Welcome to the Website for the Sandia Knolls Neighborhood
Association. This site contains vital information on the issues we need to
know about as property owners here in the Knolls.
Be on Our
E-Mail list, Send your Address to
Webmaster@sandiaknolls.com,
I am getting a lot of retuned e-mails...Please update your address with changes also.
Many Thanks go out to all those who participated in our Rummage
Sale on Saturday, Viola White did another great job organizing
the sale, Pat Fleming, Denise Turner, Janet Winchester Silbaugh
and everyone else who spent the day in the sun and BAD winds,
Also Thank you Frank Malizzo from Mountain
Christian Church for the Food and the use of the tables!
Thanks for a great job!
We raised around $1220 for the SKNA to bolster our general funds
to help pay our legal expenses, sign maintenance and website
etc.
Also I hope you have noticed that the Adobe sign at the entrance
to the Knolls has been spruced up and rehabilitated by Lois Trim
and crew
Here is a letter from Lois:
To Sandia Knolls Community,
Over the last several days starting the 4th of June and ending
the 9th of June you may have noticed some activity at the
entrance sign. The cracks were being repaired and a new top
coat of stucco was applied. My self and a crew of 3 did the
work, so I would like to write a public thank you to the
workers. Chris Bettman, thanks for all your help with
securing the latillas,repairing the cracks and applying the
stucco. Jess Graham, thanks goes to you for mixing in
the gray coat, helping repair the cracks and applying the top
coat of stucco. Stephanie Rippel, thank you for doing
the hard "end" of the sign and working on the rest of the
stucco for the sign. Thanks goes to Denise who brought us all
lemonade to sooth our thirst. Also thanks to all the people
who stopped by and said "Thank You". With out all of you guys
and your help I would not have been able to complete the job.
So I just want to Thank those who participate in the
Association and strive to make our community a little better
for us all.
Mark Emery
President Sandia Knolls Neighborhood Association
Thanks to all who participated in the Annual
Meeting of the SKNA.
Election results are:
Mark Emery President
Kathy McCoy Vice President
Denise Turner Secretary
Sue Nuestal Treasurer
Minutes of Annual Meeting:
SKNA Annual Meeting
Jan. 16, 2010
.
Presiding: Pat Fleming, President
Janet Winchester Silbaugh Brought
Thank You notes to the water company for the new fire hydrant at Pinon Heights
and Darby. Check with your home owner insurance company to see if it will make
a difference in your premiums.
Loose dogs remain a problem, the
ones recently spotted around Pinon Heights: Black with white chest (adopted?),
a Sharpei, a mastiff, a boxer mix. Please talk to your neighbor about their
pets’ safety and as well as the safety issues surrounding loose dogs and
walkers with and without kids or pets. Call Animal Control at any time and
report any concern.
People have expressed concerns
about horses moving in next door. The neighborhood association cannot do
anything, but you can call Bernalillo County and speak to them.
Initial investigation is going on
regarding a second exit for the Knolls during an evacuation.
Membership in the East Mountain
Coalition keeps us informed about meetings and goings-on in our neck of the
woods, which we are members of, as well as the North 14 Coalition.
The Community Board located at the
entrance of the Knolls mailbox cluster, is not for commercial items. Please
use for lost animals, activities in the area, notice of meetings, and other
community activities. The Newsletter boxes located at the mailboxes in the
neighborhood are also for non-commercial use.
Treasurer’s report shows $862.05
currently in the bank account. SKNA dues are $10.00/ year per household and
grants voting on various issues. Please send to the treasurer, and we welcome
further contributions .
Janet Winchester Silbaugh gave an
update on the status of our continuing water issues:
We are awaiting a PRC ruling on
a “First Come First Serve” theory put forth by the water company which could
potentially mean the empty lots in our neighborhood may not be supplied with
water if all the water rights are used up.
Bruce Frederick is a lawyer from
an environmental law group who has helped us with advise and writing a brief
regarding the above. Bern Co has become increasing involved in helping us
fight to keep water rights in the Knolls.
The PRC hearing is in April.
Campbell Ranch is still drilling
to find their own water source at a level deeper than the OSE controls,
(2000 ft).
Edgewood has not extended
Campbell Ranch’s preliminary plan.
John Helmich described his monthly
sessions with EMIFPA fire agencies. The goal is education on evacuation and
fire preparedness throughout the East Mountains. John’s email is on the SKNA
website. Please notify him for more info.
Speaking of the website, it
contains a wealth of information: county, Cuidad Soil and Conservation, and
other information not sent out as emails. It showcases Knolls business, helps
find lost animals, and directs folks to a yahoo chat site. We are grateful to
our Webmaster Mark Emery for his continued running of the site!!
The question was raised about the
existence of a Neighborhood Watch. There has been one in the past; Mark Emery
will look for more information on this he can post on the website/community
boxes to solicit interest.
Elections:
President:
Mark Emery, Interim, one year
Vice
president: Kathy McCoy
Secretary:
Denise Turner
Treasurer:
Sue Neustel
Recording: Sue Neustel
Transcribing: Pat Fleming…
Thanks for great past presidency… it
has been an honor serving as the president as well as being involved in the
neighborhood..
Pat Fleming..
\
Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2009 4:20 PM
Subject: (no subject)
Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers by Susan Johnson
With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business
Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to
become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010
U.S. Census
is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of
households across the country.
Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every
person in the United States and will gather information about every
person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and
other relevant data.
The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a
U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a
badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a
confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge
before answering their
questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know
into your home.
** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify
address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card
or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the
U.S.. Census.
REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL
THEM HOW
MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.
While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial
information, such as a salary range, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER
ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.
The Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account,
or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one
asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.
AND REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH
ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION.. No Acorn
worker should approach you saying he/she is with the Census
Bureau.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or
in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by
Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.
Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email
that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org
These
are some very abbreviated from Commissioner Brasher's very
informative meeting on Aug. 4th. Speakers were Dr. Paul Ettestad,
Veterinarian and Epidemiologist for the NM Dept. of Health, Dr. Mark
DiMenna, Entymologist, Supervisor of the City of Abq. Vector-Borne and
Zoonotic Disease Division (452-5301), Jeff Sheyka, plague specialist
(452-5302) ,and George Schroeder of Environmental Health. Commissioner
Brasher intends to have this taped presentation shown on government tv.
Plague
first came into the US in about 1900 at the ports of Honolulu, Galveston,
and San Francisco. Today plague is found mostly in the western US.
Fleas are carried on rock squirrels and prairie dogs, mainly. Some types
of fleas are better carriers than others. 71% of those who get
plague have gotten them from flea bites.
There are
3 forms of plague: septicemic, bubonic, and pneumonic (inhaling it).
Don't worry about the last kind, because there hasn't been an incidence of
that kind in the US since 1925. There have been 53 cases of plague
in the US between 1970 and 2008. Most of those have been in the
counties of Santa Fe and Bernalillo.
Incidences of plague follow El Ninos. Most cases are in summer.
The first case in the East Mtn. was 1959. There have been 46 cases
in the EM from 1959 to present. 17 cases occurred in the EM between
July 2005 and July 2009. (There was a total of 24 cases in all of NM
during that same span of time.)
The
highest risk of plague is at an altitude of 2300 m--or about 7000 feet and
is associated with populations of pinon trees and juniper trees. (That's
us.) Wood piles are the main habitat. Rock squirrels are the
most common host, and as many as 600
fleas have been counted on one rock squirrel. They also affect deer
mice, pinon mice, and wood rats (that's the packrat). Exposure for
people is near their homes.
There have never been any cases of Hanta virus in Bernalillo County--ever.
The recommended disinfectant for rodent droppings is a bleach and
water solution.
West Nile
virus is transmitted by mosquitoes. There have been no cases in NM
this year to date.
Report
mysteriously dead rock squirrels or prairie dogs near vacated colonies to
the Health Dept.(See phone nos. above.) Handle dead rodents with care.
Christine
Smith
Septic Systems
Our septic systems are going to become an issue that all home
owners in the Knolls are going to have to deal with by 2015, or if you do a
major upgrade to your home or you sell your home, you will have to conform
to the new wastewater ordinance immediately. I am including a copy of the
new ordinance here for you to read, I believe you will find it interesting
if you can get through the legalese. Most of the homes that have been sold
in the Knolls recently have had to have their septic systems replaced or
brought up to code. The process can be devastating to your yard. Under the
new ordinance nothing but grass can cover your new drain fields, and nothing
can be built on top of the area, including driveways that might compact the
field. Also access to the tank for pump trucks in any weather is a
requirement, so plan ahead if you are thinking about building or landscaping
your property. Pumping at regular intervals is also a new requirement.
Property owners a supposed to keep records of all work done to the septic
systems.
Here is a 31 page document Bernalillo County prepared
detailing the East Mountain Environmental
Quality Profile. (This is a LARGEfile 3MEG dial-up users
beware!)
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