks are kept clear of snow after each accumulation of 1″ or more. We realize this is quite a job with this type of snowfall but want to encourage our residents to keep the sidewalks clear for our kids in the neighborhood.
Also, remember to dig out the fire hydrant if there is one near your home.
Many still contact me about this Trash hauler bid. We requested bids from 5 providers, all 5 provided us proposals and we compared them in good faith. EGSLA still recommends the proposal of Arrowaste and a letter from them can be found here Georgetownshores-Letter-from-Arrowaste. As we have always mentioned, this is your choice. If you want more information and details you can read below.
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I was out of town today and just got home at 8:00 tonight. I see that a new letter from EverKept has been delivered to all the residents. This offers another price reduction to get residents to keep the bins they have already been delivered. I guess having an open bidding contest is achieving one of the Committee’s goals of saving money. I have gotten calls while on the road today from both of the owners of EverKept and as you can see they are passionate about their service. They claim we did not give them a fair comparison but they original provided us nothing other than the much higher bid.
I also have gotten a letter and phone call from Arrowaste and it is attached Georgetownshores-Letter-from-Arrowaste. Russ said today and they still plan on honoring their original proposal and look forward to providing service in to our residents. As stated in their letter, they are waiting for our residents to call or e-mail.
-randy
Georgetown Shores has 455 new members as of Tuesday, Oct. 25.
Our walleyes were delivered and released in good condition with the help of Pete Miedema and myself. I’d like to thank those who contributed to the purchase of the fish:
Paul Huizinga
Gerry Rozema
Vern Essenberg
Tom Strating
Reed Dietrich
Trent Rappuhn
Dan Barker
Bob Salmon
Pete Miedema
Randy Vugteveen
Jason Engstrom
Scott VanderVeen
These gentlemen contributed $1130 which purchased 455 walleye at $2.40 per fish and the delivery cost.
Thanks again for your help,
Scott VanderVeen
889-4502
We’re at the end of another great season of life on the lake and I would like to take a moment to let you know where I think the fishing situation is on our lake. The last update was from last spring and some things have changed, but for the most part the fishery is doing great.
One big change this summer has been the number and size of the Northern Pike. Last spring the pike numbers had been fairly low and the sizes were small. This year the pike are twice as big and there seem to be a lot more off them. I’ve personally caught them up to 30 inches. I believe that with the mix of species we have in our lake this should not cause a problem except to the anglers who lose baits from being bitten off.
As far as bait fish go the minnows are in full force. Lots of baby bluegills, big balls of baby shad, and I’ve also seen pods of baby bullhead. These are all great sources of food for the bass, pike, and walleye. In 2004 we stocked fathead minnows for forge along with the walleyes but with the amount of baby fish we have now I don’t see the need in having to buy more minnows.
There may have been some confusion from the last update as far as the Catch and Release suggestion went. As a general rule bass are usually considered a Catch and Release species for the reason that they’re not very good to eat but they are fun to catch. Returning them is just a way of giving others a chance to enjoy the thrill of catching them. For walleye, as long as they are over 15 inches, they’re legal to keep. All the walleye we planted in 2004 should be well above this length and ready for the skillet.
Another change I’ve witnessed is the catch rate of the walleye is dying down. I believe that the walleyes that were planted in 2004 have done extremely well over the years and our lake is suited well to sustain these fish. The issue with stocking walleyes is that reproduction in lakes with sandy bottoms and no current is minimal at best. I’ve been in touch with Stoney Creek Fisheries in Grant and explained our lake and our fishery to them. They say that most lakes that they deal with do an every other year stocking to keep the walleye numbers stable. I would like to start an every other year stocking this fall. If we can raise money and get our order in before the end of the month, then we can have a planting around the end of October. The fall is the only time that they recommend planting walleye, so if not this year then we’d have to wait until next fall.
The money we use to buy the fish is going to have to be donated as it was the first time we did it in 2004. The walleyes are 6-9 inches and cost $2.40 a piece. The number of walleye we plant will obviously depend on the amount of money raised. A good range would be anywhere from 150 to 300 fish. Any extra money raised could be set aside for further plantings. Anyone willing to donate can drop off money to Jason Engstrom or me, Scott VanderVeen by Sunday, Sept 26. I’ll be making the order on that Monday to ensure delivery this year. Any questions feel free to contact me.
Scott VanderVeen 5663 18th ave 889-4502
Jason Engstrom 6068 16th ave 890-8818
As the Dog Days of Summer come into full swing the Safety Committee wants to remind all the GS residents to make sure they stay alert and safe when out in their boat or the water in general.
On the front web page for GS we have links to some of the state of Michigan Boater safety sites. If you are new to boating, please go take a look at the information found there. If you want a safety booklet to read, please let me know and I have copies I can give you.
I also just found this new site called “Safe Boating Kids Site” and it looks great for our younger residents to check out.
Finally there is a link on the top of this blog called Safety Committee Tips, please check that out also.
-The GS Safety Committee