This Week Around Walkers Woods

"This Week Around Walkers Woods" is a community column written for the neighborhood of Walkers Woods, but pertains to the entire community of Carolina Forest.

Hello, neighbors.  I want to start by sending out Happy Birthday wishes to Walkers Woods resident and Firewise Council member Linda Easley.  We hope it was a great one, and we wish you many, many more!

In last week’s column, I wrote about the great suggestion from homeowners that we plant trees in the amenity center yard.  Well, I have good news.  I was contacted by Christopher Klement, a Senior Planner with the Horry County Planning Dept.  As part of his job, he works with the Horry County Parks and Open Space Board, as well as Keep Horry County Beautiful.

Keep Horry County Beautiful, as I wrote about in the January 6 column, was created to tackle the growing litter problem in our community.  It will also focus on educating the public about litter, its effects, and beautification. 

In April, Keep Horry County Beautiful published their Litter Index.  The litter problem is rated on a scale of 1 to 4 with 1 being good and 4 being bad.  Horry County as a whole received a 2 rating.  But Carolina Forest was rated 3.

Mr. Klement, who is also a Carolina Forest resident, wants our help in creating a partnership between Walkers Woods and Keep Horry County Beautiful.  He will be asking for volunteers to help clean up litter in The Forest.  He said that we will also have the option of adopting a stretch of highway, which would be designated with a “Walkers Woods” sign.

Here’s the best part:  In exchange for our help, Mr. Klement and the Horry County Parks and Open Space Board will help Walkers Woods obtain our trees for the amenity center yard, as well as other common areas, through a Tree Grant from the state.  I have put him in touch with the POA board and Waccamaw Management to start the ball rolling.

As I was talking about the litter clean-up and the South Carolina Tree Grant program with Monica, Benjamin started singing “Trees, trees, glorious trees” from one of his Dr. Seuss movies.  Monica and I will volunteer, and we want to encourage all you other parents out there to join us in setting the right example for our kids, so they can grow up in a clean and beautiful community.

A resident posted a warning last week on the Walkers Woods Facebook page that a water moccasin, also known as a cottonmouth snake, was seen crossing Billy K Trail from the pond at the Quinn Rd entrance.  She recommended that everyone learn how to identify poisonous snakes.  That’s a great suggestion, and it gave me an idea.  I serve on the Public Safety Committee for the Civic Association, and I will look into having a snake expert give us a presentation on the variety of snakes in The Forest at a future meeting.

Meanwhile, I found a great online flyer which has snake safety tips, full color pictures of common snakes found in our area, and what to do if you are bitten by one.  I posted it on both the Walkers Woods website and the FB page.

I have discussed this issue in the past with my friend Bo Ives, who serves on the board of directors for Wildlife Action.  His neighborhood, Avalon, has plenty of snake sightings as well, possibly more than Walkers Woods.  Don’t forget that some are quite beneficial.  Everyone in The Forest should be educated to distinguish the poisonous serpents from the harmless ones.  I’ll keep you posted about the Civic Association presentation.

 Mark your calendars now.  My friends at the Waccamaw Youth Center would like to invite all of you to attend the Rocking Railroad Battle of the Bands fundraiser.  This event will take place at the Train Depot in Myrtle Beach on Saturday, October 15, from 4 to 8pm. 

They are currently looking for a about a half dozen local bands to participate.  The event will feature not only a battle for bragging rights, but also fellowship, fun, food and a cash bar.  Tickets are only $25, and all proceeds will assist the WYC in providing “A Place to Call Home” for our boys who have been abandoned, abused and neglected.  Please call the WYC at 369-0200 for more information, or if you play in a band and would like to “battle it out”.

Kids, enjoy your “last weekend of freedom”, and have a great first day of school on Monday.  Also, congratulations to Carolina Forest for their season opening win over Socastee on Friday.  Go Panthers!

Log on to www.walkerswoodsatcarolinaforest.com frequently for POA information.  If you are on Facebook, check out the Walkers Woods at Carolina Forest page to connect with your neighbors.  And if you have any items you would like me to include in this column, please send them to me at walkerswoodsnews@gmail.com.  Have a great week.

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