Neighborhood Watch Start-Up Meeting Saturday, March 23, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. (Association Clubhouse)

Citizen involvement is essential to combat crime. Neighborhood Watch is a crime prevention program that promotes cooperation between citizens and law enforcement to reduce crime in their communities. Laguna Hills Police Services will be presenting information to the Nellie Gail Ranch community on Saturday, March 23, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. at the Association Clubhouse. The presentation will include an overview of what it takes to start and participate in an effective Neighborhood Watch program. Effective crime prevention techniques will also be presented. Homeowners will be encouraged to participate, get to know their neighbors better, and volunteer to be Neighborhood Watch Block Captains. Below is a link to additional information. Please plan to attend this important community meeting and select the RSVP link so we can know how many to plan for!

https://www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/1106/Starting-a-Neighborhood-Watch

RSVP HERE

Nellie Gail Ranch Security Update

The Board President has a meeting scheduled next week with the Laguna Hills Chief of Police to discuss recent break-ins and community concerns. In follow up to this meeting Board Members will meet with the Security Committee to discuss what opportunities may be available for Nellie Gail Ranch and its homeowners to assist the police in effectively deterring criminal activity. These two meetings are in preparation for review by the Board at its March 19th meeting. The Saturday following the Board Meeting, the above-referenced Neighborhood Watch meeting will take place. The most recent Neighborhood Watch presentation was held at the Association Clubhouse April 26, 2017, with 30 homeowners attending. We are seeking an increased participation commitment to really kick off the program this time. Please plan to attend and participate in this meeting.

March Pony Express

Read the March issue of the PonyExpress HERE before it hits your mailbox.

How Can You Protect Yourself From Property Crime? 

Criminals are looking for an easy opportunity with the lowest risk; if you provide it, they will take it! These simple preventative steps can go a long way toward eliminating crimes of opportunity and reducing the frequency of burglaries and thefts in our community.

If you see something suspicious, call immediately so we can act fast. The longer you wait, the harder it is to catch the criminal.

  • Persons loitering in the neighborhood – in a vehicle or on foot.
  • Persons and/or vehicles in the same location for a long or unusual period of time.
  • Persons carrying or concealing something suspicious.
  • Persons peering into cars.
  • Valuables being removed from home or vehicle.
  • Strange vehicles parked at the neighbors home.
  • Light or flashlights in homes while neighbors are away.
  • Suspicious sounds such as breaking glass, alarms, screaming, loud bangs, or gunshots.
  • Prying, pounding or forcing sounds.

Fiddleneck – Poisonous Plant Toxic to Horses  

While this time of year brings lush green hills to the Nellie Gail Ranch community and Equestrian Center, please be aware of the potentially toxic plants that are often lurking among the tall grass. Fiddleneck is one of the many plants that can be toxic to horses and has been seen throughout the hills behind the Equestrian Center and around the community.

Nellie Gail Ranch open space is maintained in a natural state other than annual efforts to perform weed abatement late spring. Horses and pets should not be permitted to graze on Association trails or slopes. Homeowners will also want to monitor what is growing on their open space private property as well.

Please take a minute to select the below link from ucdavis.edu and read the article about Fiddleneck and inspect any areas before you allow your horse to graze to avoid ingestion.

Fiddleneck Information

Happy Valentine’s Day

We wish all of our Nellie Gail Ranch homeowners a Happy Valentine’s Day. We hope you enjoyed the time with someone special in your life. For those of you who have attended our Wine and Chocolate tasting event in the past, we regret we could not host it this year due to Clubhouse construction. We are in the planning stages of an event to celebrate Grand Re-opening of the Clubhouse and look forward to getting back on track in February 2020 with more wine and more chocolate!

Trail Grading / Rain Maintenance

It’s a very busy time for our trail maintenance vendor Boulder Earthwork. Following each rain, they clear mud and debris from the street that has washed off the trails. Then they evaluate the sandbags and replace or adjust as necessary. After that the v-ditches and catch basins are cleared to be ready for the next rain. Then after the sun returns and the trails dry, the weeds begin to grow and Boulder grades the ruts and weeds out of the trails. This cycle repeats throughout our 25 miles of trails each rain event throughout winter and spring.

Thank you for your patience, it does take time to get to all the trails, especially when it rains weekly as it has so far this year. Boulder has a route of priority areas that we know to look for right after heavy rains but if you are out and about on the trails and see anything that needs to be addressed, please text a photo and location to us at 949-933-8546 and we will be sure to inspect and address as needed.

Vacation Home Safety and Security Tip

Laguna Hills Police Services reports that a recent break-in appears to have been targeted as a result of trash containers being left on the street in front of the home several days after trash pick-up. This tip-off that someone may not be home resulted in a break-in and theft. Police Services requests we remind Nellie Gail Ranch homeowners to bring in their trash cans promptly and have someone pick up newspapers or flyers daily if you are going to be out of town.

This link has other tips to prevent crime:
http://www.ocsd.org/documents/sheriff/staysafe/StaySafeOCBrochureOutreach_PR.pdf

And remember, if you see anything suspicious please call 911 if an emergency or Sheriff Dispatch at 949-770-6011.

Sand Footing Available

In order to continue to provide the best footing possible in our Equestrian Center arenas, we are happy to announce that we have removed and replaced the sand footing in the Lower Arena Dressage Court!

Please contact us if you would like to have some or all of the footing we removed for your home arena. We are giving the sand away and only ask that you arrange transport. We have approximately 80 yards available on a first come, first serve basis. If you are interested in taking some, please contact Equestrian Center Manager Charee Jones at 949-371-1595 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday 7 am-12 pm.

Pony Club Horsemasters

The South OC Pony Club is open to Nellie Gail Ranch homeowners and Nellie Gail Ranch Equestrian Center Boarders. The South OC Pony Club is excited to announce adult horse lovers can become a Horsemaster member in Pony Club here at the Nellie Gail Ranch Equestrian Center!

If you are over the age of 18, come out and enjoy the fun and excitement of learning new horse sports such as Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, Hunter Seat Equitation, and Western. While some Horsemasters choose to work towards and gain certification, others simply enjoy the opportunity to learn while they enjoy riding with fellow equestrians. No prior horse experience is necessary! If you don’t currently own a horse, you may still participate in non-mounted meetings to learn about how to properly care for a horse.

Please HERE for more information on youth and adult programming.