Vickery Lake Pre-closing Photos

Mom & Dad closed on their new home in Cumming this morning. I took these pictures after their final walk through. It's going to be nice having them close by.

Email from Johnny 06/26

I've included some video from a local news station that shows some of what is going on.



Hey Uncle Steve,

Just letting the family know that I'm fine and my home isn't in danger. However, this is the wildest thing I've seen up close. The fire as of 3 pm jumped the break and was blown NE toward town. My co-worker ,George, and I went to his house to find a road block and sekorski hook heli's flying 100' above. We told sheriffs we were Forest Service and they let us through to his home with 2-5 min to collect valuables. I got my bike and pedaled out very quickley. I was stopped by a abc news reporter from reno at the road block and told them what I saw. I was about 4 streets down from the blaze and could hear trees exploding! Sounded like a shot gun. I won't be that close again, don't worry.:) Clean up will be my part of the operation and will be felling the hazard trees and restoring polluted stream and lake zones. I have a Forest radio and I'll keep you posted.

Johnny

Tahoe Update 6/26

Ok heard from Johnny tonight.

They have almost a thousand firefighters in the area so there was no need for anyone on his trail crew to go out and fight the fires.

The fire is still burning but with the low winds they have been able to set up perimeters around the populated areas.

His main job will be taking down half burned trees and other debris that presents a hazard after the fire is out.

As the fire continues to burn it will run into a massive amount of firefighting equipment to the south and west, granite mountain tops to the north and Lake Tahoe to the east. So it's only a matter of time before it has no place to go.

He is doing well and will keep us informed.

John

Johnny and the Lake Tahoe Fires

I asked John to give us all an update on Johnny and how the fires that are raging in the Lake Tahoe area are effecting him. Keep him in your prayers. Here is the latest from John:

I don't know much at this point.

I spoke to him at about 5:30 am his time this morning while he was getting ready to go to work. His forest service office is in Meyers and his home in S. Lake Tahoe. The fire is burning in the middle of these towns so his route to work was in question.

He felt like his home would be ok because its in a densely populated area that they would start back fires to protect if they had to.

He did know that the crews that had gone to work on Sunday were already 14 hours into their shift and needed relief. He could be digging trenches and helping out wherever needed. He was sure he'd be involved in the clean-up and water run off issues afterward.

He said he had some friends in Meyers that already lost their homes. They had about a 3 minute warning from time to get out until house totally engulfed in flames.

So he said he would call tonight if he could and give me an update if he could. I'll try and send you something when I hear and I will see if he can send you an e-mail update himself.

John

Photo of Vickery Lake house with Landscaping

Went for the home inspection on Thursday the 21st. The landscaping was finished. Here in a photo of the house with grass.

The Gilkensons' have produced a Wrestling State Champion

I am very pleased to be able to report that the Milton Wrestling Club has produced our first state champion in as long as anyone can recall. This weekend the Milton Wrestling Club had two wrestlers competing in the Georgia State Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling Tournament. Michael Gilkenson won the Greco-Roman Gold Medal in the Cadet 135 pound division. Michael also went on to win the Silver Medal in Freestyle. Matthew Gilkenson also competed in the tournament where he placed 5th in Greco Roman and 4th in Freestyle in the Schoolboy 95 pound division. A big shout out to both these warriors for an outstanding performance and for making Milton Wrestling proud.

The Milton Wrestling Club also has 4 wrestlers competing this coming week at the National High School Coaches Association, National Tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We all wish Ty Nielson, Brett Hanley, Matt Schneider and Michael Castanaro much success. Please stay tuned to the Milton Wrestling Blog for updates on their progress this weekend and next week.

Vickery Lake Update, June 10th

These photos are from Sunday, June 10th. 18 Days and counting. Everything looks great. Sorry the photos are cloudy, but I took them with my mobile phone and there must have been dirt on the lens.

Vacation Pictures

We went on vacation to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina the first week of June. Here are a few photos I took one evening at diner and a couple more too.

Message From Heidi :Hey Hey from Huaraz, Peru

well hello,
i am in an internet cafe and i can look out the doorway and see the andes mountains its absolutly breath taking! we spent a couple days at basecamp in lima and i love the new place its really nice and really pretty the orphange that we are working with is awesome! the kids are older than in the one last year so the girls that were about 8 to 12 were teaching us dances and we were teaching them the electric slide and how to do cartwheels! then we went to yungay which was an 8 hour bus ride and the last four hours are going through the mountains and yes i was one of those kids who got car sick! but i didn´t throw up but i just had to sit there but it was ok i made it and have felt great other than that the food hasn´t bothered me at all and i finished my antibiotic and still feel good no sore throat! yungay was really pretty and last night we camped which was soo fun! we camped at 13,900 ft! haha the stars and the glacier lakes were crazy beautiful! i got a hot shower today which made me very happy! we are goin back to lima tomorrow and i think i can call in a week of so maybe on father´s day but no garuntee i´ll call both of yalls cell phones so keep em with ya! i don´t know when i will be able to email again. email this to anyone you think will want to here from me! God is teachin me to love others in a new way that is rocking my world!
i love you all! thanks for prayin!
In Him,
Heidi

Vickery Lake Update, June 1st

We took a drive past the Vickery Lake construction site today. The house is coming along very nicely as you can see from the photographs. The countdown can begin: 28 days to closing.