March Fox Talk
Digest
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 2 2001
Deadline for Submissions:
1st of each month
Editors: Maurice & Ruth Dean
147 Foxboro Drive

http://www.geocities.com/foxtalkbackissues/bann01.gif

Articles:
Homeowners Association
Grounds

Events:
Calendar
Upcoming Events
Past Events

Social:
Woodworkers
Care Committee
Eye Surgery
Recipe

Notices:
Missing
PRODUCT ALERT
SURVEY

March Musings

Well here we are, it's already March. Where did the winter go? In the interest of keeping everybody well informed, we note that the January thaw was a bit late and quite inadequate for the accumulated snow. It was enough, however, to provide some enjoyment for those who like bailing and also provided an opportunity to test sump pumps and the waterproofing of basement walls.

It was rumored that the "wood workers" group were contemplating building an ark. The plan was put on hold when the thaw ended so quickly and, it was found, that Home Depot didn't have any ark building instructions. It is understood as the "ark" was a non-starter that the idea of initiating a Foxboro Green Regatta was, if you will pardon the expression, floated. Not along the lines of Henley of course but, as we do have a fine pond and a number of residents who own boats, there is a possibility of a good show. After all the pond is underutilized in the summer although it appears to be used extensively for skating, curling and shinnying in the winter.

The proposed regatta would not be for power boats. Only sail, rowing and paddle boats would be eligible for the competitions. The water-skiing events, which might appear in the advertising poster, would only be held in one direction, with the flow you might say, as getting up to speed against the flow could prove difficult for some of our residents.

That brings up the suggestion made some time ago for the "gondola". It too appears to be a non-starter. We can't understand that, as we have some fine singers in our midst.

A new possibility as a replacement for the, soon to be history, Presentation Centre is the acquisition of the "Chip Wagon" which is for sale in St Agatha. Many residents have undoubtedly noticed, and dare we say coveted, this opportunity. While we may have to start with the inscribed menu of Fries, Hot Dogs, and Burgers it seems to us that we have many gourmet, and would be, gourmet chefs in our midst. It is possible we could make this into a real dining experience. Open only in the summer of course. We'll have more help then, and although we haven't really tried it, eating at a picnic table in winter is probably a bit much even if you don't have to worry about the bugs.

Community Calendar

March 2001
Wed. 14th Canada Blooms
Mon. 12th 7:00 p.m. Brd. of Management Mtg.
Sat. 17th St. Patrick's Celebration

April 2001
Fri. 6th 4:30 p.m. Happy Hour
Wed. 18th 1:30 p.m. Alberto's Beauty Afternoon
Fri. 27th Wellness Day

Upcoming Special Events
Secretary-Marg Macdonald
Canada Blooms
Wednesday March 14th

We have 29 residents signed up to spend the day seeing the best of Canada's flowers, getting ideas and soaking up the scents. Wireton Willie says spring in 2 weeks. I think he must have meant if you go to Canada Blooms because it sure looks like a long time to spring with the weather we're getting! There's still time to put your name on the list. Those who have signed up, please get your money to Marg Macdonald before March 9th.

St Patrick's Celebration
Saturday March 17th

Have you signed up yet? This is one of the most popular events of the year. The Salons ring with song and before that with animated conversation as we dig into Irish Stew imported in from the Irish Capital of Waterloo Region, Kennedy's. We all get to sing. Tom Nairn leads us in McNamara's Band and the Irish Lullaby and many others. See you there.

Alberto's Beauty Afternoon
April 18th - 1:30 p.m. in Salons A & B

Alberto promises to get us beautiful for the spring. He and his cosmetologist will give us invaluable tips. Someone will get their hair coiffed and maybe someone else will get made-up.
More detail in March.

Foxboro Green: Wellness Day Program Friday April 27th The Care Committees are very pleased with the quality of the program arranged for our "Wellness Day 2001". We begin the day with Rob Donaldson of St. Mary's Hospital Foundation. He will kick off the day with an overview of the health care services in the Waterloo Region with explanations of the division of services between Grand River and St. Mary's. Neil Davidson (Chief Fire Prevention Officer) of the Wilmot Fire Department will review with us all aspects of fire safety in our homes. In the afternoon, Nancy Murray of the Community Care Access Centre will talk about the services they provide with the focus on palliative care and community geriatric services. This presentation will be followed immediately by a presentation about Hospice Services in our area, how to reach them and what they can do for us.

The late afternoon's focus will be on Emergency Medical Services. We are very fortunate to have the Director of these services, John Prno as our speaker. Marg Wendland will close the day with a few words on how we can organize information in our home in case of a medical emergency.

We hope that you find this program as exciting as we do. We encourage all who can, to come. The day is open so you select what interests you. We'll see you there!!!!

Garage Sale Saturday, May 26th Help is still needed.
Do you have any spare time?
Volunteer

Phone Bob at 634-5243

Past Events
Foxboro "Out to Lunch!" Marg Macdonald
Thirty seven Foxboro residents drove over hill and dale on one of the most beautiful days of this winter to have our luncheon at Marians. The sun lit the hillsides, one of the few days this winter demanding sunglasses. As usual Marian served up a fabulous Mennonite meal, turkey with trimmings, roast beef with horse radish sauce that cleared all air tracts (better than the flu shot!), salads and delicious desserts. We chatted and chuckled, gabbed and gabbled. Regular whoops of laughter would break out. All in all we had a great time.

PRODUCT ALERT
FURNACE HEAT EXCHANGERS
Graham Macdonald

I am aware of several failures of gas furnace heat exchangers at Foxboro Green. An advisory letter sent out by Culliton Brothers, a Stratford home heating service contractor, has recently highlighted this problem. Culliton warns that replacement heat exchangers have a lengthy delivery from their wholesale distributors. Hogg buys parts from the same distributors that Culliton does. I have asked the ICP Regional Service Manager to talk to Culliton and attempt to resolve the lead-time issue.

The furnaces are HEIL DC90 Ultra High Efficiency furnaces that were installed in our homes by Ziegler who has since been bought by Hogg Mechanical. When I called Hogg in Kitchener I was offered a primary heat exchanger unit from stock. It was installed the next morning at no charge. My furnace had passed inspection by Culliton last October, yet when the heat exchanger was pulled out by Hogg it had failed. The failures seem to happen after 2 to 4 heating seasons.

Swaged metal rings, about 1/2 inch in diameter, hold together the two plates of the heat exchanger. The ring(s) crack and fall off and may be found during an inspection on top of the secondary heat exchanger or in the lower plenum. Cracks in either heat exchanger can allow house ventilation air to be forced back through the burner air intake. If this happens the manufacturer assures me that it will result either in the furnace safety protective devices shutting down the furnace, or in the furnace cycling on and off, or the furnace failing to start. Both the Ontario Technical Standards and Safety Association and the Canadian Standards Association have also assured me that there is no safety issue.

Look at the top of your furnace. You will find a white plastic grille about 3 inches in diameter. If this grille is discoloured or shows heat distress it means you have a problem with your heat exchangers. Call your service company, or Hogg immediately.

The manufacturer, International Comfort Products Corp. (ICP), has issued a service bulletin to their dealers that requires replacement or repair of the primary heat exchanger. This component carries a Limited Lifetime Warranty. A labour allowance is paid by ICP to the dealer, so we should not have to pay any labour charge for the replacement. The secondary heat exchanger appears to fall under the 5-year parts only warranty.

The problem was caused by manufacturing defects that went undetected following a change to stainless steel material which caused more rapid tool wear. New product is now subject to more stringent daily sampling and destructive inspection. The bad heat exchangers unfortunately cannot be traced to individual furnaces by serial number. However, the replacement units are expected to have a normal life

Hogg strongly recommends that a Carbon Monoxide Alarm be installed in your home. These are available from major hardware stores or from your dealer. Most simply plug into a wall electrical outlet. Buy only a CSA or ULC approved product. Do not buy the cheapest.

It is essential that you have your furnace inspected by a competent independent contractor, or by Hogg, 5 Hill Street, Kitchener, ON N2L 3X4, Tel: (519) 579-5330.

Homeowners Association
Graham Macdonald
RESPECT FOR OUR CONTRACTORS
We have received reports from our snow plowing contractor that a few residents have subjected him to verbal abuse, and even phoned him at his home. Such harassment of our contractors is unacceptable. Every one does their best to give us value for our money, under the terms of a negotiated contract. They want our business and we need their services. They deserve our respect. If there is dissatisfaction with the service, residents should write or call our Property Manager, Theresa Tewfik at 742-3200 ext 30, or talk to their condo president, the appropriate committee person, or an officer of the Association. Only in this way can the appropriate action be taken. Individual direct action is counter productive.

UPDATE ON CONVEYANCE OF REMAINING LANDS
We are pleased to report that all condominiums have now voted to authorize the conveyance of the remaining lands and facilities to all of the condominiums as tenants in common.

Foxboro Green Inc. will now go ahead with the legal process and will present the documents for signature soon after the registration of the final condo corporation, expected in April.

WATER SAMPLING
Sampling in the distribution system is now in place, using the services of the Ontario Clean Water Agency. You will have already received, or soon will receive, an explanatory letter from your condo directors which also explains the costs and how to remit them. Please be prompt in your payment to your condo treasurer.

NEW PHOTOCOPIER
As many will have noticed our old photocopier had come to the end of its life and needed some fairly costly repairs. Considerable investigation led us to replace the machine with a heavy duty unit with additional features such as double-sided copy, collating of up to 20 sets of copies, multiple paper size capabilities and trays. Whereas many large copy jobs, including Fox Talk, were being done off site at extra cost, we can now do all our copying on site and much faster. The one slightly negative feature, known beforehand, is the 5 minute warm up time; so just allow a little extra for your own needs. We have a 48 month lease with a free service contract for the first 10 months. When the predicted repair costs and media supplies for the old machine are considered, we are saving money for this year. The old machine should be disposed of and the storeroom rearranged soon.

SWIMMING POOL MAINTENANCE
Starting on March 1, the swimming pool will be maintained by Sahara Pools. Acapulco presented a major price increase which led us to put the service out to tender. While we expect that the changeover will be smooth, we ask for your patience and co-operation if there should be any problems during the familiarization by Sahara. Any discrepancies should be reported to Theresa.

ICE ON ENTRANCE ROAD
During the last few weeks ice has built up at the junction of the construction road and the main entrance road. This is caused by ice blocking culverts under both roads, allowing water to fill the swales and ditches and flood across the road. The problem is made worse by flow from springs on the hill above the construction road. There has been speculation that the third well or its water piping on the hill was leaking. This is not the case, since that well is not in service yet. The culverts have been cleared once but have frozen again. The Services Committee is addressing the situation with a view to a permanent solution.

NEXT BOARD OF MANAGEMENT MEETING
March 12th, at 7 p.m. in the Rec. Centre. This will an open meeting with the usual public input session. If you have a community concern that you intend to address, please give advance notice to the Secretary, Keith Boughey (634-5894).

Grounds Management Organization
Bill Hall

It wont be long before our "covered in white" community will be green again and we need your help with couple of important issues.

1. Remember - any damage to the front lawn caused by snow removal during the winter should be reported to your condo president before April 10th for repair by April 30th or early May.

2. Any resident bordering the golf course or farm, that would or needs the common area between the path and the fence or farm mowed by Greenway Maintenance should advise their condo president or the Property Manager (Theresa Tewfik).We need your help to identify these areas and we thank you for your co-operation.

In 2001 the ponds will be de-silted and the Sales Presentation Centre will disappear. The area vacated by the Presentation Centre will be graded and seeded providing more open space and park land. Some people have other ideas that could be considered, but we need to know these ideas before the job is done as planned. Send your ideas, in writing, to Theresa Tewfik. We will discuss them at a G.M.O. meeting.

Many of our neighbours are concerned about the use of pesticides in our community. There are companies that use only environmentally friendly sprays. Is your lawn treatment company one of them? Hopefully the G.M.O. and individual residents can work together to eliminate the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides. Watch for more information on better alternatives in future Fox Talk issues.

Woodworkers
Fred Rastel
One of our members, Arnold Muma, is building a cedar-strip canoe in the basement of his home. He invites anyone interested in this as a project or just interested to come to see his work.

We could visit Arnold as a group (for convenience).

Call me (Fred) at 634-9945

Missing

Do you know where the support pieces for the big Valentine's and Shamrock signs have gone? These signs are the ones that you see at the front door as you enter the Rec. Centre lobby.

Does anyone have storage room in their basement for the above mentioned signs? Phone Bob Price at 634-5243.

Keeping In Touch

Care Committee
Beverley Finnen & Michael Quinn, Katherine & Robert Wilby and Sandy & Bob Moore have been welcomed to our community.

Ron Bleier was given a basket of fruit following his surgery. Paul Stigter was again in hospital. he was welcomed home with a basket of fruit.

Both Willie Lootens and Doris Bruder were hospitalized in February and received "get well" packages.

T. L. C. Lasik Eye Surgery
Len (Marty) Martin
Congratulations to Mary Ann Martin of our community, on having Lasik surgery done to both her eyes on February 19th, 2001.

Mary Ann cannot believe how well she can see, both long distance and close up. She will only need minimal strength reading glasses for very small print. The operation was painless and she has no ill effects such as scratchy eyes or soreness.

Mary Ann has been wearing glasses since Grade 4 and she always hated having to wear them. When our daughter Kelly Ann, had PRK Laser surgery on both her eyes in Toronto five years ago, Mary Ann watched the procedure. Kelly Ann now has 20-20 vision but Mary Ann was afraid to have the procedure done.

At a regular check-up at her local optometrist in Waterloo they had a seminar on Lasik eye surgery.

Mary Ann was very impressed and was referred to the University of Waterloo Optometry Department. There she met Dr. Omar Hakim who has done over 10,000 procedures in the last five years. This gave Mary Ann the confidence that she needed to go ahead with the procedure on both eyes.

All the staff was so friendly and helpful and Dr. Hakim talked to her throughout the entire procedure. She had no ill effects, no pain and was completely satisfied.

If you are considering this procedure and have any doubts, please do not hesitate to call Mary Ann at 634-8008 and she will gladly explain her experience and her satisfaction with the procedure which is a miracle to her.

Editors' Note: We thought it would be interesting to go into the internet to check out Lasik eye surgery and we found the following informative site.
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/expect.htm

Recipe Corner Cretons
Elaine Simpson
This recipe is an unequalled spread on toast or crackers for cocktails. Cretons is the Quebec version of pat�.

1 1/2 lb. lean ground pork
2 slices bread, diced
1 large onion, grated
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup milk

Brown pork in a saucepan at medium high for 5 mins.,stirring to break up large chunks.
When meat is no longer pink, add rest of ingredients and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, covered.
Serve warm or cold. Makes 3 cups

FURNACE PROBLEMS SURVEY
Graham Macdonald
This survey is a personal project, not a Homeowners Association project. I am trying to establish the facts about the failures that are occurring with our Heil High Efficiency Furnaces at Foxboro Green. I intend to use this information in discussions with the dealer and the manufacturer to obtain action.

Your street address ___________________________
-If you give this info I can report bacck to you. If you want it kept private please check here [ ]

Date of Occupancy of your home ________________________

Do you have a Heil DC90 Ultra High Efficiency furnace? Yes [ ] No [ ]
(This name appears on the upper front cover of the furnace.)
If No, what make and model do you have?
Make ________________ Model __________________

Furnace Identification and Data -
(This data is on a label usually on the inside wall of the furnace, inside the upper front cover. It may also be on an invoice or service contract)
Model No. ___________________Serial No _______________________
Furnace Rating: 50,000 Btu [ ] 75,000 Btu [ ] 100,000 Btu [ ] Other

Has your furnace ever failed, requiring a service call? Yes [ ] No [ ]
How many times? ________
Approximate month/year of failures: _______ _______
What parts were replaced? - (Check all that apply)
[ ] Heat Exchanger, Primary (sometimes called the primary chamber)
[ ] Heat Exchanger, Secondary (sometimes called the secondary chamber)
[ ] Igniter
[ ] Transformer
[ ] Gas valve
[ ] Induction fan/motor
[ ] Blower fan/motor
[ ] Drive belt
[ ] Other

Did you have to pay for Parts-Yes [ ] No [ ] Labour-Yes [ ] No [ ]

Has anyone sent you a letter warning of potential hazards or failures? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Do you have a service contract for your furnace? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Name of Contractor ____________________________________

Please write any other comments or information on the back of the form.

THANK YOU. PLEASE DROP THIS FORM IN MY MAILBOX AT
155 FOXBORO DRIVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

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