Board Members Needed!

Last October the Inverness Forest Association Board of Directors had its full complement of nine board members.  At the annual meeting two directors (Elliot Postow and myself) decided not to run for another term since we had each served at least six years on the board. No one who attended the annual meeting volunteered to run for the board.

Now a few months later, two more members have decided to resign.  That leaves the board with the fewest number of members possible and still be able to meet the quorum requirements to function: five members of the nine member board.

During my seven years on the board, and especially during the four years I've run this Inverness Forest Today blog, I've heard a lot of praise for the dedication of our board members -- as well as complaints that things were not being done the way some people wanted.

Now is your chance to volunteer for the board and influence the future of our community.  If you've ever said, "Why doesn't the board do this...", now is your chance to have an impact on what the board does about important issues facing our community.

Harvey

iftblog@gmail.com

IFA Halloween Party October 31

On Halloween night (October 31 at 5 PM) there will be a costume party for Inverness residents, young and old, with or without kids.  Everyone is invited.

Cybel Wigle provided the following details about the event:

I would like to clarify a miss conception about the Halloween party that will take place in the 8100 block of IRR, at 5pm [on Oct 31]. 
After talking to several people in the neighborhood, it seems that many understood that the party was only for parents and kids. That is totally INCORRECT. 
Everyone in our community is WELCOME. People with or WITHOUT kids, couples, singles, friends, and all are welcome. You can also to dress-up or not. We are highly encouraging dressing up to make of this day a more festive one. 
We apologize for the confusion and hope to see everybody on Halloween day :-)
Please pass the word for those who cant reach this page.
Hoping to see ALL our community together on Halloween day :-)

Harvey

iftblog@gmail.com

A New Community Communication Resource

I'm happy to inform you that we have a new communication resource for Inverness Forest.  Thanks to the efforts of Renzo Bejarano, we now have a Facebook Group called "Inverness Forest".  This group is not sponsored or affiliated with the Inverness Forest Association (the board).  Any posts or comments on the group's page are the views of individual residents.  Of course board members may view the posts, add comments, and create their own posts if they wish.  

Although I will continue to actively blog here on Inverness Forest Today after I leave the board next week, there are many reasons for you to join the new Facebook group.  One is that we shouldn't be dependent on just one person (me) to handle the communications with residents.  Things happen and we might find ourselves without my blog if I were to move away or otherwise be unable to continue to write my blog.

Another reason is that, while I try to be fair and reasonable, what I put on this blog is based solely on my judgement.  Inevitably, I have to exclude some things that I don't consider useful to communicate but which others might think should be brought to the attention of the community.  We really shouldn't have me or anyone else as a "gatekeeper"; everyone should have a way to raise issues and provide information to the community.  That is what the Facebook group does.

Anyone who joins the Facebook group can create a post on the group page that can be seen by all group members when they visit the Facebook group's site.  Posting and adding a comment to someone else's post is easy.  There is a box on the page that says, "Write Something ..."  Just type into the box and hit return.

Although just started a few days ago, the group already has 12 members (As of October 9, membership has climbed to 21).  The more residents that join this group, the more useful it will be to everyone.  Any Facebook user can find the group by typing "Inverness Forest" into the Facebook search box.  Once on the group page, you can request admission to the group.

Harvey

iftblog@gmail.com

Request for Recommendations

Shaowei Li is asking for a contractor recommendation to work on her kitchen and bathrooms remodeling.  So many people have helped residents with their recommendations in the past. I hope that this will continue.  Shaowei would also like to have some recommendations on contractors who do roof replacement/repairs.

Here is Shaowei's email:

Dear Harvey, We want to have our kitchen and bathrooms remodeling. Do you know any good company? 

Thanks! Shaowei Li 

301-299-8877

Harvey

Recommendations Wanted for Window Replacement in Inverness

I received the following email from Inverness resident Judy Chen:

The windows in my Inverness village house are not working too well. I wonder if anyone in the community  has repaired/replaced the windows and would like to share their experience with me I will be much appreciated.  Thanks. Judy Chen from Inverness village

If you have any recommendations or suggestions for Judy, please leave a comment on this post or send me an email.  Also, if you have had a good or bad experience with window replacement, please fill out the Contractor Recommendation Form by clicking on this link or the link in the sidebar to the right.  This will help other people who might have a similar question in the future.

Harvey iftblog@gmail.com

Earthquake in Inverness

An earthquake hit the Washington area (and far beyond) about an hour ago (around 1:50 pm).  I've walked around our community during the past 30 minutes and no one has reported any significant damage.  No one has reported any damage by email either.  

The earthquake was centered in Mineral, VA and was of magnitude 5.9; Mineral is between Richmond and Charlottesville.  Many buildings were evacuated, but people are now being told they can go back inside.

There is a possibility of aftershocks.  If you feel one, it is safer to be outside than inside.

If you commute by Metro trains, expect a slow commute because Metro personnel will be checking out the condition of the tracks.

Harvey

iftblog@gmail.com

Help with Front Door Replacement

Inverness resident Nicole Fleisher has a question that perhaps can be answered by someone in our community. Here is the email she sent me:

I'm writing with an Inverness conundrum.  We're trying to replace the front door, door frame, and sidelights on our Carnation model, but have been having trouble finding a contractor to do the work.  Since the doorframe has a slight curve at the top, this essentially means that a new frame has to be custom built, and there don't seem to be many companies/people to do this.  

Do you know of anyone in the neighborhood who has had this done?  (i.e a full door frame replacement in addition to the door).  Any thoughts from you or the blog audience would be appreciated!

-Nicole Fleisher

 If anyone has used a contractor to do the work that Nicole wants done, please let me know in any of these ways:

• Send me an email at iftblog@gmail.com
• Leave a comment to this post
• Fill out the Contractor Form (link in the sidebar) so that your response will be available to the entire community on the Contractor List (link also in the sidebar)

Thanks for any help you can provide Nicole and perhaps others who might be thinking of doing the same thing.

Harvey

ftblog@gmail.com

Raccoon Attack

Last night a raccoon attacked a dog walker along Deborah Drive.  The animal’s aggressive behavior left open the possibility that the raccoon might be rabid.  In addition another resident, also walking his dog, witnessed the incident.

Igor Kleyner described his encounter with the raccoon in an email to me as follows:

I had a very unpleasant incident this evening (May 24 - HL).  About 8:30 pm, as I was walking with [my dog] Doctor on Deborah Drive, we were attacked by a raccoon.  Here is a "play-by-play"...

- we are walking toward South on the pool side of Deborah, approaching Kirkwall

- a raccoon comes out from the woods between 107XX houses and Deborah, crosses Deborah about 50 feet in front of us, as we stop and pause, and climbs a tree in the front yard of the house on the north-west corner of Deborah and Kirkwall.

- we walk past the raccoon and cross Kirkwall

- as we reach the southwest corner of Deborah and Kirkwall, the beast starts making barking sounds while looking at us, then climbs down from the tree and charges us

- I yell at it with no apparent effect, then run across Deborah to our side of the road, dragging Doctor along

- the coon pauses, then charges again, this time more aggressively; instinctively, I kick the damn beast in its face, grab Doctor and run across Deborah again back to the side where it all started

- the coon does not chase us anymore - it goes into the woods,  ...

- I called MC animal control emergency number when I got home - they were surprisingly uninterested and told me that since I can't tell them where the coon is right now, they will not do anything.  ... I am going to call their non-emergency number tomorrow morning, hoping for a more intelligent and receptive person on the other end of the line.

Carolyn Hayes, whose husband witnessed the raccoon attack, emailed me the following description:

Hi Harvey,

I just wanted to communicate an experience my husband had last night while walking one of our dogs.  The only reason this raccoon may not have been rabid was because the incident happened after dark-when racoons are out normally in nature.

He said he heard a man scream, and he went to the location where he heard it.  It was in the center "island" area between our houses.  [The man] who has a small black dog, had to kick a hissing raccoon that got too close to him and his pet.  The animal then ran back into the woods.  I don’t know if they got to close to the wooded area at that time of night and was too close to where the raccoon was for comfort, but it was worth me emailing you about so that other residents can be aware.  I would hate to see someone's pet or child have an accident with one.

Carolyn

So, please be alert when you are walking your dog after dark.  I think I’ll look for a small stick to carry.


Please see Igor's and Carolyn's comments below (If they are not visible, click on the word "comments"). 

Harvey,

Harvey Levine
iftblog@gmail.com

Rebecca Adler Book Talk on Saturday 4/24

Inverness Forest resident Rebecca Adler will give a talk at the Potomac Library this Saturday morning. Here are the details:

You are invited to attend a Book talk by Rebecca Adler, author of " Keep Me Safe at Home and in My Community" (A handbook on safety for young children and their families)

This book is unique in that it covers six areas of safety: Homes , Strangers, Cars, Streets, Playgrounds, and Swimming Pools. The book is colorful, easy for children to read, multi-cultural, and includes many pets.


Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010

Place: Potomac Library
10101 Glenolden (Corner of Falls Rd.)
Potomac, Md. 20854
240-777-0690

Time: 10:00 To 11:00 A.M.