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March 2017 Volume 27, Number 1
from the editors..... As Spring comes to Beachcrest, just a couple of quick reminders:
Watch for an increase of kid activity! More bikes, skateboards, and playground activity!
Watch storm drains and help by clearing around them.
Prune back trees and shrubs that block views near the street.
Remember to get out an enjoy our beautiful beach!
Annual Membership Meeting
You have a voice - share it on May 3!
Beachcrest is a community that was built on and takes immense pride in its member involve-
ment. That's why, besides our monthly community meeting where board members vote on de-
cisions, the Association also holds an annual meeting to provide residents an opportunity to dis-
cuss and vote on proposed by-law changes and elect new board members.
This year's annual meeting will take place at Salish Middle School on May 3. The Association
will mail out a formal invitation with any proposals for your advanced review, and a map to the
meeting. Several board positions available.
If you can't attend, you'll have an opportunity to assign a proxy who can attend and vote for you
--just keep in mind, there is only one vote per Association membership. Look for the proxy
form in your invitation packet. We hope to see you there!
By: Penny Kocan, Secretary
Annual Clean Up Day—May 20th
Mark your calendars and sharpen your garden tools because Saturday, May 20th is Beachcrest’s
Annual Clean Up Day! Meet at the West Cabana at 8:00 and choose a project to help maintain
and beautify our neighborhood. Beachcrest runs on volunteerism and this is one of our most
important events—it’s a great time to meet your neighbors while giving the service that save us
all on our dues. Traditionally, a neighborhood potluck takes place around lunch time. If you
have questions about the projects or want to help with the potluck, contact Larry or Paul
(contact list on page 3)
Wednesday, March 1—7:00 pm
Salish Middle School 8605 Campus Glen Dr NE, Lacey, WA 98516
(off Willamette Dr.)
Beachcrest Community Association
Directory For information, comments, or questions see our website at beachcrest.org
(360) 350-3610 • 24 hour call center
General questions - ext 800
Report security issues - ext 801
Annual homeowners dues - ext 807
Board of Trustees - ext 808
Other extensions listed below Board of Trustees - Members & Roles Larry Lindsley (ext 806) - President - Communications Paul Wagner - Vice President Penny Kocan (ext 808) - Secretary Kat Leathers (ext 801) - Treasurer - Security Cindy Stichweh (ext 805) - Member At Large - Marina Administration
Other Volunteer Leaders Kathy Lindsley (ext 803) - Beach Gate fobs & Cabana Reservations
Ben Nesheim (ext 805) - Marina Manager (ext 805) Donna Connors / Terry Snyder (ext 809) - Neighbors Helping Neighbors Eric & Laura Kraig -Newsletter [email protected] Joe Irwin (ext 804) - Playground Manager
The New Way to Contact the Board
The phone tree was intended to direct callers
to 'departments' versus specific people. Ide-
ally, response time should be relatively quick
-within a day or two. Calls or voice mails are
forwarded to the person who is volunteering
to help in that area.
By: Larry Lindsley
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS OF
BEACHCREST!
We are fortunate to have all of you, known by
name and not known who volunteer fre-
quently to assist our community in various
ways. That is what makes Beachcrest a spe-
cial place to live. Without it, our private
beach, marina, playground area, community
clean-up day, events for the holidays and
streets (yes, we are responsible for our own
streets) would not occur on a regular basis.
Many of you have full lives that do not allow
you to participate by giving your time to the
community. We hope that you attend some of
the events and enjoy them.
Another way to volunteer is to attend the
Emergency Preparation (E-Prep) meetings to
be organized in case of a windstorm, earth-
quake or other disasters. There have been
times that Beachcrest was without power for
as much as 5 days.
There have been E-Prep meetings in your
community for some time.
Please see the article written by Bill Hine in
another section of the View, our quarterly
newsletter. You are encouraged to attend.
If you are unable to volunteer for other events,
please volunteer to attend the Emergency
Preparation meetings. It is important for the
safety of you and your family.
By, Donna Connors
Site Seer
Atlas Obscura – “the definitive guide to the worlds hidden wonders” will keep you reading for
hours! One of the interactive stories “Mapping the year in truck spills of 2016” details spills of
chicken poop in Washington to comic books in Ohio. Ever heard of Bordeaux Washing-
ton? This former logging boomtown is crumbling away just south of Olympia. If you’re plan-
ning a trip, this site might give you some ideas for what to visit at or near your destina-
tion. Search for a favorite topic and build a bucket list or just travel the world from
home. Happy trails!
www.atlasobscura.com
Free Printables – ready to customize and print from your desktop! Hundreds
of forms, cards, games, signs, letters, calendars, maps etc., are ready to print
in seconds!
https://www.freeprintable.net/
Two new creative sites that I came across to keep you entertained:
A.I. Duet - lets you play a duet with the computer. Just play some notes and the computer will
respond to your melody. No musical talent required! I found it easier to use the computer key-
board than trying to mouse click the screen.
https://aiexperiments.withgoogle.com/ai-duet/view/
This is sand - is all about creating landscapes with falling colored sand. You press the letter 'C'
on your keyboard to access the color palette, then click to choose a color and then click to start
drizzling colored pixels. You can even share your creation on social media.
https://thisissand.com
Pray for sunshine so we can all dry out a bit!
By: Lisa Engvalls
Chum in the Beachcrest Creek!
This Spring, we’ll release about 200 chum salmon fry in the
Beachcrest creek that runs along the Nature Trail. My students at
Timberline High School are raising them in a 60 gallon aquarium
in our classroom. We were given the eggs by the WDFW
through the “Salmon in the Classroom” Program. This program
is also a part of several other local schools, including Olympic
View. Please let me know if you see any of the fry hiding among
the rocks in the creek this Spring or returning in the Fall of 2021!
By: Laura Kraig
Beachcrest History Comes Around Again!
The recent concern about package theft has brought a num-
ber of creative responses to help our neighbors suppress
crime. One suggestion was a sticker to identify our cars, so
we would know which cars are from outside the neighbor-
hood.
The Board did create stickers in 2003. Each sticker identi-
fied Beachcrest, 2003, and a number for each sticker with a master list of owners/renters and
the number much like our key fobs. The idea was to identify whose car was at the beach, parked
at the top on the trail, or parked on the street for a lengthy time without moving. It seemed like
a great idea but there were some objections. Some did not want to identify their neighborhood
outside of Beachcrest; think correctional officers, police, social workers, etc. Some people are
fiercely private. In addition, people sell cars and need new stickers, leaving their old cars out
there with Beachcrest stickers. And someone had to issue stickers and maintain a master list of
property owners and renters and the number on their stickers. The project was abandoned even-
tually.
Someone did point out that the stickers would not have to identify
Beachcrest. I am glad to see suggestions to make the neighborhood
more safe and secure.
We also have another sticker shown here. Was this just a property
sticker or was it used to identify cars, or houses or something else. If
you know, or if you have Beachcrest historical information to share, let
Jan know at 360-456-1536.
If you have Beachcrest historical information to share, let Jan know at 360-456-1536.
By: Jan Walsh
Another piece of Beachcrest history…
Here’s a photo of a Six-gilled Shark that
washed up on our beach in 2005!
From Donna Connors’ photo collection
Thumbs Up: To the Barbers for all their time and effort to start a Neighborhood Watch
Group! Don’t forget to join them March 1st, 7:00 at Salish MS!
To the Beachcrest Board for another year of service to our community!
To the Emergency Prep group for planning ahead!
To Ms. Crain’s 3rd grade that monitors the water quality of our stream!
To Cindy, Ross, and Jason for all the planning and work done on our marina!
To Becky Post for providing doggie bag containers and doggie bags from her own funds!
Feel free to add some if you notice they are empty.
Some Salmon Stay Here
Everyone in the Northwest knows the basic salmon story. The fish spawn in rivers, the eggs
hatch, the baby fish hightail it downstream and out into the ocean, where they grow big and fat
for the return trip. This is the basic plan, and most salmon follow it. They head out to the rich
feeding grounds as far away as the Gulf of Alaska, thousands of miles from their home rivers.
But some of them don’t travel nearly as far. Chinook, the largest of the salmon, commonly
called “kings”, generally head out to sea. But a significant number of them stay within the con-
fined waters of Puget Sound, where they feed on herring, sand lance, and other small fish.
These fish don’t generally grow as big as their sea-going relatives, but they don’t need to travel
as far, either. Sport anglers are fond of these stay-at-home chinook, since they can be caught
year-round, including in the winter when not much else is available. They call them
“blackmouth” since the insides of their mouths and their gums are black – although this is true
of all chinook. In decades past winter blackmouth fishing was popular in the south sound, al-
though reductions in the food supply and in hatchery production have cut into the numbers in
recent years.
Coho salmon (also known as “silvers”) will also stay near home. These “resident silvers” don’t
grow as large as the ocean-going “hooknoses” but they are around all year. Coho don’t grow as
big as chinook, so a winter resident coho might not weigh much more than a pound. These lit-
tle guys are popular with fly fishers because they tend to travel in schools – where you catch
one you can catch many.
The pink salmon (also known as “humpies”) are well known for their habit of only running up-
stream in odd-numbered years in our state. The vast majority of pinks head out to the ocean,
where they feed primarily on plankton. But like chinook and coho, a few will stay in the sound
to feed. Years ago, they were relatively common around the Tacoma Nar-
rows and Toliva Shoal. Not so much in recent years, although research is
underway to determine whether any resident pinks remain.
By: Eric Kraig
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Since the late 1980’s scientists have warned about the threat of the Cascadia Subduction Zone,
a 700-mile long offshore fault off the coast of Washington that has unleashed some of the
world’s most powerful earthquakes. An overdue mega quake, such as predicted, would cause
the ground along much of the West Coast, including Beachcrest, to convulse for several min-
utes tearing apart pipelines, roads and buildings that haven’t been strengthened.
Some homes may slide, others become uninhabitable, trees and power lines will fall. Electric
power, water and gas may be out for extended periods and, access by road may become impos-
sible for some time for residents and First Responders.
In 2007 Beachcrest joined Thurston County Emergency Management in presenting “Map Your
Neighborhood” (MYN) as a method for preparing for such a disaster. We divided Beachcrest
into 19 zones (neighborhoods) and recruited a volunteer from each neighborhood to be the
neighborhood coordinator. The goal was to prepare every resident with the knowledge to sur-
vive a disaster, prepare the residence and accumulate food, water, clothing and shelter sufficient
to get through an extended period, say two weeks without outside help.
In late 2016 we renewed our efforts beginning with a MYN training meeting in November for
the coordinators, inviting the Board and adjoining communities. Since then several Beachcrest
neighborhoods have held a MYN meeting and more are pending. We have shared our planning
with Jubilee where they are a bit ahead of us. They have MYN, CERT (Search and Rescue),
and communication teams in place. Each October they participate in the Great American Shake-
out, a walk through disaster exercise. Our Board is considering these.
Part of our MYN efforts in each neighborhood includes getting the names of every resident,
their skills, potential equipment and supplies, and an emergency contact. We want to know if
any residents may need special help. You will be invited to a 1 to 1-1/2 hour MYN meeting to
learn the 9 steps to take immediately following a disaster, learn the gathering location for your
neighborhood and receive handout information for extended survival.
The City of Lacey offers First Aid/CPR/AED training on some
Saturdays from 8 AM til 2 PM. Call 491-0857 for dates. Regis-
ter at Parks and Recreation. The cost is $20 at registration and
$25 at the day of the course for supplies. If you are interested in
CERT Community Emergency Response Team (Search and
Rescue) training let Bill know.
For more information contact Donna Connors, 438-6721, donna-
Or Bill Hine [email protected]
By: Bill Hine
Dogs in Beachcrest:
As springtime arrives and we head outdoors let’s remember to keep our dogs leashed. Not all
dogs are friendly and open to off leash dogs coming up to them. For the safety of your pet and
others, please be mindful and let’s keep our dogs leashed and
securely confined on our own property.
By: Crystal Garcia
Thurston Conservation
District Native Plant Festival
& Sale
Join the Thurston Conservation
District for our Annual Native Plant
Festival & Sale on Saturday, March
4th from 10 AM– 3 PM. Choose
from a wide selection of flowering
berries, shrubs, ground covers, and
trees at very affordable prices; this
is a great way to kick-off the Spring
planting season!
This year’s event will include part-
ner booths, workshops and demon-
strations, music, food, and fun ac-
tivities for all ages.
For more information, or to learn
how to volunteer at our event, con-
tact Thurston Conservation District
staff at 360-754-3588 ext 105 or
email [email protected].
BEACHCREST PLANNER
March 1 7:00 pm Neighborhood Watch Salish Middle School
& Board Meeting
April 5 7:00 pm Board Meeting Nature Center
May 3 7:00 pm Annual Meeting Salish Middle School
TBD! 8:00 am Clean Up Day West Cabana
June 7 7:00 pm Board Meeting Nature Center
Coming up:
July 4 10:00 am Independence Day Parade Begins at playground
TBD! 8 - 4 Community Yard Sale
All community members are encouraged to attend Board meetings at the Nisqually Reach
Nature Center. Check the Reader Board at the entrance for any changes.
Water Quality Testing on our Stream
My third grade students enjoy coming to Beachcrest to test
the water quality of your stream twice a year. We test the
amount of dissolved oxygen, nitrates, turbidity and the pH
balance of your stream water. Thank you so much for sharing
your beautiful stream and ocean views with us. We love it!
~ Ms. Crain
Olympic View Elementary
Water Quality Testing by our local students is sponsored by
South Sound GREEN, a division of the Thurston Conservation
District and by our North Thurston SD.
Something new to the ‘View! Artwork and comics from
Beachcrest kids!
