Indian Creek Newsletter December, 2006 on the web at frontiernet.net/~indiancreek compiled by Helen Mogill, hmogill@frontiernet.net, 728-2048
Christmas Party The Annual Village Christmas Party is on Monday, December 18th from 6:30-7:30 at the Community Building. Activities include Bingo and a reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. A special guest is also expected. Children and adults of all ages are invited to this annual event.
Seniors Potluck The Towanda Seniors will be meeting Wednesday, December 13^th at Noon at the Community Building. There will be a gift exchange for those who wish to participate. Meat and drinks will be furnished. Please bring your own table service and a dish to share. Hostesses are Helen Guth, Rose Remschner and Beverly Meginnes. The third grade students from Towanda school will provide Christmas music for the program. Any questions contact Beverly Meginnes at 728-2769.
A Note from the Common Grounds Chairman by Jim Russell
1. The re-graveling of the well-head trail has been completed. This will provide good access for service vehicles for many years to come in case the well ever needs servicing. 2. Fresh beaver damage has been spotted along Money Creek. Its time to wrap chicken wire around any trees you want to protect. 3. If anyone left a tent out in the nature area, contact Jim Russell 728-8042 to claim it. 4. The recent ice storm downed several limbs across nature area trails. Anyone interested in helping clear the trails is welcome to do so.	Downed Tree on Nature Trail – due to ice storm
Shih Tzu Puppies for Sale The Shih Tzu is a sturdy, lively, alert toy dog with long flowing double coat. The Shih Tzu was developed as a favored pet of Chinese emperors of the Manchu Dynasty from the middle of the 19th Century. But his history begins centuries earlier, as one of Tibet's "lion dogs," an exclusive group of dogs bred by Buddhist monks that includes the Lhasa Apso and Tibetan Spaniel. These Shih Tzu puppies will be ready to go to new homes around Christmas time. Call Judi Doubet at 728-2463.
Gregory’s Cookie Service Gregory Mason will make delicious cookies for sale through the holidays. Call ahead to place your order and you will receive fresh baked cookies, delivered, in a nicely wrapped box, to your front door. Cookies are $4.00 a dozen. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, Swedish tea cakes, sugar, peanut butter, and more are available for purchase. Let Gregory help you with your holiday baking! Call him at 728-8008 or 846-2000.
Towanda Fire Department News The Towanda Fire Department would like to say a big thank you for all the support in passing the recent referendum. We will continue to give you the best care possible. November Fire Calls: Car accidents – 3, Medical - 5, Field Fires – 2, and 1 investigation of a gas leak.
New Year’s Eve Celebration Towanda American Legion is hosting a New Year’s Eve Celebration. Join them for an evening of dinner and dancing on Sunday, December 31st at 8:00pm. The cost is $20.00 for a single or $35.00 for a couple. The menu is a choice of 12oz., 6 Jumbo Shrimp, Surf & Turf (Shrimp & Steak), or Pork Chop and salad, potatoes, and dessert. Contact any Legion, Auxiliary, or Sons member for a ticket and celebrate the New Year right.
Towanda PTO News By Karen Showalter Box Tops and Labels: December 15 is the deadline for a send-off of Campbell's & Tyson Labels & Box tops for Education. Please send in whatever labels/box tops you have at this time. This is the last chance to get credit for front labels from Campbell's products. Remember from now on....only the UPC code is needed from Campbell's products. Drop off points are at the school and at the public library. Thank you for your assistance with this program! Gift Cards: Do you give gift cards for the holidays? Do you shop at Kohl's? SCRIP is one stop shopping for gift cards from many stores. You spend the same amount you normally would and the school gets a percentage of the money you spend. It's a win-win situation! You can also pay your Kohl's charge bill use using SCRIP gift cards. You can check the available stores and place an order on the web. Just go to www.unit5.org/towanda/PTO/Links.htm and then click on SCRIP. Thank you! Winter Break: Unit 5 winter break will begin on Friday, December 22, and school will resume on Monday, January 8, 2007.
Iraq Care Packages The Towanda VFW Post 462 sent a care package this month to Cindy Singley in Irag. The Post will send another care package on January 20, 2007. If you would like to donate items, please leave them at the Library drop box.
ATV Update On Saturday, November, 25, Sheriff (and Indian Creek resident) Mike Emery was able to locate and stop five ATV riders on the south edge of the subdivision along the tree line and Doug Reeves Fields. All five were identified (none were Indian Creek residents) and warned that the wooded area was private property and further violation would result in trespass charges. Doug Reeves arrived at the location where Mike had the five stopped and stated to them that his property is posted ‘no trespassing’ and further violation would result in charges being pressed. Hopefully this action will alleviate the problems we have had out here concerning this activity. However, Mike will be sending the five men a letter from the Sheriff's Office and a copy of the law. That way if they are caught again both incidents can be used to press charges. On a good note, while waiting to catch these five riders Mike observed the largest 12 point buck he has ever seen. The buck was in the field on the south end of Indian Creek and when the riders came into the area he ran into the woods just east of the water tower.
White Tail Deer Mike Emery mentioned seeing a large buck the other day. Tim and I have enjoyed seeing deer nearly every day as we take our morning walks in the Nature Area - sometimes seeing as many as five deer together. A brief search on the internet turned up some interesting facts and history about the deer population in Illinois. Back in the late 1700s, there was an abundance of deer. But the early settlers exploited the resource — clearing timbered areas and using the deer for food and clothing. By the mid-1850s, the white-tailed deer had declined to the point where 15 counties made deer hunting illegal for half of each year. Things didn't get better. By the start of the 20^th century, there were only 500,000 deer nationwide. In 1901, the Illinois state legislature declared a "temporary" closed season for deer until the population could rebound. That temporary closure would last for more than half a century. The white-tailed deer is a highly versatile animal. It doesn't need large tracts of forest, and it doesn't mind living alongside corn and bean fields. In fact, deer prosper in sparsely timbered counties loaded with corn and bean fields. Rather than browse, the deer feed on corn and beans, and resort to browsing during the winter months when there aren't crops in the fields. A doe matures at 2 or 3 years, and then typically gives birth to twins each year for 10 or more years. A deer herd that has plenty to eat and is not hunted by humans or other predators will double in size every 3 years! In 1957 Illinois reopened its deer hunting season. Since then, Illinois' deer population has increased to its current level, which is estimated to be about 800,000. There are both positive and negative aspects to having a white-tailed deer population of that scale, and the Department of Natural Resources is constantly striving to achieve a proper balance for the state's herd. The DNR's deer management goal is to provide a healthy deer herd, capable of affording recreational and viewing opportunities to Illinoisans, while at the same time controlling herd size in order to limit the number of negative interactions people have with deer, such as deer-vehicle accidents and crop damage incidents. In 1991 the Department began promoting antlerless-only permits to emphasize harvesting females as a way to control herd size. The concept is achieving its desired effect. The trend for hunters to "hold out" for a buck, which had progressively increased from the reopening of the modern deer season and peaked in the late 1980s, has been reversed. Female deer currently make up a much larger part of the harvest as compared to 5-10 years ago. Last year's harvest of more than 142,000 whitetails consisted of a balanced mixture of bucks and does, as well as old and young, attributable in large part to antlerless-only permits. This means that the odds of harvesting a mature buck have actually increased. The number of mature bucks - those at least 3 1/2 years old, which would be considered trophies by most hunters-has gone from just a few hundred 25-35 years ago and a few thousand as recently as the 1980s to more than 7,000 in 1995 alone. Those figures prove that while controlling herd size through the issuance of anterless-only permits, the Department has maintained the big bucks that Illinois is famous for. Information for this article was taken from the following web sites: http://www.txtwriter.com/Onscience/Articles/deerpops.html http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1996/ic961104.html http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/2000/oi001216.html