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"Two steps forward, one step back" appears to be the best progress we have been able to make in the pandemic. Public health officials have expressed great concern about the Delta variant of COVID-19 which has proven to be much more contagious than earlier strains. Although the vaccines were always accurately described as preventing serious illness and death, many of us wrongly assumed that we would not contract the disease at all. Fortunately, "breakthrough" infections appear to be very uncommon here (2.7% of all cases) and San Diego County reports that as of Aug. 10, 74% of all residents 12 and over have been vaccinated, 94% of residents over 65 and 98% of those in the 70 to 79 age group. Also, as of Aug. 10, only 33 vaccinated people had been hospitalized in the entire pandemic period out of a population of 3.35 million or about 1 in every 100,000. The current surge in cases as of mid-August is only about ¼ the level of last January due mostly to the large number of vaccinations. [All data obtained from the San Diego County website revised 8/11/2021.] At each meeting we encourage written comments from our residents, and we receive them regularly. This month, we received a few more than usual on various subjects, and most of them were thoughtful and respectful. A few however, fell short of that. One accused the Board of "depraved indifference" and "possible murder," another of being "ill-informed ideologues." One said we were "ignoring science and medical guidance". Another wrote we were "all playing doctor and epidemiologist" and complained on local television and still another referred to the Board's "moronic decision." I probably don't need to explain that these approaches don't get the best reception from the Board. Perhaps it's no mystery why we had four Director positions open in last month's election but only three candidates. You will recall that so-called "expert" guidance has been all over the map from the beginning as the world engaged in a trial-and- error learning process. We were forced to take such extreme steps as sanitizing the pool between swimmers, shutting down restrooms and water fountains and sanitizing our outdoor benches twice a day. All of those things defied common sense at the time and proved to be completely unnecessary and costly. Your Board has had the unenviable task of sifting through conflicting public health guidance and competing scientific theories du jour in the interests of your use of your facilities. Being too conservative meant denying our members the use of their pool, courts, and workout rooms, while being too aggressive meant failing to discourage unsafe behavior. Having witnessed the hours of effort and soul-searching the Board and staff put into this task, I can assure you the Board has not been a platform for ideology, pseudo-science, or playing doctor. As the fear of the coronavirus circulates around the community, so do rumors about illnesses. One recent rumor was that OHCC experienced a "super spreader" event. Based on the information I have, that is completely false. On Aug. 2, the RV Club reported that one member of a couple who attended their meeting on July 27 had tested positive for COVID-19. Symptoms were mild and cold-like. All of the more than 100 people who attended were notified by email, and the two people who sat closest to the couple were personally notified. To date, the only other person at the event reported to have tested positive is the other member of the couple. Work on the golf course continues with final grading on tees and greens and the installation of major irrigation supply lines. Booster pumps for city water will soon be installed near the hot tub gate and landscaped to conceal them. And work will soon begin on electrical service from the vault on the edge of the Andros-Arcadia park running under Leisure Village Way and continuing underground to a transformer near the well and lake area. I am sorry to report that we have continued to experience surly behavior and even vandalism from a few residents, including damage to the new pipe installation and depositing dog feces on work in progress. The Community Patrol has been alerted, and those responsible can expect to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if caught. We note that many residents have received solicitations to purchase sewer and water service insurance from a company that claims to have a partnership with the city of Oceanside. One of our residents has confirmed with the city that there is, indeed, a partnership with them. If there is sufficient interest, a representative of the insurer could meet with OHCC residents to explain the program. The outstanding volunteers in OHCC help to make it a wonderful place to live. As a community of retirees, one sad feature of our lives here is that we are faced with the all too frequent loss of friends and colleagues. Recently we lost Larry Bowers, a master toymaker and our unofficial Santa Claus. Larry showed me every kindness as a new member of the Woodchucks when I was a newbie, and always had a helping hand available. His is an irreplaceable loss to our community. I also wish to note that Aug. 16 was Angela Takemoto's final Board meeting. Angela has served many years in many different capacities. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Association "Thank you, Angela, for your service!" And as a reminder to everyone, there is a vacancy on the Board and we have had very little response to our request for candidates. Please consider serving your community with us and feel free to contact any Director to discuss your interest. The Board met in a special executive session on July 8 to address legal matters. The Board met in a special executive session on July 12 to address legal matters and third party contracts and approved a contract for the annual reserve analysis with Advanced Reserves Solutions in an amount not to exceed $5,750. The Board met again in a special executive session on July 16 to discuss legal matters. And the Board met again in a special executive session on July 28 to discuss legal matters and third party contracts and approved an amendment to a Baker Electric contract to add installation of communications wire conduit at a cost not to exceed $2,500 to be funded from Capital Improvements. | OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2021 | 3 President's Message Continued on page 5 By Greg Kusiak, President (2020-2021), Board of Directors

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