Dear CFC team,

We are ON again for another day of work assignments at Camp Sumatanga on Tuesday, September 10.  We will convene at the camp office at 8:30 AM and pick up our assignments there from 4-Wheeling Eddie.

Be prepared to pull root balls from their holes in the ground.  We'll have the use of Abel and Alan's winch truck - Alan, have you given YOUR truck a name??? - and camp's backhoe to help with the root balls.  But also be prepared to continue felling trees, as well, as we continue to help establish Wi-Fi sight lines to several of the receivers in different locations around camp.  As the Wi-Fi transmitter is atop the cross on Chandler Mountain and the trees up there also need to be felled, as well, a team will be dispatched to that location, too.  I'm particularly personally interested in using our chainsaw certification training to fell one last tree that's in the way between Donna Bailey's house and the cross.  It's maybe a 60+' tall tree with a 28-30" diameter.  We've asked camp to make sure it's on camp property and if it's not, to get the necessary permission from the property owner to allow us to take it down before we return next week.

In a happy change of the originally announced plans, camp's food service director has stated that lunch WILL be provided for us next Tuesday after all, but she's asked me to email her an with accurate count of our team members participating by Monday so she'll know how many to prepare for.  So please reconfirm your participation with me by reply email.  Here's who I have working on Tuesday so far:

1. Henry Averyt

2. Boyd Martin (who will trailer Abel to camp)

3. Ray Miller

4. Jim Pressler

5. Bob Suellentrop

6. Bob Thompson

7. Alan Weeks (with his winch truck)

8. Buddy Williams

 

BRING PLENTY OF WATER AND ELECTROLYTE REPLENISHMENT!!!  We worked until 3:30 PM at camp last Tuesday and I think that will be a good quitting time for us to aim for again next week.  As always, you may decide that you want to quit earlier depending upon the weather (it may be hot and humid and we'll all call it quits if a lightening storm comes up!) or if you have other commitments you must attend to.  We certainly want everyone to be safe and work only to their capacities and in their comfort zone.  If we don't complete our assignments and need to schedule a return, we certainly will.  So if anyone needs or wants to leave at any time, that will be perfectly okay.  Also remember insect repellent and sunscreen.

 

Bring all your standard gear for chainsaw work - especially protective wear minimally consisting of chaps, helmet, eye protection, gloves and boots.  (I have the helmet with ear muffs and a mesh face guard and the green-colored chaps I wore last season - all still perfectly good - that I would be happy to sell to anyone very inexpensively - say $30 for everything -  if you don't have that PPE already yourself.)  Remember your gas and bar oil.  I'll bring whatever is remaining in my 5-gallon tank of stabilized 92-octane ethanol-free gasoline that you can pour from into your own smaller gas cans…but you'll need to supply your own oil to mix to your particular saw's specifications.  No charge for the gas!

 

In addition, to help with the root ball removals you'll want to also bring axes, hatchets, sledge hammers, crow bars, limbing saws, shovels, ropes and chains, etc.

 

Our work at Sumatanga continues to be coalition ministry work - that means wear your yellow Cutters for Christ t-shirts!  We have 2 shirts remaining in our originally purchased inventory - both size Large - if anyone has a need for them.  Our t-shirt minimum donation remains $5 each.  If you don't have a CFC t-shirt, an UMCOR ERT green t-shirt or an RUMC Smurf blue DRM t-shirt will work.  (If you don't have any of those, your wardrobe selection is up to you but we'll be needing to outfit you with one of them or another!)

 

We also have 4 pairs of CFC vehicle magnets (see below) remaining available.  As we did for the t-shirts, we are subsidizing the cost but still charging something in order not to fully deplete the funds we were given by Prof. Tom White in Clay when we spent so many weeks clearing his back yard.  A pair of magnets - one for each side of your vehicle - is $20.  (Your purchase can be tax deductible when you make your check payable to "RUMC" - or 'Riverchase United Methodist Church,' which serves as our funds holder and disperser - and write "Cutters for Christ" on the memo line of your check).  Buddy, Boyd, Henry, Jim, Ray and I already have ours.  First come, first served for the remaining 4 sets.  Please let me know and in the order I receive your request, we'll bring yours to you next week (or or save them for you until we see you later if you're not working with us next Tuesday).

 

Disappointingly we did not take any photos of our work last week.  Shame on this photo journalist!  We split into two teams and each team worked independently at different locations around camp and kept quite busy on separate assignments.  But this week I'll be more attentive to my documentary responsibilities, so make sure you look good!

 

That's all I can think of tonight.  Let me hear from you and rest up for a full day of work on Tuesday.  For anyone needing directions to camp they are:

 

- I-459 north from Birmingham to I-59 in Trussville;

- I-59 north to exit 166 (Ashville/Oneonta exit);

- North (left) on Hwy. 231; travel 3.5 miles;

- Right onto Co. Rd. 35; travel 3.4 miles;

- Right onto Co. Rd. 44 (Sumatanga Road); travel 1.7 miles to the camp office which will be located on your left.

 

Depending upon your actual departure point, allow yourself an hour to get there.  See you Tuesday!

 

In His Service,

Bob