Estates West Homeowners Association Page 8 Estates West … · 2016-12-16 · the neighborhood and notify the City of Dallas of any required repairs. The VP of Code and Zoning will

Estates West Homeowners Association Page 8

Our Thanks to our Advertisers

Place an ad in our newsletter which is hand deliv-

ered to 640 homes quarterly..A business card size

ad is $25.00 for members and $35.00 for non-

members. Just send a business card or text along

with a check made out to EWHA to Ken Sewell,

Editor,7661 La Bolsa Dr., Dallas, TX 75248.

Next issue is in April 2016.

Page Estates West Homeowners Association

www.es ta t e swes t . o rg Janua ry 2016

Estates West Homeowners Association

GENERAL MEETING

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015 - 7:30 PM

JAMES BOWIE ELEMENTARY CAFETERIA

AGENDA

By-Laws Change

Election of 2016 Officers

Collection of 2016 Dues

Bottoms Up! (From our President, Steve Crossman)

Shhhhh! Don’t tell anyone. I arrived 40 minutes late to the December EWHA board meeting, and then

only because my fellow board member, Sara Sharkey, called to remind me. I do have a fairly good excuse

about forgetting our meeting: propofol. Yes, you got it right, the Michael Jackson drug.

In October 2015, I received a friendly reminder from my doctor that it was time for another colonoscopy.

It was a very personal invitation and I was tempted to RSVP, “No, sorry, I can’t make it this time.” In-

stead, I called the cheerful receptionist who booked my appointment.

For those unfamiliar with this wonderful procedure, the preparation is the worst part. Two days prior to the

big event, you eat lightly. One day before, you don’t eat, but instead drink lots of clear liquids. The after-

noon before, you guzzle a delicious beverage within a one hour time span. Then six hours later, to ensure

you get the maximum experience, you guzzle another round of this beverage.

Seven years ago my beverage prescription was for a product called Go Lightly. Someone with a good

sense of humor named this product. If I recall correctly, I had to drink a five gallon bucket’s worth,

TWICE, six hours apart. This year, my doctor’s prescription of choice was for a beverage called SuPrep.

The effects are the same. The product is not called MyPrep for a reason. Instead, it is SUprep (YOUR

prep). It is a lot of money, literally, down the toilet, in short order. For those of you looking to drop a few

pounds, I guarantee this will work. (Continued on P. 3)

Estates West Homeowners Association Page 2

Next Board Meetings

Feb. 11, 2016

SOUND OFF (from

our residents)

Our streets and neighbor

were beautiful during the

Christmas and New Year

holidays? Thanks to all who decorated the street

signs and their homes.

Hurray for our volunteers, without them our

dues would be greatly higher. They serve us all

with a smile. If you see one working, pause to

thank them.

Election of 2016 Officers

At the Annual Meeting, you will

be able to vote for and meet your

new Officers for 2016. The cur-

rent board is pleased to present the

following slate of officers for your

consideration .

..President – Steve Crossman

Secretary – Sara Sharkey

VP Code and Zoning – OPEN

VP Beautification – OPEN

VP Membership – Kristi Sunstrom

Treasurer – David Hanna

VP Crime Watch/VIP –Jackie Long

If you would like to serve, call Steve.

Volunteer Opportunities

EWHA runs on the energy supplied by volun-

teers. If you want to help keep our neighbor-

hood safer from crime by serving as a Crime

Watch/VIP member contact Jackie Long at

Duties of the VP Code Compliance

The VP for Beautification shall promote the

beautification of the area which includes

scheduling maintenance for the Arapaho

Strip (landscaped area that borders Estates

West along Arapaho Rd between Spring

Creek Rd & La Avenida Dr) and organizing

the monthly volunteer schedule to service

this area (trash pickup, etc). The VP of Beau-

tification would also oversee any other

neighborhood beautification projects that are

approved by the board and attend board

meetings.

Thanks to Norine Wingate and Pam

Davis for their excellent service as

2015 EWHA Officers

Duties of VP Code and Zoning

The Vice-President for Code Compliance and

Zoning shall monitor and take such action as

may be necessary to ensure compliance with

existing zoning and City of Dallas regulations

in the area. He shall monitor infrastructure of

the neighborhood and notify the City of Dallas

of any required repairs. The VP of Code and

Zoning will also attend board meetings.

Page 7 Estates West Homeowners Association

Esttates West Crime Watch

Welcome to 2016! The Christmas decorations

certainly were enjoyed by all VIPers as we pa-

trolled in December. Alas, they are gone, but not

forgotten.

The crime this past year has been greatly re-

duced in Estates West. This was probably the

result of VIP patrols and the increased number of

Dallas Police drive-throughs. We owe a great

thanks to our officers at the North Central Sta-

tion on McCallum and Hillcrest. A gift of cook-

ies would be appreciated by the officers there.

I will again be sending yellow postcard requests

for telephone numbers for our Patrol Jour-

nal. This information is strictly used during our

patrols to alert you to an open garage door or

fence ajar. We will also let you know of any

problems encountered in your alley.

Our VIP membership is grow-

ing. We had four new mem-

bers added this Fall: David

Cox, Dewey Dethrow, Karen

and Randy Hogan. There will be a training class

held at the Station in January or February. We

would appreciate any new members from our

neighborhood. Let me know if you would be

interested and I will pass your name on to Of-

ficer Mark Lutz. Participation only involves two

or three hours a month. You will become friends

with some truly devoted neighbors.

Feel free to call me if you have any concerns

about the safety in our neighborhood. I am still

receiving calls about the coyote roaming in our

Area. Please be mindful of this danger and pro-

tect your animals.

Jackie Long

Crime Watch and

VIP Chairperson

Gardener’s Corner

By Bob Hettler & Calloway’s Nursery

Ways to Prevent Rats and Other Animals

from Entering Structures This Winter Several methods can be

used to keep rodents out of

attics and other entry points

around the house:

Steel mesh can be sta-

pled or nailed around

wind turbines and other

openings. Rats and

mice can fit through

holes as small as 1/4 inch in diameter.

Steel wool can be stuffed into weep holes and

cracks or areas where sunlight can be seen.

Trim trees away from the house to take away

jumping on points.

Take proper sanitation steps to keep animals

away from garbage or recycle containers and

store bird seed and other food items in sealed

containers. Raccoons and opossums have re-

cently been spotted in the neighborhood going

through garbage containers looking for food.

Store clothes, blankets, and fleece to prevent

rats and other animals from nesting in these

materials during cold weather.

Catch mice and rats using sticky or snap traps. Place

in areas where you see droppings, gnawing, urine

stains, or scratch marks. I have successfully used

packets of rat killer available from Home Depot.

You simply place the packets in suspected traffic

areas such as the attic and the rats or mice chew into

the packets and eat the poison granules. A word of

caution: The rats usually find their way out of attics

to a water source. Once they do they will die. If they

do not make it out, you will be left with a smell in

the attic or house for several days. Call 311 or the

City Wildlife Department if larger animals are be-

lieved to be living in homes or other structures. They

will provide traps to try and catch these pests.

Estates West Homeowners Association Page 6

2016 Dues—$40 Annually or

$30 If Paid Before April 1, 2016

Last Name: ________________________

First Name: ________________________

Address: ___________________________

Home Phone: _______________________

(circle one)

Include my name and address in the EWHA direc-

tory Yes/No

Include my phone number in the EWHA

directory Yes/No

I would like to receive EWHA updates and Crime

Watch updates by email. Yes/No

If yes, list you email address here: ________

____________________________________

Comments/Suggestions:

________________________________________

____________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

Mail to

Kristi Sunstrom

EWHA MEMBERSHIP VP

7726 La Manga

Dallas, Texas 75248

Ken Sewell Newsletter Editor

2016 Membership Drive Join by April 1st to receive a 25% discount and

chance to win a Cinco de Mayo Taco Party!

By Kristi Sunstrom – VP Membership

Please consider joining EWHA in 2016. The or-

ganization provides services such as Volunteers in

Patrol (Crime Watch), holiday and patriotic deco-

rations, the Easter Egg Hunt and July 4th Parade

and Celebration. In 2015, only 51% of our 640

homes were members, so we have lots of neighbors

to reach in 2016. Joining EWHA is an easy way to

benefit YOUR neighborhood and assist with our

continuous improvement.

Rates have not been raised from $30.00 since

EWHA was formed. To cover the increasing costs

of services provided, rates will increase to $40.00

in 2016. Those joining by April 1st will receive a

25% discount off $40.00 to maintain the rate of

$30.00.

In addition to receiving a discount, the street with

the highest percentage of member households on

April 1st will receive a Cinco de Mayo Taco Par-

ty. The EWHA board will coordinate with a chair-

person on your street to provide tacos from a local

restaurant and an opportunity to get together with

your neighbors for some fun on Thursday, May 5th.

Please feel free to contact Kristi if there are ques-

tions – [email protected]

I look forward to serving our neighborhood in

2016. Thank you for a great year.

To Join, Cut and Mail the Coupon to

the Right or go to Our Website and Use

PayPal or Your Credit Card at http://

estateswest.org/membership/

We need you to help keep our neigh-

borhood and property values high.

Page 3 Estates West Homeowners Association

Bottoms Up! (From our President, Steve Crossman) Continued from P. 1.

On the big day, my wife drove me to Baylor (You are required to have a designated driver) where I

changed into a hospital gown and was whisked into a surgery room. I watched as the nurse anesthetist

changed my IV drip to propofol, a white milky substance. As it quickly hit my veins, I wished all in the

room a Merry Christmas, and then I was sound asleep. Thirty minutes later they wheeled me back to

“recovery”.

The doctor gave me an all clear, along with a photo inventory of my colon, and said, “I will see you in

ten years.” I told him, “Great, I’ll see you in 25 years!” to which he replied, “When we are both in the

nursing home.”

The propofol obviously had a lingering effect as I totally forgot about the EWHA board meeting that

same evening. When I finally did arrive Sara Sharkey told me, “Steve, I’m so glad you had a colonosco-

py. My dad died at age 58 of colon cancer.” Her comments encouraged me.

If you are age 50 or older, just do it. If you have been procrastinating, this is your push to be proactive

regarding your health! Whatever preventive maintenance you have been putting off (mammogram, a

physical, a blood draw, etc.) I encourage you to act on it in 2016. May you have a healthy New Year!

Steve Crossman was not compensated by anyone to encourage doctor visits, although he should be!

October/November Yard of the Month

Pam Davis & Kristi Sunstrom moved into

7726 La Manga in 2008. They both have been

active in Estates West activities. Their front

yard has a flag pole that displays the American

Flag. They have two large trees, Crepe Myrtle

and an Oak. The front flower beds feature sea-

sonal plants. They also have a Japanese Ma-

ple, as well as holly, boxwood and pit-

tosporum shrubs, coleus, and other plants.

The back yard features Rose of Sharon, Wan-

dering Jew, Turk's Cap, Sage and numerous

other plants.

This is a very attractive yard in both the front

and back yards. As many neighbors do, they

use Neil Sperry as a guide for a lot of their

plants.

Estates West Homeowners Association Page 4

How to Save $45 - by Pam Davis, VP Code and Compliance

Here is an easy tip to start off your new year, avoid receiving a $45 citation

from the City of Dallas by facing your vehicle the correct way when park-

ing on the street. Recently several neighbors have received these cita-

tions. If you park your vehicle in front of your home, make sure it is going

the direction of traffic. For example, if you are traveling westbound, don't

cut over and park on the southbound side of the street. Parking with the

flow of traffic is safer when coming, as you don't have to cut across traffic

to park, and when going, as you don't pull head-on into oncoming traf-

fic. So, next time you pull over to park your car, make sure the curb is on

the right side of your vehicle. Happy New Year.

Bulk Trash Pick Up - 2016 Changes

Beginning in January, bulk trash for our neighborhood

will be moved to the second week of each month. You

can set your trash out the Thursday prior to pick-up

week. For example, in February, the set out date is

Thursday, February 4th for pick-up the week of Febru-

ary 8th. Trash placed in front of your home prior to

the scheduled dates may result in a fine from the City

of Dallas. For more information, you can go to Dal-

lasBrushandBulk.com

Fretz Park Library Now Open and It’s Bigger and Better

Branch Highlights

Homework Help Now!

Black Box Theater

Free Wifi

Regular Storytime for Children (listed below)

Book Discussion Group

Job Seekers Resource Center

Self-Service Print Release Station

2 Early Learning System computers (Ages 2-12)

Drive-up access to return materials

Tales and Tunes for Tots

Friday, January 08, 2016 - 11:00 AM in the

Auditorium) Story Time for toddlers who love

to jump around, hear stories, and sing songs.

Suggested ages: 2 - 4 years old.

Page 5 Estates West Homeowners Association

Proposed By-Laws Change

:Your board has determined that they do not need to meet every month and want to sched-ule meetings every other month at this time. Since the current By-Laws specify monthly meetings, the board proposes to change the word monthly to periodically. After member-ship approval, the paragraph will read as fol-lows.

4.3 Meetings of Executive Board. The Execu-tive Board shall meet periodically at a time and place prescribed by the board at a previous meeting or prescribed by the President. The President should, if possible, furnish a written agenda to each member of the Executive Board at least one day prior to the meeting. Actual presence of a simple majority of the membership of the Executive Board shall be necessary for a quorum. Any member who will be unable to attend should advise the Presi-dent as far in advance of the meeting as possi-ble. All Executive Board meetings shall be open to any member of the Association.

Garbage/Recycle

Cans

If your Garbage /Recycle

Can Needs Repair or Re-

placement Call 311 or go

to Dallas City Hall and

click on Resident and Gar-

bage roll cart.

This is a very convenient site to report or inquire

about any city service or function.

Thank You to Our Mulch Spreaders

And Looking for More Volunteers

The City has supplied us with piles of mulch to

spread on The Trail.

We had our first day

of spreading in No-

vember and we will

continue until all the

piles of mulch are

gone.

We want to thank the

following people for their time and their efforts in

getting one section of The Trail completed: Art

Stewart for driving and providing a trailer to redis-

tribute the mulch, to Brad, Case, Will and Buck

Newberry; David Anderson, Ann Murphy, Tom

Swanson of Estates West and Brian Enns from

Prestonwood East in spreading .

The holidays have slowed us down a bit as every-

one is so busy at this time of year. We will start

back on this in January. If you have a few hours

to help us with this, please contact Ann Murphy at

[email protected]. We want to get this ac-

complished well before spring.

The Trail is a wonderful asset to our community

and many people take advantage of it which is

wonderful. The Trail does not take care of itself.

We do need volunteers to help keep it in great

shape. We will take whatever time you have to

help us, an hour or two or more.

Thank you and hope to hear from you.

Ann Murphy