Newsletter & Calendar - September 2008

The Absence of Order = Chaos
Webster defines chaos as a state of extreme confusion and disorder. To borrow another phrase, the concept of chaos could be summed up by every man doing what is ìright in his own eyesî. No matter which definition or example you prefer, the reality is that without clear rules and guidelines in any given setting, chaos will be the result. If you don't think that's true, just let your teenager maintain their bedroom the way THEY want to, instead of the way YOU want them to. Utter chaos will follow! Preventing chaos is the reason for the rules and regula-tions of Johanna Woods. If we all maintained our homes or decided what was best at our home-site based on what WE thought was acceptable, what would the community as a whole look like? When rules are developed for our community there is a ìbig pictureî thought process that has to occur. Let me give you an example. Let's say that several different neighbors want to put up fences and there is nothing in our rules that governs fences. Neighbor A goes to Lowe's and returns with chicken wire and angle iron and puts it up across his front yard. He now has a fence that is adequate and fairly inexpensive. Neighbor B has kids that walk between his home and his neighbor's home and he isn't happy about that, so he goes to Atwood's and picks up barbed wire and wooden posts and builds a fence. It looks bad, but it keeps the kids from cutting through the yards. Neighbor C wants to install a very nice privacy fence, and lives next door to someone who already has a privacy fence. However, Neighbor C wants his privacy fence to be 8' tall and the neighbor's fence is only 6' tall. Finally, Neighbor D doesn't want a fence at all, but happens to live on the other side of the new barb wire fence and is not happy because he thinks it looks cheap and shabby. Are you getting the picture? It's chaos! In order to keep situations like this from happening, rules are established to determine what is and is not acceptable with regard to fences. In our example, everyone that wanted a fence got a fence that they were happy with. Management on the other hand has to consider what the community, as a whole, would look like if all 240 home-sites had different sizes and styles of fences. It's a totally different picture and from our perspective, it's all about order-and preventing chaos!

Johanna Woods Pool Update
Late in July we encountered a major mechanical problem with our community pool's re-circulating system. This system pulls water through the bottom drain and skimmers, runs it through the filter, ìsanitizesî it by adding chlorine to it and returns it to the pool through the side jets. It is a health department requirement that this system be operating at a certain gallon per minute rate and when we could not maintain that rate, we were forced to close the pool. Additionally, we have a leak somewhere in the underground plumbing. Since some fairly extensive improvements and repairs were already scheduled to be completed before the next season, we made the decision to close the pool early this year. We are sorry for the inconvenience of being without the pool for a few weeks, but fortunately the weather was unseasonably cool for August instead of unbearably hot. Look for some big improvements at the pool before we open next year!

Crock Pot Cook's Corner - Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves-cubed
1/8 cup margarine
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
Hot cooked noodles or rice
Directions:
Put chicken, margarine and dressing mix in slow cooker. Mix these ingredients together and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. Add the cream cheese and soup and mix together. Continue to cook on high for another 30 to 45 minutes or until heated through and warm. Prepare noodles or rice while final mixture is heating and serve together with a side salad if desired.

Your Privacy
This newsletter contains a copy of our Privacy Policy. We provide each of our residents with a copy of this policy annually, so that you will understand what we do with the information you have entrusted us with. If you have any questions about this, call us. Have a Great Labor Day!

Return Those Pool Passes and You Could Win $50.00!
If you know where your pool passes are, we need for you to turn them back into the community office. If you don't know where they are, now is the time to find them! Every year we try and issue a unique pass so that our monitors can more easily regulate access to our pool. It can be expensive to do this if we have to buy completely new tags and bands each season. It is helpful in keeping these costs down to have all of the passes returned in good condition. We will be having a drawing for $50.00 on the 15th of September and your entry for this drawing will be your returned pool pass. If you put them in the rent box, please use an envelope to keep them together and put your name on the outside. If you did not check out passes, you can still enter. Just turn in a piece of paper with your name on it for each family member that would have had a pool pass. A charge of $1.00 will be added to your account for any unreturned passes.

Inspections Need to be Wrapping Up!
What a wild and crazy weather year it has been for us. And in Oklahoma we are supposed to be used to unpredictable weather! Extra time has been given for most inspection chores to be completed, taking into consideration the record wet months we have had this year. Many of you have completed all your chores or are close, and we appreciate your hard work. If you haven't started yet, you are started yet you are behind and need to get busy. With the unusual weather we have had so far this year, don't put your inspection work of counting on having a mild or dry fall to finish up in. You just never know what the seasons will bring 'til they arrive!

Keep Trash and Trashcans In Their Place!
Trash days are Mondays and Thursdays in Johanna Woods. Please DO NOT set trash out the night-or the day before. We are surrounded by woods full of hungry critters looking for a quick snack. Chances are good that the contents of your trash bag will be all over your lawn or the street by morning if you set them out early. Also, in order to maintain our best appearance to folks who drive through our community, please be sure and move your trash can away from the curb the same day the trash is collected. Trash cans at curbs along the streets of Johanna Woods do not enhance the appearance of our community!