Ladies Meeting Held

The Taylor's opened their home to the ladies of LaFayette Ridge Tuesday night. Several items were discussed including the annual neighborhood cookout(s), yard sales, Christmas party and decorations, neighborhood concerns and more.

A tentative date of May 1st has been established for a spring cookout/ice cream social at Ms. Emma's house. A family night and/or game night is in the works and more fun events will be planned.

Tidbits discussed at the meeting:
1. Please remember to watch your speed coming down the hill. We have more young kids in the neighborhood now and several dogs that get out on occasion. In the 13 years our neighborhood has been there 2 dogs have been hit. Our street is not that great a distance. Please slow down.
2. Trash at the entrance and thrown out cigarette butts are showing up more. Maria cleans up the entrance most mornings. Please put your trash in proper containers.
3. Vandalism: Nothing has occurred of late. However, be aware that Walton Co. schools will be out the week of February 14th.

Thanks Maria for the hospitality.

Our Experience at the Yellow River Game Ranch

Before the chaos began

A wild coyote, loose from his enclosure, chased us down and bit my 3-year-old niece in the thumb. This may sound like a new movie or a line from an exciting book - but it really happened to us at the Yellow River Game Ranch this morning.

My niece Cameron spent Tuesday night with us and I thought it would be a great idea to take her to the Game Ranch before she went home Wednesday afternoon. We arrived a few minutes early and chatted up the staff before entering with the excitement of seeing wild animals up close and personal. We didn't anticipate the adventure that we would encounter, however.

After feeding the coyotes and making our way towards another exhibit, we spotted a loose coyote making his way near us. Before we knew it, he was right behind us. He wasn't acting strangely, so we threw a cracker his way. That was a mistake. He bit Cameron's thumb and nearly pulled her down by biting her jacket. With her screaming and crying, I threw down the rest of our crackers (4 full sleeves), picked her up and ran with him chasing after us the entire way. He followed us all the way to the entrance door.

After washing, cleaning and sanitizing the wound, Cameron was offered any toy in the store and a sucker. Her thumb is okay and there was no blood, luckily. She'll be checked out by her doctor in McDonough today. But the surprising fact was that the owners told us that "someone broke in last night and let some of the animals out." How were we ever allowed to enter without the animals being secure?

We were so glad to get in the car and go home. Now I can only hope that Cameron's mom and dad will allow her to come visit Aunt La-La and Uncle Jimbo again.

UPDATE: The coyote was captured and put down by Gwinnett County Animal Control. The CDC is investigating.

Neighbor Asks Others to Please Slow Down

LaFayette Ridge neighbors are asked to remain mindful of the speed in which we travel in and out of the neighborhood. This reminder comes after the Whaley's dog was struck by a car on Tuesday morning.

Dexter said, "This morning our cocker, Prissy, was hit by a vehicle leaving the neighborhood about 7:10, when she was let her out to do her morning business. Janet took her to the vet and fortunately she will be ok. I just want to remind everyone that we do live in a neighborhood and we should be aware of our speed as we go in and out of the neighborhood no matter what time of day."

Ladies Night Out

The LaFayette Ridge Ladies Night Out is set for Tuesday, Jan. 26. The meeting will be held at Maria's house and will begin at 7:30p.m. Maria will have drinks and a few munchies available, but feel free to bring something to share.

Hope to see you on Tuesday!

Soup Night

LaFayette Ridge's Sandy Walsh, a member of Saint Oliver Plunkett Catholic Church in Snellville, heads up Spice People - an organization within the church that focuses on outreach efforts via food, cooking, demonstration events. The church will host Soup Night on Saturday, Jan. 30th at 6 p.m.

Here's the info from Sandy:

"The weather outside is freezing, but inside the Spice People are busy heating up the kitchen! What could be better on a cold, cold winter night than a bowl of hot, steaming homemade soup.

Cathy Hedges, local chef of much note (Dinner Club, Newcomers Club) will be our guest chef and will demonstrate soup making techniques that will make you a Food Network Star in your own kitchen!

Some of our featured recipes include:
Italian Sausage and potato soup, Angry Sweet Potato Soup, Taco Fiesta Soup, Fr. Neils Special Soup, Native American Chicken wild rice soup, Sauerkraut Soup, Corn chowder, Potato and Leek Soup, Cheddar Chablis Soup, Oatmeal Soup, Avocado Soup, and High Test Bean Soup

In addition there will be plenty of yummy garnishes, hot breads and a bevy of incredible desserts.
You won't go away empty handed either. We will provide you with a booklet of all of these grand recipes including the breads and desserts.

As usual, reservations are needed and space is very limited for this one. Email or call with the number in your party now."

Contact Sandy for more info.

New Christmas Decorations Purchased

New Christmas decorations were purchased with La Fayette Ridge HOA funds recently. The decorations used at our annual Christmas party are 12+ years old. A few new items were purchased for future events and cost less than $30. We'll still incorporate the old decorations, if needed.

See Paul for a full report of HOA funds and expenditures.

Snow Day

LaFayette Ridge was dusted with a light layer of snow and ice Thursday evening. Schools are closed so get out and enjoy it!

The neighborhood entrance

LaFayette Ridge Snow

Johnson Road covered in snow and ice

More Snow

Snow On The Way?

AJC headline: "Atlanta Colder Than Alaska"
Taken from www.ajc.com

Atlantans awakened to weather colder than Alaska and Quebec Wednesday, and by late Thursday, there could be a dusting of snow to go along with those frigid temperatures.

The morning low of 19 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was a full 10 degrees colder than the 29 degrees reported in Anchorage. It was also colder than Quebec City's 25, Montreal's 22 and Buffalo's overnight low of 20.

The latest forecast from the National Weather Service is for precipitation to begin by Thursday afternoon across northwest and west-central Georgia, then spread across the remainder of north and central Georgia during the afternoon hours and continue into Thursday night.

Forecasters said preliminary indications were that 1 to 2 inches of snow could accumulate across the north Georgia mountains, with up to an inch possible north of a line from Columbus to Washington – an area that includes all of metro Atlanta.

The Weather Service said snowfall amounts could be affected by two factors: the exact path of a low-pressure system expected to develop in the Gulf of Mexico and how warm temperatures get before the arrival of the snow.

The chance of snow is 60 percent on Thursday and 40 percent Thursday night. Highs Thursday should be in the upper 30s, but overnight lows near 20 degrees are predicted.