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Hontoon Island February, 2008 Newsletter

CSO
Our next CSO meeting will be Sunday Feb 17th at 12:30 at the park. Bring food for a covered dish lunch after the meeting. You do not have to be a CSO member to attend. Come and have fun. Maybe you will want to join the CSO. Many exciting things happened at the park this past year. Our Board officers for this year are:
Jim Read – President, Lowell Moore – Vice President, Jean Fletcher – Secretary, Joanne Schlienz – Treasurer.

New board walk

Work has started on the new quarter mile handicapped accessible boardwalk. The CSO donated several thousand dollars to purchase the lumber. Rangers and volunteers have been working hard to build this through a beautiful shady section of the island.

New Swing set

Wow! It is bright blue, sleek, strong, and cool looking. Hontoon Island has a new swing set. The CSO donated nine thousand dollars for this important upgrade. If you spend much time at Hontoon Island you will soon see that the playground and swing set in the picnic area are some of our most popular facilities. Children and their families just love to play.

New Dock for the Limpkin and vehicle barge
Those of you familiar with the workings of the park know that we have two barges used to bring heavy cargo and vehicles over to the island when necessary. One cargo barge is named The Limpkin after the brown spotted water bird that appears to walk a bit funny. The next time you are at the park be sure to ask Dick, Cheryl, JR, Mike, or Jim why the barge is named for this strange bird. The other vehicle barge appears to have no name. We probably need to have a contest to name the barge. Who wants to head up the contest? Contact Lowell Moore at Lowell.A.Moore@gmail.com
The barges used to dock at a wooden landing over by the parking lot on the mainland. That wooden landing had rotted pretty badly over the years. In fact it rotted so badly that the landing was beginning to erode. When you visit the park you will see the wonderful new concrete docking area. Several heavy vehicles have been moved on the barge using the new dock. Once again, volunteers played an important part in the work. A Stetson University fraternity came over and spread much of the sand that was later compacted to make a hard surface the vehicles can drive on.

Welcome to Hontoon Island’s Newest Ranger

Cheryl Potts is the mother of three teenagers. She has been in the park service for seven years. Most of that time she was at Blue Spring State Park. She came to Hontoon Island on December 1, 2007. She is also a full time student t Daytona Beach Community College where she is studying for a degree in physical therapy. She has been a superb addition to the park staff. It is great to have her on board.

Prescribed burns
Burn baby burn! Do you remember the dark ages when we used to think fire in the forest was a bad thing? Now everyone knows that fire is an important part of having a healthy ecosystem. Prescribed burns get rid of excess dry brush and undergrowth that can cause accidental fires to become destructive. We had a couple of prescribed burns on the island this year. Thanks to the great work of our park manager, rangers, and rangers from other parks all went well. An added benefit was that our park Biologist was able to come out after the fires and easily count gopher tortoise holes hidden before the fires. She found quite a few. Good news!

Bears
We had the three bears on the island this summer and fall. Yes, it was papa, mama, and baby bear. Mama and baby paid us a visit over the summer and Papa came to see us a couple of times in the fall and winter. All were a little hungry and found the park’s garbage very attractive. Thanks to the vigilant work of our rangers there were no huge problems. A couple of folks got terrific pictures.

Boat clubs – Central Florida, Regal
The Central Florida Boat Club and the Regal Boat club had great outings at the park this year. The food was great! These are just of few of many organizations that find the island a great place to hang out, kick back, and have fun.

St. Johns River Boat Parade
The Hontoon Island parking lot is a perfect spot to watch the annual St. Johns River Boat Parade. This past year over 300 folks got a great view of the brightly decorated boats. Mike Hayes and several CSO members were selling hot chocolate, cider and coffee to raise money for the park. Our Park Manager, Mike Hayes, is serving on the parade committee which has been a DeLand tradition for the past 43 years. Community involvement such as this makes Hontoon Island a vital part of our local culture.

Concrete for new walk way to restrooms in picnic area has been delivered and the work will begin soon.

February 2008 Newsletter < Hontoon Island February, 2008 Newsletter CSO Our next CSO meeting will be Sunday Feb 17th at 12:30 at the park. Bring food for a covered dish lunch after the meeting. You do not have to be a CSO member to attend. Come and have fun. Maybe you will want to join the CSO. Many exciting things happened at the park this past year. Our Board officers for this year are: Jim Read – President, Lowell Moore – Vice President, Jean Fletcher – Secretary, Joanne Schlienz – Treasurer. New board walk Work has started on the new quarter mile handicapped accessible boardwalk. The CSO donated several thousand dollars to purchase the lumber. Rangers and volunteers have been working hard to build this through a beautiful shady section of the island. New Swing set Wow! It is bright blue, sleek, strong, and cool looking. Hontoon Island has a new swing set. The CSO donated nine thousand dollars for this important upgrade. If you spend much time at Hontoon Island you will soon see that the playground and swing set in the picnic area are some of our most popular facilities. Children and their families just love to play. New Dock for the Limpkin and vehicle barge Those of you familiar with the workings of the park know that we have two barges used to bring heavy cargo and vehicles over to the island when necessary. One cargo barge is named The Limpkin after the brown spotted water bird that appears to walk a bit funny. The next time you are at the park be sure to ask Dick, Cheryl, JR, Mike, or Jim why the barge is named for this strange bird. The other vehicle barge appears to have no name. We probably need to have a contest to name the barge. Who wants to head up the contest? Contact Lowell Moore at Lowell.A.Moore@gmail.com The barges used to dock at a wooden landing over by the parking lot on the mainland. That wooden landing had rotted pretty badly over the years. In fact it rotted so badly that the landing was beginning to erode. When you visit the park you will see the wonderful new concrete docking area. Several heavy vehicles have been moved on the barge using the new dock. Once again, volunteers played an important part in the work. A Stetson University fraternity came over and spread much of the sand that was later compacted to make a hard surface the vehicles can drive on. Welcome to Hontoon Island’s Newest Ranger Cheryl Potts is the mother of three teenagers. She has been in the park service for seven years. Most of that time she was at Blue Spring State Park. She came to Hontoon Island on December 1, 2007. She is also a full time student t Daytona Beach Community College where she is studying for a degree in physical therapy. She has been a superb addition to the park staff. It is great to have her on board. Prescribed burns Burn baby burn! Do you remember the dark ages when we used to think fire in the forest was a bad thing? Now everyone knows that fire is an important part of having a healthy ecosystem. Prescribed burns get rid of excess dry brush and undergrowth that can cause accidental fires to become destructive. We had a couple of prescribed burns on the island this year. Thanks to the great work of our park manager, rangers, and rangers from other parks all went well. An added benefit was that our park Biologist was able to come out after the fires and easily count gopher tortoise holes hidden before the fires. She found quite a few. Good news! Bears We had the three bears on the island this summer and fall. Yes, it was papa, mama, and baby bear. Mama and baby paid us a visit over the summer and Papa came to see us a couple of times in the fall and winter. All were a little hungry and found the park’s garbage very attractive. Thanks to the vigilant work of our rangers there were no huge problems. A couple of folks got terrific pictures. Boat clubs – Central Florida, Regal The Central Florida Boat Club and the Regal Boat club had great outings at the park this year. The food was great! These are just of few of many organizations that find the island a great place to hang out, kick back, and have fun. St. Johns River Boat Parade The Hontoon Island parking lot is a perfect spot to watch the annual St. Johns River Boat Parade. This past year over 300 folks got a great view of the brightly decorated boats. Mike Hayes and several CSO members were selling hot chocolate, cider and coffee to raise money for the park. Our Park Manager, Mike Hayes, is serving on the parade committee which has been a DeLand tradition for the past 43 years. Community involvement such as this makes Hontoon Island a vital part of our local culture. Concrete for new walk way to restrooms in picnic area has been delivered and the work will begin soon.
New Boardwalk in Progress