Official Newsletter of
Settler’s Village
A NOTE From the Settlers Village Board of Directors
From all of the Directors of the HOA – we hope the New Year is looking like it will treat you well. Steve Breard is writing this newsletter. Particularly after the holidays, we often get into a bit of a funk. The glow of the season, of family, of general contentment fades as we once again have to face the realities of our day to day issues. We have less patience with people, even friends and family. In the past, I have shared with you the struggles my wife and I have had in dealing with her Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I know she struggles because the disease has robbed her of mobility and independence as well as some of her personal dignity. While it should not in any way, her disease and its symptoms embarrass her. Hence my own struggle of trying to help her in any and every way while knowing there are some things that I will not be able to help with. It truly breaks my heart when she is having a very bad day and her legs will not work at all. Add to that my limited financial resources since being laid off last year, some of the problems compound. Enter some unexpected angels. The first was an organization call NORD who agreed to take on the co-pays for her MS treatments. Those co-pays are literally hundreds of dollars per month and Nord is a charitable organization that helps MS patients with limited resources. Without them, I would have had difficulty paying for the treatments. Then here come friends from wife’s childhood. She has always stayed in contact with them but she is no longer able to accompany them on most social outings. This week, they fronted resources to rehabilitate the master bathroom to give my wife wheelchair access. Right now, we have cobbled together a process where she changes from a wheelchair or walker outside the restroom, to another walker inside the restroom. Although a bit clumsy, it is a process that works. They will also remove the glass shower enclosure, which will improve bathtub access. We installed that back when my wife’s condition did not exist and now it is a danger, particularly if she falls into it and the glass breaks. For all of my life, I have volunteered to help others, from those I do not know, to friends, to various family members. And I will be the first to admit that my own pride made it hard to accept help from others. It took a little convincing from those trying to help. But I am, at the end, very practical and these things were needed help as I slowly make the house we have lived in accessible to the handicapped. There is much more to go but at least I have been able to make a start. Although I do not have permission to publish their names, I will take the opportunity to say thank you to them anyway. And God bless them all! Current monies saved toward the pool project have reached $307,000. Again, as a reminder, the original plan was to build the pool in stages to keep from straining the neighborhood’s budget. Unfortunately, replacing the pool requires the replacement of the filtering equipment and both the water supply and wastewater plumbing and piping. That, in turn, requires immediate attention to the building, which would house the filtering facilities. And because rework would be needed to bring the electrical up to code which is legally required by any extensive renovation to the building, the project will have to be structured into a single, large project. The minimum needed in the bank before beginning the project would be $472,000 or 80% of the total projected project’s cost. President Rogers remains interested in resurrecting the Settlers Village website and the old Citizen On Patrol (COP) programs but has, so far, received no volunteers for either project. Please shoot him an email if you have an interest.
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Settler’s Village February 2012 email: news@krenekprinting.com for articles • ads@krenekprinting.com for business ads • classified@krenekprinting.com for classified ads 1