>Various Items – 10/6/10

>Illahee Preserve Incident.  We received a copy of an email this evening (10-6-10) that someone walking in the Preserve about 6:15 pm when an “individual came around a corner wearing a hooded sweater with a very shady appearance, and had a gun in his hand and was attempting to hide it behind his back“.  The lady said she and her dog turned and ran back to the parking lot.  It left them quite shaken.  The email was sent to the sheriff and the Parks Department.  That is all we know, but will keep everyone informed if we hear more.

Illahee Preserve Dedication.  We saw the Illahee Preserve dedication plaque that is to be placed on the big rock in the Almira parking lot.  The dedication is to take place when some of the persons responsible for the purchase of the Preserve can all be there, but definitely sometime in 2010.  We expect that someone will soon be working grinding down on flat area on the rock for the plaque.  We will let you know when the dedication is scheduled.

Illahee Store Cleanup?  We had a number of people inquire about what was happing with the cleanup in front of the Illahee Store (which is at the corner of Ocean View Blvd and Illahee Road and just across the street from the Illahee Community Dock).  We also noticed that the area had been cleaned up and took the attached photo.  If anyone knows what is happening, please let us know.

Wildlife Updates?  No unique items to report, but just the continued reporting of the animals we live with everyday.  

Deer.  Some have had the group of five deer, two does and three young ones, regularly visiting.  They even ate a bunch of miniature pumpkins off some door steps.  Attached is a picture of a peach tree they seem to be especially fond of.

Seals.  There are often a few seals on the raft shown in the attached picture, but beginning now until spring, the raft fills with seals that can be seen nearly every morning.

Coyotes.  Attached is a coyote report we received this morning.

 Last evening about 10:30 PM the coyotes that apparently have a den on the Keller Lots next to me were howling and yipping for several minutes. Earlier this week they woke me up very early in the morning. I’ve spotted one crossing my field during the day on occasion.

Petition Response.  We are still waiting to get an update of the status of the Petition response, so in the meantime what we know is that the Illahee Community Club (ICC) appears to be way short of the getting the 500 and has ended up with somewhere between 100 and 200 responses.  Of the responses that have come in so far the number of favorable response has been over 90% for, with those against being primarily opposed to any tax increase.

ICC Board Meeting.  We also heard that the ICC Board met at the end of September and voted to approach the Port of Illahee to see if the two groups could work together to find an interested land trust to purchase the Timbers Edge property.  Evidently there are land trusts out there with money to purchase properties for a variety of reasons, and it is up to groups like the ICC and Port to make the case for the purchase.

Jim Aho