By Dick Hurwitz – Lake Management Committee

That time of year again—late in December.
My time to resolve (and then to remember)
To do those things which in my mind
Will improve the world and humankind.

Some resolutions I’ll keep to myself—
Better they stay on my private shelf.
And others would not interest you much,
They relate to my family, my friends and such.

But two I’ll share for our village’s sake;
They concern our greatest resource—our lake.
So here they are, presented in rhyme
With the hope that when you have some time
You’ll make “love the lake” resolutions of your own
And the seeds of a healthier lake will be sown.

One
If against farmland runoff we shall ever make progress
We need to move members of our Ohio congress.
So my first resolution to make the lake better
Is to write each of my reps a well worded letter
That asks them to support any proposed legislation
Seeking to regulate farmers’ use of fertilization
In the watershed that feeds our Roaming Rock Lake.
How much time could that letter writing take?

Two
If you haven’t heard yet, you may hear it soon—
No, not the latest pop hit from I-Tune,
But a plan from the Lake Management Committee
For better testing to keep our lake healthy and pretty.
My resolution is to get involved with this plan
To learn, to get trained, to do what I can.
I’ll watch for info in the news and website
And jump in when it’s time to do what is right.

So there you have it—my two for “The Shores.”
Consider these and others, and make them yours.

By: Tim Langer – Lake Management Committee

This time of year allows me to reflect on the past year of the many great memories we each create here in Roaming Shores. Whether it’s jumping from a floating dock at one of the beaches, paddling your cardboard boat to victory, watching the wonderful fireworks over Beach 2 or laughing with neighbors while the sun sets behind the trees.   I give great Thanks to those committee members whom have donated precious hours to help better our community and lake through the Lake Management Committee. I urge others to consider getting involved with the Lake Management Committee and sharing your skills and talents in the coming year. From your RomeRock Association Lake Management Committee, we wish you a very HAPPY, MERRY and SAFE Holiday Season.

Remember to Love the Lake and Be Lake Responsible

By: Tim Langer – Lake Management Committee

Fall in Northeast Ohio offers many beautiful and vibrant colors along the tree line. Often those colors create a scene that could easily be mistaken for paint on a canvas. Soon those beautiful colors paint the ground and so begins the yearly labors of picking up leaves before the first snow blows.

Some residents may be inclined to simply blow their leaves into the lake or culverts. When leaves are blown into the lake, the leaves accumulate on the water surface, especially in the backs of coves and along certain areas of our shoreline. As the leaves begin to decompose, the leaves will accumulate on the lake bottom around docks and places where people swim and fish.   The decomposition of the leaves is what eats up dissolved oxygen (DO), which degrades water quality. It makes for a very rotten, squishy, unpleasant lake bottom.

The decomposition of those leaves in the lake contributes to;

• The depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO).
• Nutrient overloading, which later leads to algae blooms.
• Filling in of lake and cove areas.

What YOU can do:

• Not blow leaves or grass clippings into the culverts, street or lake.
• Mulch your leaves when mowing. Mowing more often will make it easier on you and allow your mulching mower to do the hard work. Think of the mulched leaves as tea leaves. When they are mulched into small pieces, the nutrients can be extracted much easier by water or rain and feed the soil reducing the need to use commercial fertilizer. And it’s free!
• Bag your leaves each fall before they blow into the lake.
• USE our COMPOST SITE. This is a great Roaming Shores resource!

With the help of all our residents and continuing to act a stewards of Lake Roaming Rock, our combined efforts will continue to maintain and improve our water quality.

Remember to Love the Lake and Be Lake Responsible

by Tim Langer – Lake Management Committee
Over the past year you may have noticed a number of articles in the Shores News and the weekly E-Blasts, which have a “Love the Lake” logo. Residents like you who volunteer their talents to the Lake Management Committee for the betterment of our community write those articles. We continue our mission to work to connect our community by 1) raising awareness about important issues, 2) offering good science based information, and 3) offering some easy ways to improve our community. 24 article and 2 seasonal brochures is an excellent start. THANK YOU to each of you who volunteer your talents in one-way or another!

Lake Roaming Rock is not public, so it is up to us the owners and residents of Roaming Shores to be responsible. We are the primary stewards of our great natural resource and our private ownership and access to Lake Roaming Rock does create its own challenges. Our goal is to continue to role out programs to help residents actively manage their properties both on lake and off. Please help us work together to protect our water for our enjoyment and that of future generations.

When you see “Love the Lake” articles and programs, we encourage you to participate. It is our hope that if we all contribute to the health of Lake Roaming Rock, our community will thrive. Please contact me (TimattheShores@gmail.com) if you would like to get involved, contribute or suggest an article, help with a program or have any questions. It is important that we all be responsible to help keep our lake and community beautiful.

Remember to Love the Lake and BE LAKE RESPONSIBLE.