Happy October! I don’t know about you, but fall is my favorite season of the year! There’s something special about the crisp, cool mornings and the warm, golden afternoons that make this time of year so enjoyable.
Around the park, fall is always a busy season as we prepare for the winter storms that are sure to come. I will be cleaning up fallen leaves—especially around the storm drains to prevent blockages and flooding. We'll also be storing the pool furniture until next spring, when the sunshine returns.
For our residents, now is a great time to make sure your home and yard are ready for the stormy months ahead. Here are a few tips to help you prepare your mobile home for winter:
Fall & Winter Prep Checklist:
❑ Clear Gutters and Drains: Keep leaves and debris out of your gutters and downspouts to prevent water damage.
❑ Inspect Skirting: Make sure your home’s skirting is secure and in good condition to help protect pipes and retain heat.
❑ Seal Drafts: Check around windows and doors for drafts and seal them with weather stripping or caulk.
❑ Wrap Water Pipes: Insulate exposed pipes under your home to prevent freezing.
❑ Check Heat Tape: If you have heat tape installed, test it to ensure it’s working properly.
❑ Trim Trees: Remove any weak or overhanging branches that could break under heavy winds or snow.
❑ Store Outdoor Items: Put away patio furniture, garden tools, and decorations to keep them safe from the weather.
❑ Test Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors: With heaters running more often, it’s especially important to make sure your detectors are working and have fresh batteries.
Taking a few simple steps now can help you stay safe, warm, and worry-free all winter long.
Enjoy the beauty of fall and don’t forget to take a walk around the park while the leaves are still turning!
Rent Manager: It’s A Good Thing!
Switching gears for a moment let’s talk about the online rent billing and payment system. Overall, it’s been functioning smoothly and has made paying rent each month more convenient for residents. That said, the transition wasn’t without a few initial hiccups. One notable change was the park’s decision to switch payment processors from Qira to Rent Manager after just two rent cycles.
Several residents have asked why the change happened so quickly. The short answer is, Qira simply didn’t meet our expectations. The platform was not user-friendly, and I personally encountered multiple issues when trying to get accurate information from their customer service department. Given that we had only been using Qira for a couple of months, I felt it was best to make the switch early—before the system became deeply integrated and harder to replace.
Since moving to Rent Manager, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Residents appreciate the intuitive layout of the Resident Portal, especially the prominently placed “Pay Rent Now” button, which makes submitting payments fast and hassle-free.
If you haven’t yet set up your payment portal or are unsure how to navigate it, I strongly encourage you to schedule an appointment with me before your rent due date. This will ensure we have enough time to walk through the setup process together and avoid any last-minute issues. A little preparation goes a long way in keeping things streamlined and stress-free.
Park Rule Review: Responsibility and Liability
Here are two quick park Rules: The first is a reminder that it is the resident’s responsibility to have proper insurance for their personal property, and that the park’s insurance does not cover residents’ personal property. The second rule is straightforward: do not go onto someone else’s lot, and do not tamper with park infrastructure.
16. RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY
The Management and/or Park Owners are not responsible for loss due to fire, theft, accident or any damage to Mobile Homes, cars, boats, travel trailers or any other vehicles or their contents. Homeowners are responsible for insurance coverage on their Mobile Homes for personal injury, property damage, fire and other catastrophic occurrences with which the homeowner might be confronted. This is necessary because the Park Management and Owner do not insure the individual Mobile Homes for such losses.
16.1 Trespass and Tampering. Residents and guests shall not encroach or trespass on any other Resident’s Mobile Home Space or upon any area that is not open for general use. Residents and guests shall not use, tamper, or interfere with Park property that is not for general use, including and without limitation: gas, electric, sewer and water connections, equipment used in connection with utility services, and other Park tools and equipment..
Legal Services for Older Adults
Do you have a legal question but do not know where to go to get it answered?
Legal Services of Northern California provides legal advice to seniors at no cost!
CALL: 916 / 551-2150
VISIT: www.lsnc.net
SCAN:
Park Emergency Evacuation: How and Where
In the event of a disaster which does NOT require evacuation of the entire park, the designated site for partial evacuation is the Club House
If the entire park needs to be evacuated, please proceed to the following locations if they are accessible.
1st Mesa Verde High School
7501 Carriage Drive
Citrus Heights CA 95621
916 / 971-5288
NOTE:
2nd Rusch Park
7301 Antelope Road
Citrus Heights CA 95621
916 / 725-1585
Turn off gas and electricity at your mobile home pedestal prior to evacuating the park. If you don’t know how to do this, please call John and he will show you how it is done.
Oak Grove Estates Emergency Evacuation Plan
SPACES 2 THROUGH 48
Homes located on Lauppe Lane. Exit directly using Lauppe Lane.
SPACES 50 THROUGH 164
Exit the park directly to Lauppe Lane.
SPACES 166 THROUGH 286
Exit the park through the BACK GATE – Gate combo is: 7700 onto Pratt Avenue.
Mesa Verde High School
Student Helper Schedule for Fall Semester 2025
We’re fortunate to have a schedule through the end of the semester, so here’s a handy onepager for your bulletin board! Please check the sign-up sheet for any changes
Mesa Verde High school students can help with outside-only chores including the following:
▪ Weeding, raking ▪ Moving debris
▪ Cleaning outside windows ▪ Other outdoor chores as requested*
*No ladders, please
Please sign up on the sheet provided at the Club House, or call 916-725-1900 and leave a message with your name, space number, and what exactly you want done. The services will be performed on a First On The List First Served basis. If the students run out of time, the list will roll over to the next visit date.
Small Group
Approx. 4-10 kids in the Park NOW EVERY Tuesday until 12/16
From 8:45 – 9:45 AM
12/16: Holiday Social for Residents
*Last day of the semester for these kids. They will also decorate the clubhouse for the holidays, also serve refreshments
AVID Group:*
Large group In the Park on the 1st Friday of every month
From 2:00 to 3:15 PM
This group includes Resident Appreciation BINGO! with PRIZES! in the Club House during one or more of their visits, with most kids at work in the park, while 4-8 stay in the clubhouse, run some Bingo games, and provide refreshments. **Last day for these kids
AVID*: Advancement Via Individual Determination
To read more about The AVID Program, scan the QR code:
You’ll not only be getting help with your chores at no cost, but also supporting this program and our local high school kids!
It’s NOT always about The Pumpkin!
Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. Lattes, pie, nutbread, seeds, and on and on. But October is NOT just for pumpkins!
Recent design trends in Halloween pumpkin carving fly in the face of tradition. The purpose of the lantern is to frighten away the mischievous spirits that will walk abroad on the night of October 31st.
While a carving of Jack Nicholson in The Shining ought to send them packing, pumpkins decorated with unicorn heads, frilly butterfly wings, or girls with ponytails left on the steps of suburban houses are not going to lower malevolent holiday spirit.
Substituting for the shapely pumpkin a gnarly turnip - the original vegetable for Halloween lantern-making - is an easy way of reinvigorating a dark and frightening night that has become increasingly commercialized and commodified. Cutting out a chamber in a turnip for the candle to be placed into does take more effort than scooping out the soft, sticky mass of pumpkin seeds, but a rough-hewn lantern, like this old Irish jack o-lantern, can be surprisingly unnerving.
A fine array of ghoulish lanterns carved from turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, and other hard, roundish root vegetables have been set outside to startle the cat when he emerges from the door. This chilly, windy Halloween scene comes from Graham Oakley’s The Diary of a Church Mouse (New York: Atheneum, 1987), one in the series of adventures about the unlikely truce between the cat Sampson and the mob of mice he is supposed to patrol in a small, but fine British church.
Courtesy of Andrea Immel, Cotsen Library, Princeton University.
Grooving at The Grove
Do you have a skill you would like to teach? A topic on which you would like to speak? A club or group you would like to form? If yes, please contact the office and the date and time can be included in the next Acorn News. If there is a skill you would like to learn, please speak up about that, too, because we have some neighbors who are very willing to share information in their particular areas of knowledge.
October Birthdays
Emma Jones 10/13
Dan Chappell 10/21
October Anniversaries
There were no anniversaries included for October.
Everyone wishes all celebrants listed above special days filled with love and joy. If you have a Birthday or Anniversary in October and we did not list it in this edition of the Acorn News - or you would like your special day in November added next month - please stop by or call the office so that we can include it in next year’s issue.
October 2025 Activities & Events
Here are the activities for October alphabetically by activity/event type.
GARBAGE + Green/Organic 9/24 Wednesday
GARBAGE + Green/Organic + Recycle 10/01
GARBAGE + Green/Organic 10/08
GARBAGE + Green/Organic + Recycle 10/15
GARBAGE + Green/Organic 10/22
GARBAGE + Green/Organic + Recycle 10/29
GARBAGE + Green/Organic 11/05
Mesa Verde High School Helper Dates
Green/Organic collection has been EARLY recently… Garbage & Recycling mid-day / early afternoon.
AVID Group working in the park PLUS BINGO! 10/03 First Friday of the month 2:00 to 3:15 PM
Small Group, 4-10 kids working in the park 10/07 10/14 10/21 Every Tuesday of the month 8:45 to 9:45 AM 10/28 Happy Halloween! 10/31 Friday Trick Or Treat!
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EXPERIENCE
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BATHROOMS
- TUB CONVERSIONS
- FLOORING
- VANITIES
- WALK IN SHOWERS
- LIGHTING
- TOILETS/PLUMBING
KITCHENS & MORE
- REPLACE CABINETS
- REFACE CABINETS
- REPAINT CABINETS
- COUNTER TOPS
- SINKS & FAUCETS
- FLOORING
- APPLIANCES
- LIGHTING
- BACKSPLASH
- PAINTING
- PAINTING SENIOR & PROMOTIONAL DISCOUNTS
t e r i o r P a i n t i n g
E x t e r i o r P a i n t i n g
R o o m E n c l o s u r e s
P a t i o R o o m s
C O N T A C T C A P I T A L W E S T :
( 9 1 6 ) - 3 4 4 - 4 1 3 7
( 8 5 5 ) - 8 7 6 - 3 4 4 6
m f g h o m e 2 0 1 8 @ o u t l o o k . c o m w w w . c w m o d u l a r . c o m
