President's Comments From Bill Bomar

As I begin to compose my thoughts for this newsletter, I realize that the Summer Season is almost half over. By the time you receive this, two of the three Summer Holidays (Memorial Day and July 4th) will have passed with only Labor Day yet to come. Lake Burton Civic Association events that have already passed include the receipt and contribution of "Burton One" (the rescue/fire boat) to Rabun County, a successful Boating Safety Course sponsored by LBCA at Wildcat Fire Department and conducted by Cpl. Mike England of Georgia DNR, the Spring Members Meeting, the fireworks (not sponsored by LBCA, but enjoyed by all) and the Tour of Homes. During the coming weeks, we have the Bluegrass Party on Saturday evening, July 28; the 10th Annual LBCA Golf Tournament on Friday, August 3rd; the Annual Members Business Meeting at 11:30 AM on Saturday, August 18; and the Three Lakes Golf Challenge (postponed because of rain and being rescheduled for the Fall). All of these events are worthy of your support and participation. If you have misplaced your registration forms, send your check and a brief note giving registration information to LBCA, P.O. Box 1988, Clayton GA  30525. Thanks to all who work hard to make these events successful.

A presentation was made at the Spring Members Meeting by Mr. Thomas L. Broadwell, Senior Environmental Analyst for Georgia Power Company. Tom summarized Georgia Power Company's water quality monitoring and control efforts at all of the GPC reservoirs on a continuing basis. The conclusion from this very informative presentation and Georgia Power Company's environmental monitoring is that the water quality of Lake Burton is excellent and that Georgia Power Company will take appropriate action should it become otherwise. A presentation was made at the meeting to Jack and Jean Rayfield by the Georgia Power Company Land Office and LBCA for their many years of support to the Lake Burton Community. Of course, the real reason to attend the meeting was the fried chicken, vegetables, etc. from LaPrade's.

I would like encourage all to visit the Association's web site at www.lbca.net. This site has a lot of useful information that is readily available through the Internet. Contents of our web site include brief histories about LBCA and Lake Burton, the calendar of events for 2001, summaries of boating safety and jet ski laws, the Clayton Tribune article about "Burton One", recent newsletters, names and addresses of your Association Officers and Directors, and other information. There are enhancements we would like to implement as soon as time permits and usage can justify the effort.

The Rescue/Fire Boat was on the lake most of Saturday, July 7th. I hope many of you were able to see the demonstrations of the power of the water gun. It has also been used on several emergency calls, including a recent boathouse fire caused by lightning. I am sorry for the loss, but this reminds me of the need to display your 911 addresses on your boathouses or docks.

Boating and water safety are always a concern. Many accidents can be prevented by being alert, using common sense, and exercising courtesy toward your neighbors and other boaters. Please always go beyond the basic laws for boats and PWCs (moving at idle speed within 100 ft. of any person in the water, dock or shoreline facility, or boat stopped in the water; requiring children under 10 years old to wear life jackets when the boat is underway; requiring all persons on PWCs to wear life jackets; no skiing or PWC use between the hours of sunset and sunrise and using boat running lights [not docking lights] after sunset). This newsletter includes an insert published by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Please ask your family members and guests to read this insert and keep it as a handy future reference. You can also obtain information for Georgia DNR from their web site, www.goboatgeorgia.com. Also, please cooperate with the DNR officers when you see them on the lake.

As always, you can contact me by phone, email or "snail mail". My email address is bbomar@windhambrannon.com.

Announcements Of Future Events

Saturday, July 28, 2001, 7-10 PM

Bluegrass Party at Fred's Shed
Music by Curtis Blackwell's Bluegrass Band
Desserts by Glen-Ella Springs Inn
Adults:  $10, Children under five:  $1 per year of age

Friday, August 3, 2001, Shotgun Start At 12:45 PM

10th Annual LBCA Golf Tournament
Benefiting the Volunteer Fire/Rescue Departments
The Orchard Golf and Country Club
Entry fee:  $125 per person

Saturday, August 18, 2001, 11:30 AM

Annual business meeting and lunch at Fred's Shed
Lunch:  $10 per person

Tour Of Homes

The LBCA Tour of Homes, co-chaired this year by Linda Thompson, Steve Barrett and Linda Dixon, featured the lovely homes of Wilds & Georgia Pierce, Bob & Gwen Fink, Mike & Rachel Hammer and Dick & Anne Vincent. Over 120 volunteers in the homes, on docks and in boats and, of course the preparation by the homeowners, made this sellout event a success again this year. The $10,000 net proceeds from this year's Tour of Homes again goes to support special needs of the three Volunteer Fire/Rescue Departments around the lake.

Golf Tournament Is Seeking Individual And Corporate Sponsorships

The 10th Annual LBCA Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, August 3, 2001 at The Orchard Golf and Country Club with a shotgun start at 12:45 PM. The charity tournament, chaired this year by Ben Meluskey, will again benefit the Tallulah-Persimmon, Wildcat and Lakes Volunteer Fire/Rescue Departments by raising approximately $15,000. The entry fee is $125 per person. If you cannot play this year, you can still support the tournament by you and/or your company becoming a hole sponsor at $200, becoming a patron sponsor at $100 or donating raffle prizes. Hole sponsors will have 24'' x 18'' signs advertising their company on a tee or green. Patron sponsors will be listed on a master board in the tournament staging area. Since inception, supporters of the event have helped LBCA to raise substantial sums for our volunteer firefighters.

It is still not too late to become involved. For information contact Ben Meluskey at 706-947-3771 or send your registration and sponsor checks to Tom Fisher at 2869 Laurel Lodge Road, Lake Burton, Clarkesville, GA 30523 or to Ben Meluskey at 3999 Laurel Lodge Road, Lake Burton, Clarkesville, GA 30523.

Your support is needed.

Report Of Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee and Board of Directors are submitting the following persons for approval at the August 18, 2001 Annual Business Meeting to serve on the Board of Directors and in the positions of Secretary and Treasurer of Lake Burton Civic Association, Inc.

Three year term on the Board ending in August 2004:

Becky Hunter
Jim Jackson
Les Rue

Two year term on the Board ending in August 2003:

Ronald Majors

Secretary for a two year term ending in August 2003:

Becky Callahan

Treasurer for a two year term ending in August 2003:

Steve Barrett

In making its nominations, the Nominating Committee considered the areas of the Lake as well as the qualifications and commitment of the potential nominees. We believe that we will have good dispersion among the Board Members and Officers.

Bill Bomar, Chairman
Art Benton
Gaston Brawley
Sid Kollume
Bill Markert

Georgia Boating Laws And Responsibilities

Included in this newsletter is an insert published by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on the Georgia Boating Laws in effect for 2001. This insert is very informative and should be kept in a place where it can be reviewed by family members and guests. Do you know that Boating Under the Influence is punishable as a misdemeanor? You will also be interested to know that the DNR Officers on our Lake are experienced at recognizing offenders, even before giving a sobriety test.

Boat and PWC operators must have identification on board as well as the required safety equipment and boat registration information. Acceptable operator identification includes a legible copy of a driver's license or any government issued identification that contains a description of the person, a photograph, and birth date.

There is a minimum age to operate boats and PWCs as explained in the DNR Information insert. The chart is easy to read and to understand for each type of vessel.

Please remember the "100-Foot Law". It applies to all vessels and to everyone on the water. The law prohibits people from operating any boat or PWC at a speed greater than idle speed within 100 feet of any vessel that is moored or adrift, or within 100 feet of any dock or boathouse or person in the water.

Boating Safety Courses are taught throughout the Summer by DNR at the Tallulah Gorge State Park. Please call 770-535-5499 or visit the DNR web site at www.goboatgeorgia.com to register or obtain more information about the courses. Handbooks of Georgia Boating Laws and Responsibilities are available from DNR for the asking. Your teenagers can also receive boating certificates by taking a home study Internet boating safety course. These sites are listed in the DNR insert.

LBCA has produced "Basic Boating Guide" and "Basic Personal Watercraft Rules" decals to be placed on your boats and PWCs. These are nicely done and are the size of the LBCA decals. Please contact Bill Bomar if you need any of these decals.

LBCA Sponsored Boating Safety Course

LBCA sponsored a very successful DNR Boating Safety course at Wildcat Fire Department on June 9th. The course was taught by Cpl. Mike England of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. There were approximately 45 participants, 75% of whom were teenagers. All attendees passed the test at the end of the day, qualifying them for a certificate for the completion of a DNR-Approved Boating Safety Course. Our thanks go to Gaston Brawley and many others for making this happen and to Mike England for his excellent instruction.

Three Lakes Golf Challenge Rescheduled For The Fall

The Three Lakes Golf Challenge originally scheduled for Friday, June 1st, was cancelled because of rain and lightning in the area. The tournament, co-chaired by Roger Hansen from LBCA and Dave Cowan from Lake Rabun Civic Association, will be rescheduled for the Fall. Lake Rabun took home the trophy last year and LBCA golfers pledge to win it this year.

Georgia Power Company Environmental Testing

The Georgia Power Company Environmental Laboratory routinely samples the water quality at all of the GPC reservoirs and annually issues a written report of its findings. Samples are taken to evaluate basic water chemistry, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Water clarity is also measured using a Secchi disc. Schedules allow each reservoir to be sampled at least three times during a year. Additional samples are taken at beach and high public use areas. The report for 2000, issued in early 2001, concludes that GPC reservoirs have good water quality overall and that Lake Burton continues to be one of the cleanest of the GPC lakes. A copy of the written report is available from the Georgia Power Company Land Office or by contacting Mr. Thomas L. Broadwell at 404-799-2152, or you can e-mail him at tlbroadw@southernco.com.

GTC/HEMC Power Lines Issue

The concerns surrounding the proposed 115KV transmission line from Hwy 441 to the Lake Burton area have not gone away. This issue concerns all of us, and you should stay informed as it moves forward. The Clayton Tribune continues to be an excellent source of local news about this and other matters. Citizens for Rabun's Heritage and the Chattooga Conservancy continue to monitor the developments and will furnish information about the subject upon request.

Support Of Rabun County Community

At its Spring meeting, the Board of Directors of LBCA voted to make the following contributions to several charitable organizations in the county:

In addition, a $200 contribution was made in support of the poster contest for the DNR calendar and LBCA agreed to support the radio safe boating spot announcements for 3 months as in prior years.

Rabun County Community Park & Playground Project

The Rabun County Community Park & Playground Project is in the process of raising funds to build a safe playground for Rabun County children ages 0-12. Please contact Linda Thompson by phone at 706-947-1046 or email her at plthompson@rabun.net to make donations or obtain further information.

Rabun County Board Of Realtors Is Sponsoring A Rescue Benefit Raffle

The Rabun County Board of Realtors is sponsoring a benefit raffle to help the Rabun County Rescue Squad purchase a special use vehicle equipped with the "Jaws of Life". The drawing for the raffle will be held on September 1, 2001 at the Rock House in Clayton at 6:00 PM. You do not have to be present to win.

There will be only 750 tickets sold for $100 each, raising a total of $75,000. The cost of the tickets is 100% tax deductible! The Grand Prize will be $10,000. There will be a second prize of $2,000, a third prize of $1,000, a forth prize of $750, a fifth prize of $500, a sixth prize of $250, and five consolation prizes of $100 each. The odds of winning are thousands of times better than the Georgia Lottery.

You may purchase your ticket from any Rabun County realtor or you may obtain one at the August LBCA Annual Business Meeting where several realtors will have a table set up to accommodate you. So, don't forget to bring your checkbook.

Just remember that this is a "WIN-WIN" situation. You get a tax deduction and a chance to win big time . . . and . . . the Rabun Rescue Squad gets the equipment that may save a lot of lives.

Lake Burton Civic Association Foundation, Inc.

The purpose of the Lake Burton Civic Association Foundation is to operate exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code and to carry out the charitable functions of the Lake Burton Civic Association. The Foundation was incorporated on March 3, 2000, as a Georgia nonprofit corporation and has obtained approval of tax exempt status as a public charitable foundation under IRC Section 501(c)3 from the Internal Revenue Service.

The Association will continue its primary purpose of promoting and maintaining the interest and concern of Lake Burton residents in identifying and resolving mutual problems regarding safety, security, county services, and anything else that affects the welfare of the residents, and conduct the activities of the Foundation. The charitable Foundation will allow an allocation of annual dues between tax-deductible contributions and fees for member services. Also, a portion of the payments for fund raising events for charitable purposes, such as the home tours and golf tournaments, can be tax deductible by our members.

The portion of your dues and contributions to the home tour and golf tournament that are tax deductible for 2000 and 2001 are as follows:

www.lbca.net

That's the site. Our web page is up and running. If you haven't checked it out, do it now. You'll find lots of information about the lake and LBCA activities. You can be an important part of this project. We want your comments and suggestions. Our goal is to make this important in communicating with members.

We have a location for a gallery of member's favorite images of the Lake Burton area. Send us a print, negative or slide (which we will return) or email your image to us and, if we agree it is representative of our beautiful lake, it will be posted here for everyone to enjoy. Please include your name and address plus some details about the image - such as when and where it was taken. Let's see a picture of that BIG fish you caught, or that beautiful sunset in the fall.

Keep in mind that copyrighted images must include written permission from the copyright holder to be reproduced on this website. Send you submissions to: lbca@lbca.net or LBCA, P.O. Box 1988, Clayton, Georgia  30525.

Copyright © 1999 - 2009 by Lake Burton Civic Association and Scot Roberge.  All rights reserved.