Bobbie J Smith, CRS

DID I TELL YOU ABOUT MY SCARF DRIVE?

Each year around the Holiday Season I host a scarf drive. I collect scarves to donate

to needy families for the Holidays so they have one for helping to keep them warm

during the cold winter season. My goal is to be able to donate 500 scarves.

Last year we reached 350 scarves and the year before we reached our 500 scarves.

I have received donations of yarn and have several women who make scarves for me

all year around. I myself, try to crochet scarves all year around so that I have more to

donate during the Holiday Season. So if you knit or crochet or know someone who

does, please let me know and I can supply them with some yarn. Donations can be

dropped off at my office on Route 611 in Mt. Pocono or I can come and pick them up.

I Thank You for all that you can do to help this cause. Bobbie

On July 1, 2009 The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act goes into effect. The legislation was passed to protectconsumers from those "bad" contractors. Now the Contractors will be required to register with the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection while maintaining a minimum insurance coverage and will be required to use Contracts that contain important information, including start date, completion date, a description of the work being performed and the consumers' rights under the low. Contractors will also be required to obtain a registration number and use their number on all items and disclose whether or not the contractor has had his license suspended or revoked by any state or municipality or from any government-funded home improvement program. Good news for all.

Camp Minsi will remain open space. Camp Minsi, the Boy Scout camp on Route 940 in Pocono Summit will not be allowed to be turned into commercial or residential development. Good news for traffic congestion, etc. Camp Minsi is approximately 1200 acres that surrounds Stillwater Lake. This property was donated in 1949 to the Boy Scouts by Samuel Rubel of New York City. What a generous and wonderful donation it was, for sure. Read about it on www.poconorecord.com.

Pennsylvania's State Flower, The Mountain Laurel, is in full bloom all over the countryside right now and boy is it gorgeous. If you get the chance go drive down a few backroads or a nice lush area and you are bound to see it. I passed a few spots today that had so much Mountain Laurel in the area that the woods appeared white. It was a very nice site to see. Considering how much rain we have had lately I was afraid that it would all totally be washed away before I would get a chance to go see some and get some pictures.

The Mountain Laurel became Pa's state flower back in 1933. Its flowers can be either white or pink and I got to see both today. It's leaves are poisonous and so are its blossoms. It can grow to be 30 feet high in the right areas. I did see one plant in the woods today that had to be at least 7 feet tall and about 6 feet wide and it was in full bloom. It was on private property or I would have gotten a picture of that one for you too.

Get out there and see some!

Stillwater Lake Estates is located in Pocono Summit, PA. The Community offers a 330 acre lake which is bordered by the Community on one half of the lake and the other half boasts a Boy Scout Camp however the Camp has just had the rights to its easement sold to the Wildlands Conservancy so that the property cannot be used for commercial or residential development. Which is very good news. Also offered at the Community is a swimming area with beach, playgrounds, tennis courts, fishing, and more. Below are a few pictures of the Community and its offerings. This Community is located just a few minutes off of I380 also which makes it very commuter friendly. Sorry, motor boats are

The 330 Acre Lake Beach and swimming area Community Boat Launch

Community picnic and playground area

Info provided by:

Commonwealth Real Estate Your Way LLC, 26C Pocono Blvd., Mt. Pocono, PA 18344, 570-839-0411, Agent: Bobbie Smith

And here is part 3 of my statistics for you. This graph shows the average sold price for the month of May, year 2008 versus year 2009. These stats were obtained from flexmls on 6-1-09 and are deemed reliable however I am not responsible for typographical errors. Catch you next month with new stats. Let's hope they are even more favorable than these stats. Thanks, Bobbie