Crestline Soaring Society

The CSS Board met this past weekend and we are excited about the development of the X-Country Ranch and the future of the CSS in this regard. Please see the minutes from the meeting at http://www.crestlinesoaring.org/2010_feb_special_meeting_minutes .

Many of you will recall that back in 2006, while the developer was pressing ahead with plans to develop the property to our east; the Ranch property to our north came up for sale. There were at least three bidders: the developer; a lady who wanted to plant an orchard; and pilots Len and Owen. Fortunately for us, Len and Owen were the successful purchasers. Our approach has been protected, our water supply increased, the fence between the properties and the 'paragliding eating tree' are gone, and now the Big O project is in mid-flight.

It is almost election time for the 2010 Board. There will be vacancies for several key positions and all positions are open for nominations. Please let me (president at crestlinesoaring.org), or any Board member know if you are interested in standing for election.

The official position descriptions for each Board member can be found at: http://www.crestlinesoaring.org/css_constitution_march_2005 .

2008-11-08 Meeting Minutes posted.

- Approval of Minutes from Spring Meeting
- Officer Reports
- Update on Development Activity
- Request from EHGA
- Open Floor
- Nominating Committee
- Close

The City of San Bernardino Planning Commission will consider the University Hills development project at their Nov 5 meeting (Agenda page).

At this point the proposal is unchanged, despite almost 300 letters from the Hang Gliding Community.

This will be an open, public meeting at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.

After years of working with the developer, and some helpful modifications along the way, the Draft Environmental Impact Review is out for the proposed development next door. There are still houses planned right in the approach. According to the review that would have "no significant impact". I suppose that's correct if you don't count hitting a house on your downwind.

Public comment runs through Sept 15 and we would like to ask each of you to write a letter of comment and help preserve our site. We've drafted some sample letters, but they're just a start point. Write of how the site affects you; your first flight, the times you've spent here, the international reputation of Andy Jackson. Please ask the city to keep homes out of the approach and have the airspace dedicated to the Department of Water Resources. They own the land we lease for the LZ and are tied to us through the licensing of the Devil's Canyon project.

I have it on good authority that Mike Z and Joel were the weed whacking party and that each worked for many, many hours to clear the site.
Give them a hand and a big THANK YOU next time you see them.


- Alan

CSS Volunteers rebuilt the stairs at Crestline launch today (6/21), and replaced the sign posts and a couple of timbers in the wall for good measure!

Big "Thank you"s to the work party crew: Rob (who also donated rides to Crestline), Rebar Dan (who also donated rebar :-), Kenny & Megret (who brought along tools, snacks and water, and little helpers), Dusty (more tools and a trusty new post), Mike B (who single-handedly cleared all the weeds from launch), Ken H, Tom S and Chris VV, and Mike Z (who did most of the organizing, preparing, rounding up materials and trucking for this event).

Enjoy the Graduation/Father's Day weekend and plan on a work party next Saturday, June 21.

The stairs at the Crestline launch need to be rebuilt after 25 years of use, abuse and finally some vandals in a vehicle.

Meet at the LZ at 9:00 and Rob has offered a ride/work/fly package. Bring your gloves (the stairs are railroad ties). Shovels and crowbars might be handy.

Thanks,

- Alan

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Not only was the Andy Jackson Memorial Fly-In on September 15 a great day of food, fun and flying; but it was also a financial success for the club. Thanks to generosity of the pilots and raffle sponsors, and Dianne and her team serving up the food; we made over $1,000 for the club.

I'd like to recognize and thank the sponsors who made the raffle possible:

Atmosphere Paragliding
Flytec
High Adventure

The CSS has established an account to benefit Alex Hurtado's family.

The account is at the Wescom Credit Union (Ontario Branch). Account number 752024.

Donations can be made at any branch of the Wescom Credit Union (www.wescom.org) or send them to CSS and we'll get them deposited.

Checks should be made out to "Memorial Fund for Alex Hurtado".
Address:
C.S.S.
PO Box 9052
San Bernardino CA 92427-9052

I was looking at last year's blog entries and saw we had just broken the 140 membership mark on July 1, 2006. This year we are doing even better with 156 memberships received and processed by July 1!

All the improvements at the airpark are making it even a better place to train and fly. Memberships are the principle source of revenue for operations and improvements so if you are loving that green lawn, the cleared approach, the new training hill, etc., please show your support by becoming a member.

Well the old blog was looking a bit empty so here is a bit of news to brighten your day.

Membership processing of renewals and new members is going well. Dianne and I have processed member #101!

If you have yet to renew, remember, your membership expired on May 31. Time for that new (and very sharp looking) membership card.

Alan