4th OF JULY OLD FASHIONED PICNIC

11A - 5P at the lodge/pool. $15 for adults, $12 for kiddos. Burgers and dogs, desserts, etc. Kid games. RSVP to Pam Chandler by the 30th or sign up at pool.

KEYPAD

Keypad access codes are about to go away with the keypad itself July 31st. This is to improve security. Have visitors use the attended gate. Use the gate pass to get in yourself. Contact Pam Chandler for more.

RAY WARE R I P

The cheerful 'face' of Spanish Oaks Sales circa 2004, has passed away. Ray was a good salesman, full of enthusiasm and likability.

Raymond M. Ware, 59, passed away on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at the home of his sister in Pittsburg, TX after a 3 1/2 year battle with brain cancer. Ray was born in Ypsilanti, MI on June 18, 1951 to Delores and Raymond Ware. He graduated from the University of Toledo in 1974 and began a long career in men's retail with J. Riggings menswear in St. Louis, MO. In 1990, Ray moved his family to Hilton Head Island to realize a lifelong dream of owning his own retail business. He owned and operated a small chain of shoe stores, known locally as Shoes, Etc., for 10 years. In 2001, he embarked on a new career in real estate development which took him to Austin, TX, Las Vegas, NV and Steamboat Springs, CO. He returned to Hilton Head Island in 2007 to be closer to his family after being diagnosed with cancer. Ray is survived by his two children, Tanner M. Ware of Hilton Head Island and Caitlin J. Ware of Des Moines, IA; his sister and brother-in-law, Pamela and Jerry Goforth of Pittsburg, TX; his nephew, Todd Goforth and family of Plano, TX; his former wife, Kathleen Ware of Hilton Head Island and his beloved Golden Retriever, Lucy. Memorial services will be held at the end of the month in Plano, TX. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Ray's name to Texas Home Health Hospice, 500 E. Loop 281, Longview, TX 75605 or the RET Pediatric Cancer Foundation, 14 Wells East, Hilton Head Island, SC, 29926.

TRAFFIC LIGHT EAST ENTRANCE

Yes! Finally! Bookending this picture you can see poles upon which we believe we will eventually see our own dedicated traffic light. To the right of the exit (not pictured) you will see a pad which I believe will be for the control box. Of course there's a lot of bulldozing to be done before the north lanes are completed.

Speaking of exits, there's a protocol at the east exit which only some "get" and that's the first car there, waiting for a pause in the traffic to exit, should not be blocked by the second car, even if it's turning the opposite direction. Too often, an SUV will pull up alongside cutting off your view of traffic. Please?

SIGN

I never understood why Discovery took down the sign at the east entrance. Being 'unlisted' is perhaps more exclusive, but how are you going to get people to know where it IS? Also, the SPANISH OAKS CLUB BOULEVARD street sign gave it/us away. For my money, Discovery should spell their name Duh-scovery.

But these are brighter days, indeed, as we are once again in the Daniel Porter years.

MUCH TRAFFIC AT OPEN HOUSES

The first of monthly open houses under renewed Daniel Porter management appeared to be quite a success as we saw more traffic at our end of the neighborhood than EVER. There was a nice display ad in the paper, too, perhaps the reason for the activity.

Telling: we know several of those with homes for sale are simply selling to build elsewhere within Spanish Oaks.

Having visitors enter from the west entrance was a good call for a better impression, given the road construction at the east side.

As for Highway 71, work progresses on the north side of the bridge and lanes and the projected August completion seems impossible, but then we don't drive earth movers!