Other Helpful Numbers:

If you have a street light out, call Delmarva at 800-375-7117 and give them the street address.

Power Outage Reporting:  1-800-898-8042

Cecil County Dept of Public Works: 410-996-5269

Cecil County Code:  http://www.ecode360.com/?custId=CE0748

MD drivers license & vehicle registration: Motor Vehicle Administration  800-950-1682

Lost & found pets - Cecil Co. SPCA  410-885-2342 or 410-398-9555

Nuisance, vicious or biting Animals: SPCA Co. Animal Control 410-885-2342 or Sheriff's Office 410-996-5500

Nuisance wildlife  - Animal Control Hotline  877-463-6497

Dog licenses & Tax assessments: Cecil Co. Treasurer  410-996-5385

Maryland Homeowners Assoc. Law: http://www.hilemanlaw.com/MDHAA2009.html

         See Section 11B-106. Resale of lot for information on selling/buying a property.

Selling your home?  

Under Maryland law, properties for sale that come under the jurisdiction of a homeowners association require that a packet of current documents be provided to the prospective buyer before the sale goes through.  Community deed restrictions require that landlords provide a copy of these documents to tenants.  Landlords also need to submit a copy of the lease with tenant contact information to the homeowners association.  The resale packet is available from Aspen for a fee.

Renting your home?

As of August 2013

Owners are ultimately responsible for the their properties the HOA will enforce the community rules the same with renters and homeowners a like. Fines are assessed to property owners. 

If you are planning on renting your home please contact Aspen to get your address changed.

They will require you to provide a signed copy of the lease for the HOA records.  

Note the following revision to the Deed Restrictions approved at the Annual Homeowners Meeting on June 25, 2009 as part of the Third Amendment:  

***This verbiage was removed  with the 5th amendment in August 2013 *** (See doc below)

As of July 1, 2009, all sales of homes must be for owner-occupied use only.  Existing rental properties [owned by other than an owner-occupant prior to July 1, 2009] will be allowed to continue as rental properties.  Beyond July 1, 2009, if a current rental property is sold, it will fall under the new restriction of owner-occupied use only.

PSC-_5th_Amendment_to_Declaration.pdf
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Before you Dig, Call Miss Utility

Telephone, water, electrical, gas, and cable TV lines are much closer to the surface than you might think.  Cutting or damaging these lines could result in serious injury or death, service loss for you and your neighbors, and liability for repairs to restore service.

Before you plant a new tree or garden or start a construction project, call Miss Utility at 800-257-7777.  This free service will send out technicians to find and mark the locations of underground utilities.

Untagged and Inoperable Vehicles

Persimmon Creek Deed Restrictions have prohibitions against parking certain vehicles in the community, including, of vehicle violations on streets and public parking areas. Any vehicle could be towed without warning at the owner's expense if it is:

·         without tags

·         bearing expired tags

·         bearing out of state tags

·         sitting with flat tires

·         leaking fluids

·         inoperable or not driven.

RV's, campers, trailers, boats, other recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles may not park in the community except out of sight inside the owner's garage, with the following exception: a commercial vehicle may be parked in its owner’s driveway provided that it runs, has no more than two axles, and fits entirely within the confines of the owner’s driveway. [Revision adopted 6/29/06]

Storage costs plus towing charges and any fines will be charged to the homeowner responsible for the vehicle.

Maryland requires drivers to transfer out of state vehicle registrations, tags and drivers licenses, and to make in-state address changes, within 30 days of moving. Call the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, 800-950-1682, for more information.

Other vehicles prohibited from being operated in Persimmon Creek include go-karts, motorized scooters, motorbikes, ATVs and similar vehicles. Properly tagged and registered motorcycles are allowed only if they are operated by a licensed driver in a quiet and safe manner on the street.

Protect Yourself Against Lyme Disease

The weather is getting warmer and people and pets are spending more time outside on picnics and hikes, so it's time to think of that deer tick borne illness, Lyme disease. Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted by deer ticks. Deer ticks are the size of a pinhead, reddish brown with black legs, and can be hard to see. Lyme disease is not carried by brown dog ticks or lone star ticks (which are somewhat larger, but are capable of transmitting other diseases). In Maryland, up to 15% of deer ticks carry Lyme disease, depending on the region. Counties in western Maryland have a lower rate of Lyme disease, while the eastern shore has a higher rate of Lyme disease.

The tick needs to be attached for at least 18-24 hours to transmit Lyme disease. If the tick remains attached for more than 48 hours you are more likely to get the infection. A characteristic rash, often described as a bulls eye, can appear within a month of the tick bite.. The rash is a large red ring with central paleness that starts where the person was bitten and expands in size to greater than 2 inches across. Lyme disease has three stages of severity. Antibiotic treatment can prevent progression from one stage to the next. Antibiotics taken by mouth are the usual cure for Lyme disease. Talk to your doctor if you suspect a tick bite.

The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid tick bites. When outdoors, especially in brushy areas and in the woods:

    •    Wear long pants, long sleeves, and a cap.

    •    Tuck the ends of pants into the socks.

    •    Apply insect repellent to shoes and socks.

    •    Look for ticks on clothing and exposed skin every two to three hours.

Tick bites are painless and do not itch, so the only way you know if you have been bitten is to inspect your skin. Pay particular attention to the scalp, neck, armpits and groin. A brisk shower will remove any loosely attached ticks. To prevent Lyme disease in your dog, ask your vet about long-lasting topical flea and tick treatment and other ways to protect your dog from Lyme disease.

The trick to successful tick removal is ease the tick out of the skin. Use a tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull gently and steadily backward from the tick's head. Do not twist or jerk suddenly. Do not squeeze the tweezers to the point of crushing the tick; the secretions may spread disease. Flush the tick down the toilet. Do not crush ticks with your fingers; it increases your chance of getting a disease. Wash the tick bite and your hands with soap and water after tick removal.

Avoid some common practices of tick removal, including covering the tick while attached with petroleum jelly, finger nail polish or rubbing alcohol and touching the attached tick with a hot match. These methods are ineffective and could cause the tick to inject Lyme disease organisms into the wound.

Pet Wastes Transmit Disease

(adapted from “Pet Waste and Water Quality,” University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Mimeo #304)

When pet waste is disposed of improperly, not only water quality suffers, but your health may be at risk, too. Pets, children playing outside, and adults gardening are most at risk for infection from some of the bacteria and parasites found in pet waste. Flies also spread diseases from animal waste. Diseases that can be transmitted from pet waste to humans include:

 ·    Campylobacteriosis—a bacterial infection carried by dogs and cats that frequently causes diarrhea in humans.

·    Salmonellosis—the most common bacterial infection transmitted to humans by other animals. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, vomiting and diarrhea.

·    Toxocariasis—roundworms usually transmitted from dogs to humans, often without notable symptoms, but may cause vision loss, a rash, fever, or cough.

·    Toxoplasmosis—a protozoan parasite carried by cats that can cause birth defects such as mental retardation and blindness if a woman becomes infected during pregnancy. It is also a problem for people with depressed immune systems. Symptoms include headache, muscle aches, and lymph node enlargements.

·   Contact with feces is also responsible for transmitting parasites such as hookworm, roundworm and whipworm among pets.

Cleaning up after your pet can be as simple as taking a plastic bag or pooper-scooper along on your next walk. County law requires that you clean up pet waste not only on others’ property (including common areas in our community), but in your own yard, too.  Children's play areas are especially critical to keep clean, for kids are the most frequent victims of diseases from pet waste. Good old-fashioned hand washing with soap after play, before eating and after pet waste disposal remains the best way to ward off disease transmission.

What should you do with waste you pick up? No solution is perfect, but here are the choices:

·  Flush it down the toilet. The water from your toilet goes to a sewage treatment plant that removes most pollutants before the water reaches a lake or stream. To prevent plumbing problems, don't try to flush debris such as rocks, sticks or cat litter. Cat feces may be scooped out and flushed down the toilet, but used litter should be put in a securely closed bag and then put in the trash.

·  Put it in the trash. If you put pet waste in the trash, wrap it carefully so it will not attract flies or spill during trash collection. Do not add pet waste to a compost pile, because the compost will not get hot enough to kill disease organisms.

Landscape Plants for Heavy, Clayey Soil

Clay soils present a difficult growth environment for many landscape plants. Soils with high clay content (such as we have in Persimmon Creek) stay too wet and prevent oxygen from reaching plant roots.

To make the best of a tough gardening situation, follow these tips:

· For trees and shrubs, dig the planting hole just slightly shallower than the root ball is high.

· Avoid locating the tree or shrub where it will receive water coming out of the down spouts.

· Choose plants that are tolerant of heavy soils.

· Incorporate compost or mushroom soil into planting beds

Some Suggested Plants:

Trees

Shrubs

Herbaceous Perennials