The wetlands trade off project with VDOT for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project should be well underway as you read this. The noticeable portion should be completed without delay. Construction of the offload bulkhead, canoe ramp and plantings will extend into next year. This year's road paving should also be behind us. Road striping will commence as soon as weather and scheduling permit. This should cause little disruption as it's done during the day and quite quickly. Should you happen upon it please avoid driving over the freshly painted lines.

Hurricane Isabel really made a mark on the community. Numerous areas and homes were flooded, trees downed and the power off for what seemed forever. Kudos to the many good neighbors who assisted others by taking victims in, assisting neighbors with tree removal and hauling debris to the landfill. Several brave heroes spent the night on the docks and probably saved us the loss of the A Dock and potentially some boats. We were very fortunate in that there were no known storm caused injuries or worse. There is concern about possible damage to the bridge and it's underpinnings. We are looking at having an engineering firm that specializes in bridge inspections look at the bridge. Such a look is probably overdue just from an age standpoint.

The Harbour Inn has a new roof on the upper flat portion. In addition to the new state of the art surface additional insulation was added. Timing was excellent as the hurricane drove a considerable quantity of water under the old membrane. We were able to let it dry and no new sheeting was required. If we had waited until next year the repair could have been much more extensive and expensive. The work on the Marina bathrooms is moving along and should be complete in about 30 days.

In addition to the other complications wrought by the hurricane it's delayed our storage lot behind the stables as Dominion Virginia Power is behind schedule installing the lighting. Hopefully, this will take place this month and we can get the fencing in. As this newsletter goes to press new floor covering for the country club is scheduled to be installed. It should really add a touch of class.

The board of directors is meeting regularly with the rescue squad officers in an attempt to assist them in moving along with plans for expansion. Who knows? It may not be too long until we have a full fire and rescue company on our doorstep. Along these lines our new Chief of Police is leading a fund drive to buy a defibrillator to carry in our primary police car. So far the Men's Golf Club and a golf tournament have raised over $1,000 and additional pledges are coming in.

A big thanks to the volunteers who have been working steadily at improving our athletic fields. This past month they have spread over 40 tons of dirt.

Tip of the month. Numerous residents report they are discovering termites. They're silent and insidious. The treatment done in conjunction with building a new home only lasts 5-7 years at best. If appropriate consider retreatment or bait stations. Ignoring this could be very costly.