Connections

Our neighborhood came together in the sweetest harmony—literally and spiritually. Friends and neighbors gathered, bundled in scarves and smiles, to bring the warmth of Christmas carols to the doorsteps of our beloved shut-ins.

Before we stepped out, we assembled trays of homemade cookies—each one a small token of love, wrapped with care and prayer. As we sang, we saw eyes light up, hands reach out, and hearts open wide. The joy was mutual, the connection real.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:11

In every note sung and every cookie shared, we witnessed the truth of Proverbs 11:25:  

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

Tears welled up in more than one eye—some from the listeners, some from us. It was a reminder that even the smallest acts of kindness can echo with eternal significance.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
—Matthew 25:40

We didn’t just bring music tonight; we brought presence, love, and the light of Christ into homes that needed it. And in doing so, we were reminded:

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
—Matthew 5:16

Libby Rhoden

The Westwood Shores Property Owners Association is thrilled to announce the official opening of our brand-new, 24/7 Fitness Center, located next to the beautifully renovated pool! This exciting addition reflects our continued commitment to re-imagining together,  improving amenities, and enhancing the quality of life for all our residents.

Access Made Easy
Entry to the Fitness Center will be through our new Sentry Solo app, available within your existing Gate Sentry application. You’ll find a new button in your app that serves as your virtual key.

For those who haven’t yet installed Gate Sentry, please contact the POA Office for assistance. If you don’t use a smartphone, you can still enjoy the Fitness Center — simply stop by the Pro Shop during business hours or the Access Control office after hours to verify your property ownership, and staff will grant you entry.

Waiver Requirement
Before your first workout, please complete the Fitness Center Waiver of Liability form, available inside the Center. This form only needs to be completed once and can be left at the Center after signing.

We’re Excited to See You There!
The WS POA Board of Trustees is incredibly proud of this new amenity and can’t wait for our community to begin enjoying it. We encourage everyone to make full use of the Fitness Center — safely, responsibly, and to your greatest benefit.

Welcome to a healthier, stronger Westwood Shores!

Believe me when I say, the Communications committee heard you loud and clear about the number of calendar notifications coming your way from the app.

We are proud to say we have finally programed a way to help you manage the amount of notifications. We have been able to categorize Calendar Events into 4 major categories. You can choose to enable or disable by each of the categories.

• Reminder notifications for Reoccurring Community Activity (games, crafts, exercise, etc.) events
• Reminder notifications for Reoccurring WS Services (trash day, heavy haul day, POA BoT meeting, etc.) events
• Reminder notifications for Community Activity (social, dinner, tournaments, etc.) events
• Reminder notifications for Special or Urgent Notices. Locked in enabled mode

You can either learn on your own to set your notifications with directions provided in the footer of all notifications notices or come to an open time Tech Support offering any Sunday now thru November 9th 12:30pm - 4:30pm @ the clubhouse. 

The committee hopes this allows you to manage the notifications that you feel do not pertain to you. 

We know, for some this may not be as far as you or the committee wished to have notifications control but it is as far as we could program it within the confines of the Connections system. Also, guest will no longer see all calendar entries. None of us are Google programmers and our committee stipend does not pay for training. Just kidding, we make the same pay as all volunteers, extra work, bad press.

The Communications committee welcomes all to find out first hand about WS Connections. Our goal is to serve as a one-stop shop for reliable information, bringing together POA and WS curated content from trusted sources to provide owners with accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive insights, and community perspectives—all available from one convenient platform.

While we strive to provide accurate and error-free information, we acknowledge that we're only human—and mistakes may happen. We are committed to continuous improvement and welcome feedback to help us maintain the highest standards of reliability and trust. Your feedback helps us improve, and we’re always open to it — together, we can make this platform even better.

Open communication is key to success. We’re committed to keeping you informed as we move forward together.

WS Communications Committee

Connie Swiderski

Chair

Welcome to Westwood Shores!

On behalf of the Westwood Shores Property Owners Association, we extend a warm and heartfelt welcome to you as a new member of our neighborhood.  We are delighted you have chosen to purchase property here, and we look forward to having you as part of our friendly and active community.

Our neighborhood is proud to offer a variety of amenities designed to enrich your daily life, including:

• Clubhouse - a place to gather for events, meetings, or simply to meet your neighbors.
• Golf Course - an exceptional 18-hole course here in the Piney Wood with a Pro Shop staff ready to help you.
• Swimming Pool - a perfect spot to cool off and relax in the warmer months.
• 19th Hole Grill - a great place to get a meal with a fantastic view.
• Pickleball Courts - six lighted pickleball courts and serious or “laidback” groups waiting for you to join.
• Fitness Center - 24/7 availability for you to enjoy.
• Lake Livingston and inland lakes - for enjoying the outdoors and natural beauty of our community.
• Access Control - allowing you the opportunity to choose your visitors and vendors by the simple click of a button

But what truly makes Westwood Shores special is not just the amenities — it’s the people.  Our neighborhood is built on a spirit of friendliness, mutual respect, and care for one another. You will find your fellow neighbors eager to lend a helping hand, share a smile, or simply stop for a chat while out on a walk.

The POA is here to support you, answer questions, and help you feel at home. You will receive regular updates through our emails and WS Connections about upcoming events and important community information.  We also encourage you to get involved in community activities — you will find it is a great way to meet neighbors and feel connected.

Once again, welcome to Westwood Shores! We are glad you are here.

Warm regards,
Westwood Shores POA Board of Trustees

In an emergency, every second counts. Trinity County 911 has asked that all homes have clearly visible house numbers to help emergency personnel find your location quickly. If your house number isn’t easy to see from the street, valuable time may be lost — and in a life-threatening situation, that time could be critical.
To support this vital safety measure, the Westwood Shores Board of Trustees previously updated the ACC Policy with the following addition:

Section 7.16 – Address Identification
All residences are required to have address identification that is viewable from the street.

Because your safety and the well-being of our community are top priorities, the Board has requested that this requirement be actively enforced. Starting today, property owners will have 30 days to install a clearly visible house number that can be seen from the street. If your home is set back or obscured from view, this may mean placing a sign at the end of your driveway.

Additionally, with recent 911 address updates across the county, we encourage you to double-check your correct address with the Trinity County 911 Office at 936-642-3904, especially if you’ve had any recent mail or emergency service confusion.
Let’s work together to keep our community safe. Ensuring your address is easy to spot helps emergency responders get to you or your loved ones quickly when it matters most.

Thank you,
Westwood Shores Board of Trustees

by Interesting Facts

It’s a fact of life — people grow old. While modern society tends to obsess about the negatives of aging, studies suggest that we often experience more happiness and contentment in our later years. These 12 facts investigate the phenomenon of growing old, debunk some persistent myths about aging, and explore the brighter side of those golden years.

Say Goodbye To Migraines

As our bodies age, they naturally become more susceptible to a variety of illnesses and maladies — but migraines are the rare exception. Migraines often first develop in adolescence, and while both sexes are affected, women are three times more likely to develop migraines compared to men (often due to a fluctuation of estrogen levels). However, the frequency of migraines eventually peaks at the age of 40 and actually gets better as we enter our golden years. Stress and hormones are the most common triggers for migraines, and these two factors usually affect older people with less severity. That said, pain, smoking, and alcohol can still contribute to migraines in seniors, and although migraines generally subside with age, they are still the second-most-common headache disorder in older people (after tension headaches). One in 10 older adults still experience them about once a year.

Hair Doesn’t Actually “Turn” Gray

One of the hallmarks of aging is that our lifelong hair color begins to turn gray, or in some cases, white. Although an entire industry is built around hiding this fact, human hair isn’t actually turning gray so much as no longer supplying the pigments necessary to produce color. This occurs when hydrogen peroxide builds up after wear-and-tear on the hair follicles. That blocks the normal synthesis of melanin, which is responsible for all shades of hair color.

Older Adults Are Happier Than People in Their 20s on Average

As people age, we also gain a certain calm. A study published in 2016 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry analyzed a random sample of 1,546 people ages 21 to 100 in San Diego. Although younger people in the survey responded positively in terms of physical health compared to older folks (as anticipated), older adults far outperformed younger generations in terms of mental well-being. Panic disorders are also reported as less common among older cohorts compared to younger people, and developing a panic disorder later in life is a rarity.

They Also Sweat Less, Too

As we age, our skin loses collagen, gets thinner, and presses our sweat glands close to the surface of our skin. This process is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, because these glands are squeezed, it’s harder for sweat to come out of our pores, meaning older people sweat less overall. This may be a check mark in the “pro” column for personal hygiene, but it does come with a few negative side effects. With a reduced ability to sweat, older adults can have trouble regulating temperature during strenuous exercise or excessive heat. Sweat also plays an important role in healing, as it helps stimulate wound closure in skin cells. Thankfully, a lifetime of physical fitness helps slow down this process so you can sweat long into your golden years.

Older People Vote More Than Any Other Age Group

Older people may not feel as strong as they did in their youth, but in terms of political power, they’re as strong as ever. In 2018, 64% of people 65 and over voted in the U.S. midterm election — the highest turnout of any age group — and the 65- to 74-year-old cohort also had the highest turnout in the 2020 election. There are a couple of reasons why the older vote is particularly robust. The biggest may be that older Americans, as well as seniors in other democracies, have government programs and initiatives they rely on, such as Medicare, prescription drug pricing, and Social Security, and because these policies so directly affect them, elections tend to turn out seniors in higher numbers. (There are other factors at play, too — older folks may simply have more time on their hands.) Senior citizens also grease the wheels of democracy, as they’re the most likely age group to volunteer as poll workers on Election Day.

Read the rest of the story

by POA Board of Trustees

We are excited to share a theme the POA Board of Trustees has selected to use for our community this year. “Reimagining Together”. This theme reflects our shared belief that the best communities are built through collaboration, creativity, and a collective vision for the future.

We have lived through the first 50 years of Westwood Shores as it was originally designed and now it is time for us to turn over a new leaf and “Reimagine Together” our community and future. As we have been moving ahead, we see incredible potential – not just for our common areas and amenities, but in the relationships, experiences, and shared goals that make Westwood Shores a special community. Whether you are a full time resident, or a weekender , “Reimagining Together” is an invitation to each of you to think boldly about what our community can become and how we can work together to bring that vision to life.

Whether you’ve lived here for years or just joined us, you can make a difference. In the coming weeks and months, you will hear more about “Reimagining Together” from the Board and our Committees. You’ll have opportunities to attend and participate in many activities that will further our improvements.

Let’s take this journey together – let’s reimagine what’s possible, because when we do it together, we create something far greater than we can alone.

Sincerely,

POA Board of Trustees

• Everyday waste from your home, including food scraps, food wrappers, diapers, hygiene products, plastic bags, and paper products. This is the typical small, routine trash generated daily.

• Thin, smooth cardboard, such as cereal boxes, tissue boxes, and shoe boxes. These are usually made from a single layer of material and are primarily used for packaging lightweight items. Household cardboard can go in your regular bagged trash.

• Sturdier, thicker cardboard like shipping boxes or moving boxes, designed for strength and durability. Examples include Amazon or Chewy boxes and large moving boxes.  If styrofoam is inside the box, the styrofoam may be placed in household trash but the box will still need to be broken down
• These need to be broken down and must be placed out for cardboard pickup. Alternatively, they can be dropped off at the maintenance barn on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 8:00 AM and Noon.

• Large, bulky, or heavy items that don’t fit into regular trash collection. These may require special handling. Examples include furniture, appliances, and scrap metal (like old TVs or metal desks). Note: Tires, batteries, and paint are not accepted.

Neighborhood Watch is sponsoring the recycling project of flimsy plastic.

The reward for recycling this plastic will be a Trex made park bench for Westwood Shores. This will be available to order at the end of a year of collecting!

Our year ends in September!

Check the chart to see what we may recycle in this program!

Extracted directly from Documents and Governing Policies files

FITNESS CENTER

RULES AND REGULATIONS

A. All persons using the Fitness Center must register in the Pro Shop (or the 19th Hole if the Pro Shop is closed) and sign the Waiver of Liability prior to entering the Fitness Center.

B. Persons may be refused admission at the discretion of Country Club staff. 

C. Any person 18 years of age or younger must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian or someone 18 years of age or older who is authorized by a parent or legal guardian to supervise the minor while in the Fitness Center.

D. Guests are limited to one per member per visit.  A Guest must be accompanied by a Member who will sign the guest in and remain at the Fitness Center for the guest to use the equipment at no charge.

E. An exception to the above may be made only by contacting the Country Club staff for prior approval of the guest.  If this is approved and the Member is not present, a fee will be charged per guest.

F. Management reserves the right to permit persons other than members and their guests to use the Fitness Center and to charge a fee for such use.

G. Proper workout attire is required.  A shirt and shoes must be worn.

H. No glass containers or food is allowed within the Fitness Center.  Water bottles are permitted.

I. Use of the equipment is on a first come first served basis.

J. All exercise equipment shall be placed back in its original place prior to exiting the Fitness Center.

K. All persons are required to sanitize the exercise equipment after use.

L. No abusive or profane language or breach of the peace will be allowed.

M. Persons who appear to be under the influence of intoxicating beverages or substances are strictly prohibited on the premises.  Alcohol is not permitted.

N. The Country Club is a smoke free facility.

O. Fitness Center hours of operation are from the opening of the Pro Shop to the close of the 19th Hole.

COUNTRY CLUB

RULES AND REGULATIONS REVISED SEPTEMBER 2022