MAY 2009

Summertime Anyone?
It’s finally getting warmer! It’s been a cool year so far, so maybe it won’t be a scorcher this year. As summer approaches, the streets start filling up with kids who just want to have fun! School will be out soon and activity all around Johanna Woods will be increasing. Our community is comprised of people of all ages and every resident has the right, within the rules and law, to live quietly and peacefully in their homes. Unfortunately, some of our youngest residents don’t always take this into consideration when they are looking for a ball game or skateboard location. So, we need our grown-up residents to spend time with your kids going over some summertime basics. Here they are: 1) Traffic ALWAYS has priority. Children must move out of the street when traffic approaches. The roads were built for cars, not skateboards, bikes or four-square games. 2) An empty drive-way is NOT to skateboard on or ride down on your bike. No matter how awesome the slope is! Please teach your children to respect the property of others and not trespass on or through it. 3) There is not enough room between homes to play kick ball, football or baseball. A ball cannot be controlled when it is kicked or batted, so please do not risk damaging a neighbors home or yard by playing these games in small areas. A playground has been provided with ample room for these activities.

Johanna Woods Pool Opens May 22nd
Pool Opening Schedule
As we have done for several years now, the office will be open for extended hours to sign folks up and issue pool passes, ahead of the opening of the pool. You can get your passes during office hours any day beginning Saturday, May 16th. Extended hours are as follows: Monday evening May 18th, until 8:00 PM, Tuesday, May 19th until 8:00 PM and Friday, May 22nd until 9:00 PM. Passes may only be checked out by adult residents and will only be issued from the office. Pool monitors cannot issue pool passes. No one will be admitted to the Johanna Woods pool unless they have a current pool pass. The pool opens for the summer at 5:00 PM, May 22nd, weather permitting. Guests must be accompanied by a resident and have a guest pass to swim. Come see us!

Home Inspections Wrapping Up
In spite of the rain, wind and cooler weather, the first round of inspections is complete-or very close! If you have not received your initial report, please call the office so we can get another copy out to you. We have done home inspections for many years now and as a result, most of us do not have major work to do. That’s a good thing! We also try to give you a little notice if you are going to need major improvements so you can plan ahead. The appearance of Johanna Woods as a whole and the value of each of our homes is enhanced when ALL of our homes look their best. We appreciate all of you who work so hard on your homes and yards. Everyone who has work to do has been given a set time frame for the follow up inspection. Please begin to take care of the needed work so we can mark you done!

Outdoor Cooks Corner
Marinated Gilled Chicken
Ingredients: Yield: 4 servings
4 boneless chicken breast halves 1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup 2 Tbs. Cooking oil
2 Tbs. Worchestershire sauce 3/4 tsp Dry mustard
2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper 1 tsp. parsley

Directions:
Whisk all the ingredients except the chicken together. Wash the chicken and pierce each piece several times with a fork. Place the chicken in a gallon size sealable bag and pour the marinade over the chicken in the bag. Close the bag and make sure it is tightly sealed. Refrigerate overnight. Remove the chicken from the bad and place over hot coals. Cook until the juices run clear, about 20 minutes total, depending on the thickness of the chicken. You can also use the marinade to baste the chicken while it is cooking. Discard any leftover marinade and enjoy.

Pool Repairs Underway
Last year, a couple of weeks before the end of the regular pool season, we discovered a problem with our water re-circulating/suction system. In order to repair it then, we would have been looking at extensive repairs, possibly including concrete work. We already knew that we had a major drain enhancement to make before the 2009 season, so we decided to make all of the repairs and improvements at once. That work is underway as of mid-April and should be complete well before the pool opening schedule, weather permitting. When everything is finished, the pool will have a new main drain, new skimmers, a new plaster finish inside and new tile all around the top inside, just above the plaster. In addition, portions of the concrete deck and coping will have been replaced. As always, our goal in Johanna Woods is to maintain the community in excellent condition. While we do inspections on your homes once a year, please realize that we are constantly looking at improvements that need to be made to YOUR community.

Go Green With Your Mortgage!
Everything’s going green these days. Whether you agree or disagree with the need for this, it seems certain that most ìgoing greenî undertakings will cost each of us a little more green. How about doing something that will actually save you some green? If you have a mortgage on your home with interest rates over 9%, and your credit score is at least 675 there is a good chance that you can get a better deal. A lower interest rate can save you a lot of money over the life of your loan and can allow you in some cases to reduce the number of years you pay on your home. This could save you A LOT of green! If you are interested come by the office and we can help you find out if you qualify. There is no cost or obligation to check into it and no out of pocket expenses to get it done! You could even save a monthly payment! Check it out!

Our American Heritage
Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. On a candid examination of history we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which in republics, have more frequently than any other cause produced despotism. If we go over the whole history of the ancient and modern republics, we shall find their destruction to have generally resulted from those causes.

James Madison, 4th President of the United States from a speech given on June 16, 1788 in the Virginia Ratifying Convention.