HILLTOP UPDATER ONLINE !
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HILLTOP UPDATER ONLINE ! |
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Our traditional 4th of July brunch, meeting, and bike parade were back on schedule this year, after being postponed until Labor Day in 2012 due to the extremely hot weather and extended power outage. The bike parade was well-attended and the decorations were patriotic, as were the kids! There are a few photos on the website already. Please email any that you wish to share to Lance at: webmaster@hilltopupdater.net .
Again, many thanks to Elizabeth and Ian Richards for allowing the continued use of their carport for this annual brunch and meeting. The perfect place!
The event was attended by 25 adult residents; 17 homes were represented by at least one person. (Two additional families attended the bike parade but were unable to stay for the brunch/meeting.)
President’s Message
Bryan called the meeting together and welcomed everyone to Hilltop’s 45th Anniversary as a community. He said that of the 32 homes that comprise Hilltop, one half of the residents had been living here for 35 years or more. Eleven homes (1/3) belonged to original families from 1968.
He introduced and welcomed Ellery Owens, our newest resident. Ellery moved to Hilltop in mid-June. She purchased Ramon Maceyras’ home. She was officially welcomed at that time by Lenny Schuchman on behalf of the Social Committee. Other neighbors have also welcomed her prior to today.
Bryan sadly spoke of Marvin Denicoff’s death on July 1 and funeral held on July 3. Marvin and Lillian Denicoff had been original Hilltop residents until 2006 when they were forced to move to an apartment for health reasons. Bryan mentioned that Lenny Schuchman had produced one of Marvin’s plays, directed by Carol Leahy, presented at the JCC on Sunday, June 30th in honor of Marvin’s life. The play was very well received. One of Marvin’s sons introduced the play and spoke eloquently about his father’s life.
Bryan (and Kia) who purchased the former Denicoff home assured the community (with a smile) that they would keep the color scheme that the Denicoff’s had designed.
Treasury and Landscaping Committee Reports
Ian reported that five or six residents had still not paid their dues for 2013 and a couple were delinquent beyond a year. The 2013 dues were due at the Winter meeting last January.
Carol Simon, Landscape Committee Chair, could not be present for this meeting, but Ian related the following information concerning the budget for landscaping. He said a budget will be allocated for maintenance of the hill (grass-cutting, weeding, etc.) and additional work will be discussed as needed. Itemized invoices will be required from all vendors.
A question was raised about repairing the runoff from heavy rains: “Can the County better control the mud runoff?” Carol Leahy answered that the best course of action is to contact Roger Berliner, our Councilman. She said he is responsive to his constituents.
Social Committee
Celia presented Ramon Maceyras with a gift certificate to a Cuban restaurant as a parting gift from Hilltop. Ramon and Silvia had been original residents. Ramon moved to a condo in Rockville a few weeks ago. We hope he will continue to return to Hilltop for community events.
Other
Donna reported that Allan Frey had asked her to relay his message to the community about the potential dangers of tick bites. He was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is recovering from a very serious disease, Anaplasmosis, one of four serious diseases that ticks carry. He almost died from dehydration and his blood chemistries were all upset. The only outdoors activity he had had was of cutting some shrubbery along his driveway. He hoped that the County would do something about the deer problem.
Miriam, putting this into perspective, stated that although this was quite tragic for him, his condition is rare and we should all take precautions and check for tick bites, but not to worry to the extreme of being afraid to go outside. Klaus mentioned that he and Gisela try to cover up as much as possible (even placing rubber bands around shirt sleeves and pants) when going into the park and always do a check when they return.
Helping Hands Committee
Carol Leahy requested that people call her directly when there are situations that could use a “helping hand.” She has a committee and other resources to help.
Webmaster’s Report
Lance reminded everyone that www.HilltopUpdater.net is the place for all our interests about the neighborhood. He has already posted the obituary for Marvin Denicoff from the Washington Post. If anyone has information or photos they want to share, they can send it to webmaster@hilltopupdater.net. For example, we could post a list of service people who have been helpful. Send your suggestions, info, and photos.
Election of Officers and Committee Chairpersons
Bryan distributed a list of Nominated Officers for the Hilltop Board. He said that the Nominating Committee (composed of the current Board members) had met on May 28th to nominate individuals to the Board for the next two-year period. The procedures followed are outlined in the Minutes from that meeting.
Two long-serving board members (Lenny and Celia Schuchman) will step down and the two replacement nominations were Glenn Melcher for County Liaison and Lynette Melcher for Social Committee Chair. A motion was made to accept all of the nominations as presented and this was unanimously agreed.
Addendum:
Carol Simon was sorry to have missed the meeting. On her review of the minutes (the minutes are reviewed by the Board members before being finalized), she said “If I had been present I would have told the gathering that the County seems more responsive to us. In the past few months the County trimmed the cherry trees and cleaned up and removed a number of larger trees. I have also put in a request for the county to look at the runoff problem. I think writing to our county representative is a good idea.”
August 3rd: During the past week, the County has begun to dig a culvert to control the flow of rainwater on the hill! Thank you, Carol!