52 PICK-UP

When I was a kid we used to play card games. Invariably, when a group of us would get together to play, someone would suggest playing 52 Pick Up. If a newcomer asked how it was played, some veteran card player would throw all 52 cards on the floor and tell the newcomer to pick the cards up. After a good laugh each of us would pick up a few cards so that one person didn't have to pick up all of them. It was easier that way and it also brought the group closer together.

We have a variation of that game going on all of the time on the roads and in the ditches around Ten Mile Lake. We have people who don't care about the beauty of our community as much as the rest of us do. Those people throw their trash on the roads and in the ditches and drive away oblivious to the eyesores and potential environmental contamination they leave behind. I think that some of them are much like the kids who used to throw the cards on the floor when I was young. Those people think it is funny or just don't care that someone else has to pick up the litter.

I can't stop the unconcerned from littering. All that I can do is clean up behind them. My wife and I both do it. Several times a year we patrol the roads and ditches in our assigned half mile of road. Each time we collect a good deal of material that we haul to the dump. We do it willingly because we think it is worth it to have a pristine countryside to drive through. There are many others who do the same thing as members of the TMLA Adopt A Highway Committee.

There are many of you that walk the roads around the lake. You could be a big help to all of us by picking up litter when you see it. That way a few of us wouldn't have to do all of the work. The roadways would look prettier more of the time too.

There are a number of things that we can learn from kids' games. One of them is that if each of us does a little, no one has to do a lot. It also brings us all closer together.

Picking up a few cards is still easier than picking up all 52 of them.

Signed,
    Ken Regner
    Member, Adopt-A-Highway Committee

HACKENSACK TENNIS COURT RESURFACING

History indicates that over the years many Ten Mile Lake residents and visitors have enjoyed the use of the public tennis courts in Hackensack. The City Council has observed the need for resurfacing those Courts at an approximate cost of $7,000.

The Ten Mile Lake Association has been asked if it might help underwrite a part of that cost. As the inquiry was discussed at the May 31 Board meeting, it was observed that TML residents and visitors involve themselves in a wide variety of recreational activities, e.g. golf etc., the costs of which they underwrite as individuals. The Board agreed that as many past and future users of the tennis courts as possible be made aware of this need and encouraged to assess their respective abilities to respond. This article is a part of that effort. Those who read this are asked to join in the effort to spread the word of this need.

Contributions should be sent to Hackensack City Council, Attention: Bill Green, City Hall, Hackensack, MN 56452.

Signed:
    Bob Crom
    Chair, Advisory Committee

DID YOU MISS WELL WATER TESTING DAY?

By the time this Newsletter reaches you, Well Water Testing Day (July 12) will have come and gone. We hope there will have been wide participation, as the tests are an important indicator for all of us of the health of the groundwater throughout our lake shore, and an important way for you to ensure the health and safety of your family=s drinking water.

If you were unable to have your water tested on July 12, you can still get your water tested, though it may not be quite as convenient as the service TMLA provides. The County's Department of Environmental Services does water testing on Wednesdays and Thursdays. You will need to go to the County building in Walker to pick up a test kit, and then, after following the directions with the kit, return with a water sample for testing. The cost will be $20 (the same cost as through TMLA). You can call the Department of Environmental Services at 218-547-7241 for more information.