From the President
Mike Lobue

First, I would like to thank Stan Goldsmith for his outstanding leadership during the past four years. He left some big shoes to fill (figuratively and literally) and I am looking forward to the challenge.

Second, I would like to thank the Board members for their hard work and willingness to continue to serve the Association. The current Executive Committee is made up of Sherwood Zimmerman, Vice President, Gerry Caprario, Treasurer, Phyllis Garlick, Secretary, and myself.

Third, I would like to thank Appalachian Power Company for the great work they did this summer removing debris. There is a very impressive pile of debris at the Brumfield development. The Association made a concerted effort this summer to highlight the debris issue by providing debris tours to the Appalachian Debris Study Group, newspaper reporters and ABC 13 News. We received excellent newspaper articles and television news coverage. I sincerely believe that the news coverage has helped raise the profile of the Association and the work we do to improve the lake. It will work to our benefit on debris removal and other Association issues.

Fourth, I would like to thank the counties for past support and encourage them to continue supporting the Association’s programs. I believe that the biggest challenge we face is a consistent source of funding for our major programs, including debris removal, navigational aids and water quality monitoring. The Board will make a concerted effort to meet with individual County Supervisors to try to convince them of the benefits to the counties and the region of financial support for the Association’s programs. I also encourage each of you to talk to your county Supervisor. The more the Supervisors hear from Association members, the better off we will be.

The County Supervisors for the lake area are listed below

Our thoughts and Prayers are with the family of Doug Haskins.

Relicensing Update
by Mike Lobue

Appalachian Power Company’s license to operate the Smith Mountain Project, which includes both Leesville and Smith Mountain Lakes, expires in 2010 and Appalachian is going through the relicensing process.

Appalachian is conducting studies on various issues including, erosion & sedimentation, water quality, debris, drought & flood management, Roanoke Logperch, aquatic vegetation, recreation & angler use and socioeconomic.

Appalachian held three days of meetings at the end of September to provide updates on the studies. Very few of the studies are completed. Even so, Appalachian is moving forward on their schedule for submitting a license application.

A Preliminary License Proposal (PLP) will be filed on November 2, 2007. Appalachian said it would make available a draft of the PLP before it is filed. Comments on the PLP will be due on January 31, 2008.

The License Application will be filed on March 31, 2008. Once the application is filed, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will begin working on a draft Environmental Assessment.

The four counties (Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Pittsylvania) surrounding the project formed a relicensing committee that is actively participating in the relicensing process.

The Association is a member of the relicensing committee as a designee of Campbell County. The Association is reviewing draft studies, participating in work group meetings and submitted independent comments on the water quality and navigational aids draft studies.

We also plan to submit comments on the draft debris study.

Navigational Aids Report
By Pete Pettit

As part of the relicensing process, Appalachian Power Company (Appalachian) is conducting a number of studies, including one on navigational aids. This past summer, Appalachian conducted several meetings concerning the draft study and a Draft Report was presented in a meeting on September 28. LVLA has completed our review and submitted our recommended comments. From this report the final locations were identified on Leesville Lake to locate the channel and any hazards. The draft recommends installing 43 lateral marks fixed aids. LVLA recommendations call for USCG approved lighted lateral aids mounted on fixed pilings and be installed at least at the 595-foot contour elevation to ensure five feet of water.

LVLA estimated the cost of installation and maintenance of the navigational aids and proposed the installation of these aids in three phases, selected by their importance to provide safe passage. Phase 1 includes 18 fixed lighted aids to identify the more hazardous locations on the lake between mile markers 8 and 16, as well as aids marking the shoals at Tri-County Marina and Goat Island. VDOT will also be petitioned to install obstruction light markings on Tolers Bridge in Phase 1. Phase 2 includes 13 fixed lighted aids on the narrower, shallower portion of the lake from mile marker 5 to mile marker 11 and Phase 3 proposes the final 12 fixed lighted aids marking the broader, deeper portions of the lake from the Leesville Dam Boat Ramp to mile marker 5.were selected by descending importance.

LVLA estimated that the cost of installation and maintenance of the navigational aids is approximately $100,000. Funding for the navigational aids is being sought from Appalachian, the counties bordering the lake, the Tobacco Commission and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Installation is dependent on funding availability. While waiting funding, final design will be completed and a preliminary RFP will be informally requested from interested contractors.

2007 Debris Committee Update
By: Sam Skillman

This year marked the 4th year of a concentrated effort by the Leesville Lake Association to remove floating debris to improve lake safety and recreational uses. The year 2007 was our best year yet with in excess of 5,000 cubic yards of debris removed.

This was from a combination of resources including: (1) 1,300 cu. yds. removed by Docks by Doug (funded by Bedford, Campbell & Pittsylvania Counties and sponsors); (2) Appalachian-operated skimmer removed about 3,500 cu. yds., (3) our 4th Annual Lake Beautification Day had good participation with over 200 cu. yds. removed, and (4) continuing individual efforts by lake residents and users. There is still much work to be done, but our efforts are starting to show results—there is significantly less debris on the lake.

Our goals for 2008 are to: (1) continue individual efforts and the 5th Annual Lake Beautification Day, (2) seek increased funding from Appalachian and the surrounding counties to enable the Association to increase debris removal by independent contractors (3) strongly encourage Appalachian as steward of the lake to continue and increase debris removal, establish debris removal sites on the lake and trap/remove debris on the Pigg River before it gets into the lake.

Water Quality Committee
by Mike Lobue

The purpose of the Water Quality Committee is to monitor and protect the water quality of Leesville Lake and its watershed as well as monitor activities that could affect such water quality. The water quality monitoring program that we initiated this year was a success. We collected water quality data from late April through the end of September. We will prepare a report that includes the data, charts and conclusions by the end of the year.

The Association applied for a grant from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the 2008 water quality monitoring program. Governor Kaine cut all funding for citizen water monitoring grants for 2008, so the Association will not receive a grant from DEQ. We found another potential source of grant money—the Foundation for Virginia’s Natural Resources—and applied to that Foundation for a grant.

The Association is actively participating in the Appalachian Power Company Water Quality Study Group and submitted comments on the Appalachian Water Quality Study Draft Final Report with both Appalachian and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Water Quality Volunteers are still Needed For:

Water Testing - Test water samples.

Water Sampling - Obtain water samples and make instrument readings from your boat.

Attend Meetings - Attend third party meetings such as DEQ, or AEP public meetings.

If you are interested contact Mike Lobue at malobue@gmail.com or 434-369-8044

Meeting with Counties
by Mike Lobue

On October 11th, Leesville Lake Association board members met with Supervisors and Administrators from Bedford, Campbell and Pittsylvania Counties. At the meeting, the Association committee chairs provided the county representatives with an update on committee activities including debris, navigational aids, water quality, safety, membership and map of the lake.

In addition, there was discussion about requesting funding from the state legislature for navigational aids and water quality monitoring. With regard to navigational aids, it was decided to ask the General Assembly to request the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries to: (1) review the Appalachian draft study on navigational aids for Leesville Lake (2) determine its responsibilities with regard to installation and maintenance of the navigational aids, and (3) report its findings and conclusions to the General Assembly by June 1, 2008.

In addition, the counties will request partial funding for navigational aids from the Tobacco Commission. Since the Association identified the Foundation for Virginia’s Natural Resources as a potential source of funding for the 2008 water monitoring program, the General Assembly will not be requested to provide funding. There was also discussion on future funding from the counties for Association projects and the possibility of future participation in the Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission (TLAC).

Although the Association supports including Leesville Lake and Campbell County in TLAC as quickly as possible, the county representatives believe that there are still some significant hurdles to overcome before that can happen and that including Leesville Lake and Campbell County in TLAC is a long-term goal. In the interim, the Association will seek an invitation to participate in the TLAC meetings on an ad hoc basis.

Candidates Night
by Mike Lobue

The Association invited candidates for the Board of Supervisors in the Campbell County Altavista District (Bill Gillespie, Stan Goldsmith & Mike Mattox) and the Pittsylvania County Staunton River (Debra Davis, Marshall Ecker & Mike Irby) and Callands-Gretna Districts (Kate Berger & Fred Ingram) to attend the Association’s General Membership meeting on October 11th.

Although they are not up for re-election, we also invited Bedford County Supervisors Roger Cheek and Chuck Neudorfer since their districts include Leesville Lake. The meeting provided the candidates and supervisors an opportunity to hear Committee Reports and learn about some of the Association’s issues.

After the business portion of the meeting, each candidate was given an opportunity to speak and respond to questions. It was a great session and I would like to thank the candidates and supervisors for their participation.

Membership Report
by Julie Moore

Our membership is steadily growing and currently stands at 344 member households. We have an 88% renewal rate. Your annual dues help fund projects and the number of members gives county boards insight into our strength as a voting bloc. Continue to encourage your neighbors and friends to join.

Dues are $25 per year and a Membership Enrollment form is on the back of the newsletter.

We would like to thank and welcome our new members who have joined since the last newsletter:

John & Sue Ellen Aguilar Larry & Avis Autry Robert & Melanie Quinn Forbes Development of VA Steven & Diana Greiner Alvin & Sandy Horne William & Agnes Anderson Victor & Nada Owusu-Yaw David & Pam Rives Al & Susan Wong Thomas & Karen Garbarino Chip & Lisa Zimmerman

Lincoln & Dori Baker Donald & Sharon Blom Kevin & Cheryl Epps Erno & Myran Hanz John & Martha Joynt Carolyn Lees Larry & Pam Mitchell Ilean Shahnazarian Denise Bellenger William Browe Laura Kelly Sue McGinnis

Website News
by Richard Beaton
(Webmaster)

I would like to thank member Jim Slagle for hosting the LVLA website at no cost to the Association. Jim is in the process of transferring the domain name "leesvillelake.org" to the Association but will continue to host. The website has been and continues to be a great asset for members. Again thank you Jim!

This year the website averaged around 1,000 visits a month not counting search robots. Every year there has been an increase in the number of users. It is no wonder because of all the things you can find there. It serves as an archive for the very newsletter you are reading as well as all the minutes of Association meetings.

You can find contact information for the Association Board, AEP hydro personnel, and your officials from County, State and Federal governments elected from the lake area. If you are building a dock, then the "Shoreline Management Plan" page will help you find the needed documents for download from AEP to comply with the Shoreline Management Plan.

Find information about boating safety classes and boating laws--just to name a few more. See the pictures of the volunteers collecting debris on Beautification Days as well as staying up-to-date on lake news.

If you have not seen the website then visit by using this link http://leesvillelake.org.

Leesville Lake Association
Meeting Schedule

General Meetings are held the second Thursday in January, April, July, and October. Board meetings are held on the second Thursday of the other months except December when there is no meeting.

All meetings are held at 7:00 PM at the Altavista Train Station except the Annual meeting in July which the time and place are announced.

LVLA 2007 - 2008 Meeting Schedule

November 8, 2007, Board of Directors
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

December 13, 2007, Board of Directors
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

January 10, 2008, General Membership Meeting
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

February 14, 2008, Board of Directors
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

March 13, 2008, Board of Directors
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

April 10, 2008, General Membership Meeting
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

May 8, 2008, Board of Directors
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

May 17, 2008, Tentative Beautification Day
May 18, 2008, Tentative Beautification Day
Thank You Picnic

June 12, 2008, Board of Directors
7:00pm, Altavista Train Station

July 12, 2008, Annual Membership Meeting and Picnic
Tentative 4:00pm, Tri-County Marina

Save the Association Money

We hope you read and enjoy the newsletter. If you would like to receive the newsletter via E-mail please let either Julie Moore at lakedoughbegone@msn.com or Richard Beaton at beaton@gamewood.net know.

Looking Ahead for 2008

The LVLA Newsletter has been undergoing many changes, a new look and format, the option of electronic mailing or standard postal mailing. It is a work in progress! We hope you are enjoying the newsletters. We would like to hear from you! Tell us what you’d like to see in the quarterly newsletter.

If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, share topics of interest to Leesville Lake residents, community events or submit an article for consideration you may do so by sending an E-mail to:
Cathy - cdalton@backwoodsdesigns.com
or Julie - lakedoughbegone@msn.com.

Please understand, space is limited and not all submission may be printed immediately and must be approved by the LVLA Board.

Deadlines for ALL Submissions to be considered for the next edition is Jan. 15th, 2008.

From all of us at the LVLA we wish you and yours a safe and happy Holiday Season.

Map Brochure Update
by Richard Beaton

The Map/Brochure team is hard at work gathering information and preparing the map for printing. The original map considered was of low resolution and needed to be upgraded to a finer format. Lynn Stelle has volunteered to upgrade the map. She is busy working with the Adobe Creative software that the Association has purchased. We plan to have it ready for printing and free distribution by late winter 2008, if not sooner.

Ads in the brochure will be $200.00 for a business card size (2.5 inches x 3.5 inches X 300ppi). Advertisers are asked to provide their own art work. The brochure will be widely distributed around the lake area. Also it may show up at visitor centers, chambers of commerce and other places further away. It will be given by realtors and developers to new lake area property owners. This is a great opportunity to get your business known to new residents and visitors to the area.

Contact Richard Beaton at 434-656-3302 or beaton@gamewood.net to place an ad.

Smith Mountain Striper Club
Serving SML – Leesville
Roanoke River Basin
By Dennis Boley

To get the scoop in between news letters on Leesville, contact Bob Reilly in person at Leesville event’s. Bob and his lovely wife Sharon are just good down to earth folks’.

SM-Leesville Striper Club is having a Pig Roast at the 4-H center, Sunday, October 28th. The meal is free to SMSC members, or $10.00 per person.

Tip, you can join SMSC for $30.00 a year and get meals and events for family free. As for fishing Leesville, from now until we get rain and the water temperature gets to the magic 58 degree mark, I would fish at the visitor’s center shoreline on Campbell County side. Try 9 – 30 feet deep, use Buck tails, live or dead bait on bottom.

Contact me by phone for more information.

Dennis F.. Boley
540-420-4517
PO Box 565
Moneta, VA 24121

Health Corner
by Sue Glasscock

We LVL'ers need to be aware of possible difficulties with our own families and our neighbor's health.  Most of us live at least 30 minutes from medical care.  As the population around our lake increases, we may encounter new needs.

A few basic situations: 1) allergies can be so severe as to be life threatening (unable to breathe) to mild cold-like symptoms; 2) abnormal  blood pressure (high or  low) can cause/lead to chest tightness, shortness of breath, or any other type of chest discomfort; 3) unusual pain--dull or sharp.

When in doubt, call 911.  I suggest each family along with neighbors develop a simple medical emergency plan.  Always leave one auto with enough gas to get to a medical person.   Talk to each other about how to handle "heart attack"  “almost drowning", or a fall with possible broken bones.    

If needed, where can the helicopter land for emergencies?   Having a plan saves time and lives.  We all get sick or fall from time to time. 

2008 Calendars Are Now Available!

To pick up in person - $10.00 To receive by mail - $12.50

The board would like to thank Lynn Stelle who did a wonderful job on the calendar this year. The colors and pictures are gorgeous. We would like to thank the contributors also. The calendar wouldn’t be possible without the beautiful pictures you took and then submitted. With the fall colors nearing their height, remember to send these to Lynn also. Her E-mail address is tnlstelle@hughes.net.

To purchase calendars call Julie Moore at (434) 369-6630 or e-mail lakedoughbegone@msn.com. Buy one for yourself or several for your business clients. Calendars can be picked up in person from Julie or they can be mailed. If you would like one mailed please send a check with your name, address and phone number clearly printed to Leesville Lake Association, PO BOX 68, Altavista, VA 24517.

Volunteer Needed

If you have about 8 hours (or 2 people for 4 hours), 4 times a year to donate, we could use your help. We need a volunteer willing to apply labels to the already folded newsletter, staple them shut, bundle them for bulk mailing by the post office, and take the prepared newsletters to the post office.
If you can help please contact Julie Moore at (434) 369-6630 or lakedoughbegone@msn.com.

Leesville Lake Hats Are Still Available!

To Purchase a hat call Julie Moore at (434) 369-6630 or lakedoughbegone@msn.com. Hats can be picked up in person from Julie or they can be mailed. If you would like one mailed please send a check with your name, address and phone number to Leesville Lake Association, PO BOX 68, Altavista, VA 24517.

To pick up in person - $10.00 To receive by mail - $13.00

Newsletter Advertising

If you would like to advertise in the LVLA Newsletter, we offer several options.

1. Business card size ad (4 issues) - $50 per year
2. Full page ad (1 issue) - $120.00
3. Half page ad (1 issue) - $65.00

Please mail your check for the amount of ad, along with your business card or artwork you’d like to use to:

Leesville Lake Association
PO BOX 68
Altavista, VA 24517
you may also E-mail your artwork or business card to: cdalton@backwoodsdesigns.com

If you prefer, we can design your ad for you using your artwork or company logo.

The ad in the printed copy of the newsletter will be black and white. The ad will be in color for the E-mail versions and the archived editions on the website.