Town Crier is here

The Town Crier installed a paper machine here at the Pine Cove Water District.  It is located right next to the blue mailbox on the covered porch in front of the office.   It is lite and we keep the parking lot plowed, so you should have easy access to the paper machine as well as the mail box.  We hope this helps the community out at least a little bit.

TaDa!

Other Blogs

As promised, I am posting a link to another water blog. Some are more serious than others, some are global and some will be dealing only with California or the western states. It is your choice if you wish to read them or not. Water is an extremely large topic and there are a variety of blogs and websites out there discussing the subject if one takes the time to do a little searching.

Water Crunch

Our blog here at PCWD, is meant to be a local blog to keep our customers informed of what is happening at the district and sometimes around Pine Cove. It is not meant to be a serious commentary on the status of the water supply of the world. Obviously, if you live in Pine Cove, you are concerned with the water issues of Pine Cove, which we will discuss here. However, as with everything these days, our world is now global and being aware of water situations in other states and countries isn't a bad thing.

Water, or the lack there of, will have a great impact on the world in the future, so it could be pertinent to keep abreast of what is going on. Obviously Pine Cove does not face the same water issues as other places. We are perhaps, better off than some and maybe not as well off as others. We do need to be careful with our water use and it is our job here at the District to keep everyone informed of what our water situation is so that each person in the District is aware of what is happening.

It is always a good idea to come to our monthly board meetings as they are a great source of information. They are open to the public and held at 10 am on the second Wednesday of each month. If you are unable to attend, the minutes can always be found here at our website. Being informed will help our customers plan water usage and conserve water when possible. By reading about what is going on world wide, it makes a person realize how incredibly lucky we are here in Pine Cove to be able to turn on a faucet and get such wonderful tasting, fresh, clean water. Hopefully we will keep this in mind when choosing how to use our water.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these other blogs

Happy New Year!

Just a reminder that the water district office will be closed tomorrow, January 31, 2010. We will be back in the office Monday morning at 9 am as per usual. We can still be reached in case of an emergency by calling 951-294-8282.

The sun is shining today, but it is bitterly cold out and all the rain and snow from yesterday is ice today. Highway 243 is fairly clear, but there are some patches of black ice, so be extra cautious if you will be out driving. The side roads may or may not be as clear.

The weather station up at the Rocky Point tank site has registered a whopping 11.61 inches of rain for the month of December. Wow, winter is off to a wet start. I don't know what the rest of the winter will be like, but hopefully it will continue to be wet.

It is hard to imagine in weather like this, but we are still in Stage One conservation. The drought is not over, so diligence with regards to water use is still a good idea. Conserving water should be a year round habit. The more we save now, the more we will have for later. And since we never know what Mother Nature is going to hand us, it is best to err on the side of caution and keep conserving.

So this will be my last post for the year 2010. I hope you enjoy reading it and I hope you find some helpful tips or information on it. I will continue the blog in 2011 and I hope that more of our customers will let us know their thoughts and opinions. We thank you for supporting us thus far.

Don't forget to check out the Water District's Website for minutes from the board meetings, rates, billing information and the webcam. Lots of information to be had there.

We hope all of our customers and visitors here in Pine Cove have a very happy, healthy and wet 2011. Happy New Year to everyone from the staff of the Pine Cove Water District.

Jerry H., Becky, Vicki, Jerry J., Jeremy and Stitch

November Minutes

The November minutes are now posted on the website. If you would like to read them, go Here.

The next board meeting will be held on January 12, 2011 at 10 a.m. Hope to see you there.

Board Meeting

Just a quick note to let you know the the monthly board meeting is coming up. It is on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 10 a.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. Hope to see you there.

Town Crier meeting

The local meeting of the Idyllwild Town Crier was held this morning at the Water District Office. We had a wonderful turn out. Breakfast, consisting of breakfast enchiladas and apple cobbler, tea and coffee was served. It was a great meeting and Grace and JP were issued Certificates of Appreciation from us here at the Pine Cove Water District. We think they do a great job!

Board Meeting

Our next board meeting will be on May 12, 2010 at 10:00 AM. Everyone is welcome to attend. Join us and find out what is happening around the district.

Birth Announcement

On Thursday, March 18, 2010, Chase Ryan Potter arrived into this world. He weighed in at 7lbs. 6 oz. and is 19 inches tall. His proud parents are Jeremy and Katie Potter. He was welcomed home by big brother Aaron and big sister Cami. We hope you will join us in wishing them all the very best.

Sustainable Thursday

Here on the hill we like to think that we are community minded. We all say we want to protect what we have here on the hill. But are we really living in a sustainable way that benefits the community as a whole or are we all just lone rangers who think we are community minded, but in reality we are only worried about ourselves. What does community minded mean anyway and how does that affect sustainable living?

I like to think that here on the hill, we all work together for the common good and not for our own individual interests. After all, there is no me in community. In order to live sustainably, you must be concerned about others. After all, in 50 years, many of us will be gone and it will be our children and grandchildren who benefit or suffer from the choices we make today and the lifestyle we choose.

Choosing to live in a sustainable way shows you care. Not only about yourself or your family, but about everyone. It shows you care about the environment, the future, the earth, the wildlife and the community. If we are to preserve our resources, then everyone has to be on board. We have to live in a way that benefits the common good and not just ourselves. It does no good if 50% of us are trying to live sustainably while the other 50% are only out for themselves.

Living sustainably can take on many forms. It is hard in today's world to be 100% sustainable. However, every little thing we do or don't do, use or don't use, can help the future. Some changes are very simple and do not take much effort. Others do take time or effort or money. The key is to have everyone on the same page and everyone doing something!

One thing that is important is to get everyone talking. Remember the days when everyone had a front porch? Just sitting out on the porch swing with a glass of iced tea or lemonade, was a pleasant way to pass a summer evening. As people strolled by, it was easy to greet them and have a chat. Then we all got air conditioning, TV's and computers and porches, screen doors and swings became unnecessary as we all moved inside to climate controlled comfort. Soon people were living in neighborhoods where neighbors didn't know each other.

When you actually know the people who live in your neighbhood, it makes you want to take care of that neighborhood even more. It always takes me longer to do garden chores than I anticipate it will because inevitably while I am out there working, someone walks by and we end up chatting. It doesn't matter if I am in my old overalls with barn boots on and dirt on my hands and face cleaning out the goat pen or planting flowers in the garden or just sitting out there reading. A friendly smile and hello has started many conversations over my fence or garden gate. Each of these encounters allows me to get to know the people who live in my neighborhood and makes me realzie that what I do affects others around me.

With nice weather approaching, lets all make a pact to get outside and interact with each other more. Let's think about the the greater good before we think of what is good for us. Let's all try to do something to live more sustainably and improve things, not only for ourselves, but for our neighbors as well.

Facebook

We are now on Facebook. Come check us out!

Have you seen this?

This is the power pole on the corner of Hwy 243 and Point of Rocks Dr. We have contacted Edison about repairing this pole. If you are concerned, you might want to contact them as well. This pole is the main feed for electricty to Pine Cove, and holds the phone lines and the cable lines as well. If it breaks, then Pine Cove will have no phone, no electric and no cable service. We find this situation to be unacceptable and are hoping that Edison gets it repaired quickly. This pole has been leaning precariously for at least 5 years now and over the past week or so, it has moved substantially. The conduit on the ground is seperated and wires are exposed. The bottom of the pole is starting to splinter as well. A few years back, they installed a pole across HWY 243 to try to stabalize this pole, and it is now being pulled over and is in danger of falling across the highway. We think this is a very dangerous and serious situation and needs corrected as soon as possible. If you decide to contact Edison, tell them it is pole number 218901.

School Daze

This week Vicki Jakubac and Jerry Holldber are making a presentation at Idyllwild Elementary School. On Tuesday, Vicki discussed groundwater and the water cycle with Mrs. Tirheimer's 3rd, 4th and 5th grade GATE class. On Wednesday, Jerry will be presenting some sample boards of a water meter as well as an outside drip irrigation system. Vicki will be discussing conservation with the children after Jerry's presentation and give them some tips on how they can save water at home. On Thursday, Vicki will end the presentation by having the kids make Edible Earth Parfaits to teach them about geologic formations in an aquifer. We will end the day by presenting each child with a Certificate of Participation for their efforts in learning about ground water and conservation. This has been quite an experience and we hope the kids have learned a lot and enjoyed our presentation.

Snow Guessing Contest

This year, Pine Cove Water District is participating in the Idyllwild Town Crier's annual Snow Guessing Contest. The contest ends on Oct. 30, 2009, so you will want to stop into the office and get your guess in as soon as possible. As an added bonus, we are giving away a free ice cream or candy with each guess, while supplies last. So come on in and put in your guess and you could win $100 Idyllwild Shopping Dollars and get a free treat at the same time.