Christopher Creek Independence Day Parade

All patriotically decorated vehicles and persons are invited to assemble at Tall Pines Market at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 6, 2013, for an Independence Day Parade.

The parade will proceed to Creekside, down Columbine, and up Ashby Apple. The Landmark will provide ice cream for children of all ages, and Creekside will hand out 10% discount coupons for all parade participants.

Come join the fun, whether you participate or watch. See you on the 6th!

June 8th Activities

The Kids Klean Up the Kreek activity will begin at 10 a.m. Kids are to gather at the walking bridge on Ashby Apple Drive to form teams, be assigned zones, and set out to pick up trash along the creek and roadways. Collected trash is weighed and prizes and big Thank Yous awarded. Adult supervisors are needed.

A community potluck is schedule for June 8th as well. Come to the Milburn's Elk Pasture on Columbine at 1:00 p.m. Bring a chair, your own drinks, and a side dish. Burgers & dogs will be provided.

See you on June 8th!

Membership Meeting Report

Today's Membership Meeting had a pretty good turnout. If you weren't there, you missed the lively discussions ranging from the children's activities to volunteering for events to the meaning of the red flag flying beside the American flag at the fire station.

Of particular concern is dust raised by driving too fast on our super-dry dirt roads. Check your rear-view mirrors. If the cloud behind you is billowing, SLOW DOWN! Speed limits between 10 and 15 miles per hour are posted. Choose one, but if driving the faster limit is causing a billowing cloud of dust, you know what to do. SLOW DOWN! Encourage other drivers to do so, as well.

And speaking of driving, it's the law for drivers of ATVs, quads, and golf carts to be licensed drivers. Yes, on all the roads in Christopher Creek. No, you can't send your 11-year-old to the store driving the cart.

Another item you should be aware of is the change of date for the Fall Membership Meeting and Children's Halloween Party. The Meeting and Party will take place on October 26th, at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.

And in case you didn't know what that red flag means, it's simple: outside fires are prohibited. No bonfires. No leaf burning. No firecrackers. Smoking only allowed on your own porch or indoors.

The danger of fire in the forest and community is "extreme." Fines are high, and jail time is included in the penalty for causing a wildfire. Don't take the risk.

While I'm mentioning "don'ts," don't miss checking out the arts and crafts event with items for sale beside the Tall Pines Market today. Brats and drinks are being sold at the fire station by the Fire Belles, and a silent auction is going on there, too. Fire Belles are the Christopher-Kohls Fire Department auxiliary, which raises money for education for fire fighters, and similar good causes related to the department. Their last donation enabled a fire fighter to get EMT training, which benefits our community immensely.

At 5 p.m.today, the LDS Church is sponsoring a free community potluck barbecue dinner. Bring a side dish or dessert, or just go meet your neighbors while you eat. Hot dogs and hamburgers are provided.

Membership Meeting on May 25, 2013

The annual Christopher Creek Homeowners Association Membership Meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. in the community room at the fire station.

Remember, if you haven't paid your dues in a while, you will have the opportunity to give your twenty dollars to Gary Anderson, the Secretary-Treasurer for this term of office.

See you on the 25th!

Membership Meeting this Saturday

Don't forget our Membership Meeting this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at the Fire Station.

With elections coming up this summer, this will be a most important meeting, so put it on your calendar and plan to attend.

Big Saturday Doin's

The Christopher Creek Homeowners Association is sponsoring TWO big events this Saturday, April 7^th.

The first event is a celebration of Earth Day beginning at 11:00 AM, when we gather in front of the Tall Pines Market.  This event, created and supervised by Judy Tolle, is for kids ages ten and older.  We are going to make the Earth a little bit more beautiful by picking up the trash along the Christopher Creek Loop.  We will have the bags necessary to collect the trash.  We are also going to donate ALL cans to the Payson Humane Society to help care for animals.  We welcome and need adults who want to walk along with us to help supervise.  This is a win, win, win event: beautiful earth, happy animals and good exercise!

Our second BIG event of the day is our annual CCHA Easter Egg hunt.  It will begin at 1:00 PM on Columbine Rd., two hundred yards upstream from the Walking Bridge.

This Easter egg hunt is for kids ages 12 and under.  As always, prizes will be awarded to kids in different age groups for their success in finding eggs.  There have been reports of a very large bunny already hanging out on Columbine.  Get ready for the BIG day.

By the way, the weather at the Creek is beautiful!

[Information contributed by Gary Anderson]

Ripples Newsletter has been sent

Hello!

You should have received the new issue of "Ripples," either in your email inbox or your mail box. We hope you've marked your calendars for these upcoming important days: April 7 for the Easter Egg Hunt, May 19 for the Membership Meeting, and June 16 for the Community Barbecue Get-Together.

Please give thought to running for office and/or volunteering to produce the newsletter. All of those responsibilities are opening up soon. In fact, Marsha Ward has stepped down from the editor slot with the newsletter, so your chance is here now! Contact Judy Tolle or another officer to put your name in the running for the appointment.

You can also leave your name in the Comments.

See you at an event soon!

Migration

by Marsha Ward

Because I am familiar with this blogging host, I've moved our website to Blogspot. This will make it much easier for me to update the site from one accessible spot, instead of having to find the entry place for the other site, remember the incredibly difficult password, and log into the dashboard.

Now all the blogs in my charge are in one place, and I will be more likely to pass along the news from Christopher Creek to you in a timely manner.

Thank you for your kindness to me, and for understanding how thin I've been stretched for the last couple of years, especially when I had emergency major surgery and had to learn to be patient.

Thank you!

Thank you to all who voted in the officer election, and to all who came to the Fall Membership Meeting. We had a decent turnout, and announced the results of the election.

Ron Louch and Judy Tolle were reelected unopposed, and several write-in votes made the vice-president race interesting. Cathie Moore was the winner. She was attending a wedding, so was not present for the news. Judy will let her know of her new role in CCHA.

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped with the Kids' Halloween Costume Contest and the Hayride. We can't pull off these events without YOU!

Don't forget to Vote

Remember that you have several ways to vote: Email your vote to Judy Tolle or Marsha Ward (see their email addresses on the ballot), phone it in to Judy Tolle, mail the ballot (probably too late for that), or bring it to the Fall Membership Meeting on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Fire Station.

See you Saturday!

Fall Meeting, Halloween Party next week

We're looking forward to an exciting Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, October 23, at 9:00 a.m. in the Fire Station meeting room. The officers who will serve for the next two years will be announced. How great would it be if the meeting attendance exceeded that of the Spring Meeting?

The community's children and grandchildren are invited to the Kids' Halloween Costume Party and Hayride on the afternoon of the 23rd. All the fun begins at 4:00 p.m. at the Fire Station. The costume contest, for children under 12 years of age, starts at 4:30 p.m. The Hayride follows, and everyone in Christopher Creek enjoys the Trick-or-Treaters.

There's a new route this year: Tall Pines Market is the jumping-off place. First stop is the ERA office, then down South Christopher to Ashby Apple, where the children will unload at Ellie's C-Canyon RV Park. They will continue on foot to the homes in the area, then cross the bridge to collect treats from those living near the car wash. Back on the wagon once more, the children will travel down Columbine, and end at Creekside for hot chocolate.

If you don't live on this route, you may hand out your treats at the Tall Pines Market. We encourage those who bring their children from other communities to contribute treats. If you can't be here that day, please get your donations to Judy Tolle, and volunteers will hand out the candy.

To donate a bag or two of candy or to volunteer to help out, please contact Judy at 478-0508.

Newsletter in the mail

The October issue of Ripples, the newsletter of CCHA, is in the mail. If you have elected to receive the emailed version, it's in your inbox right now.

Vote!

Please take a moment and vote for officers for the next two years.

Thank you!

Potluck a Success

An estimated 100 people attended the Community Potluck sponsored by Christopher Creek Homeowners Association today. Good food abounded, brought by neighbors, friends, and acquaintances looking to build community enjoyment and solidarity.

Even though a dark cloud hung over the event as it began at 2:00 p.m., rain held off, and neighbors ate, laughed, and raced ducks down the creek.

Association President Ron Louch providently chose the winning duck, but a total of eight persons, young and old, split the cash prizes.

Community Potluck

Don't miss the Community Potluck next Saturday, June 12. See all the details on the Calendar page (click the Calendar tab at the top of the page).

Look for the next issue of Ripples in your mailbox (or email box) next week.

Memorial Day Weekend Events

While you're in Christopher Creek, be sure to check out all the yard sales that are going on in the community. Besides the sale on Saturday beside Tall Pines Market, there will be individual sales on Columbine and Ashby Apple Drive, too.

If you're in the mood for food, go up to the fire station first thing in the morning on Saturday. The Fire Belles always have something wonderful to eat at a low price.

Over in Tonto Village, the Fireflies’ Memorial Weekend Breakfast is served from 7:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. The date is Saturday, May 29 at the Tonto Village Fire Station on Mathews Lane. For $5 your plate will have sausage, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee. Kids plates will be $3 if they are 10 years or under. What a deal! Chorizo burros will also be served for $2 extra. The burros are made every year by Firefly Lori Mulvey. Lori will also have her great salsa. A giant garage sale will also be going on.

If you grow hungry at dinnertime, the LDS Church at the west end of Ashby Apple Lane in Christopher Creek has a FREE barbecue on Saturday, beginning at 5 p.m. The meat is provided. Bring a salad or dessert to share. The church is also accessible via a road down from the Loop, just west of the fire station.

Spring Meeting held today

The officers were very gratified at the number of members who came to the meeting today. Thank you all for making time in your busy schedules to come.

President Ron Louch and Secretary/Treasurer Judy Tolle went through the usual reports and roster review; announced the new, better ISO rating the Fire Department recently received; and announced the upcoming calendar of events (see the Calendar Page for details) and election of officers. Is it your turn to become involved in your Rim Country community by serving as an officer in the CCHA? Don't miss out! Contact Judy to put your name in nomination.

Judy reminded everyone of the address change for the Association (which also reminds us all who receive mail here that the old HC addresses will no longer be honored after July 1, 2010).

In case it's your time to pay dues, be sure to send them ($20 per year) to CCHA, 591 W. Columbine Rd., Payson AZ 85541. Donations are gratefully accepted, as well.

Ripples editor Marsha Ward mentioned the blog/website for CCHA, which she's expanded with new pages. You may elect to receive your newsletters by email.

Ron explained the need for the new speed limit signs the Association purchased for safety and dust control, asked those who want to put up a sign near their property to come up after the meeting and get one, and reminded everyone of the Arizona traffic laws that apply in the community: quads and carts need to be licensed, have insurance, and be driven only by licensed drivers ages 16 and up. The sheriff's deputies may confiscate these small vehicles driven not only too fast, but by those who don't have the proper authorization to be driving. If you want to go fast, do it in the forest!

A further attempt to improve the car wash crossing will have to wait until the water flow abates. Right now, the hole-patch is holding, but without the curbing that washed away, it isn't protected from the force of the water.

Ron proposed that the Association purchase street name signs with the proper directional designations on them. The county didn't place signage on all of the roads in Christopher Creek, and those signs that were put up lack the North, South, East and West directions that help folks know where they are. Especially folks like emergency services. A motion to spend up to $250 on the signs was carried by a vote of the members.

For more information on the meeting, watch for the next issue of Ripples.

"Ripples"

I've finished the May issue of our newsletter, Ripples, and it will be mailed out to CCHA members early next week.

~Marsha Ward, Ripples Editor

Come to the Membership Meeting

Breaking tradition, the Spring Membership Meeting will be held on Saturday, May 22, 2010, at 9:00 A.M. at the upstairs meeting room of Christopher Kohl's Fire Station #51. Yes, we know. It's not Memorial Day Weekend. We're thinking this will make it possible to be able to hear everything happening in the meeting without the noise of constant traffic passing on the Loop.

The weather is beautiful now--the high today was a lovely 74.5 degrees--so we really hope you will come. We have lots of information to pass along, including the Calendar for the rest of the year, the opportunity to sign up for a speed limit sign near your property, and much more.

See you on the 22nd!

Fall Meeting Held

If you missed the Fall Meeting held this morning at the fire station, you missed a good one.

Ron Louch and Judy Tolle conducted the business of the Association. Laura Alvin was out-of-state and could not attend.

Highlights of the meeting included a report on the fuel break funds, a call for volunteers to help "Light the Loop" on November 21, an appeal that food donations for the food boxes be canned goods and boxed non-perishable foods (no sodas), and news that there would be no officially coordinated fall cleanup.

Forest debris is accepted at the burn pit every Saturday. Homeowners may also contact Rick Schantz at 928-478-4877 to arrange for the FireWise trailer to come and cart off your refuse. You must load the trailer yourself, so plan to be at your property at the pickup time.

The community "Meet Your Neighbor Day" potluck held this summer was a big success, and will be repeated next year.

Several more members signed up to receive the "Ripples" newsletters electronically. If you wish to be on the list, contact Marsha Ward at 928-478-5086 or by email at marshaward.az@gmail.com.

The next issue of "Ripples" will include a complete report of the Fall Meeting.