www.willowlake.siteblast.com July 2013 Volume 10, Issue 7
The Official Publication of the Willowlake Homeowners Association
JUNE Yard of the Month
Willowlake has the 2nd winner (of 4) of the Yard of the Month award. We are so happy to see so many homeowners participating (whether they know it or not) in making our community beautiful. You guys are making it hard for us to choose. This month’s yard at 10115 Autumnway Ct. was chosen because of the colorful flowers, manicured lawn, yard decorations and stonework. Remember, edging, mowing and colorful (real) flowers count. We get so much pleasure awarding the homeowners for their hard work when we present them with a $25 gift card and see their surprise and happiness. Can we make you happy? You know what you have to do.
By the YOM Committee
INDEPENDENCE DAY Ice Cream Social
By James Deitiker, Social Events Chairperson All residents of Willowlake subdivision are invited to socialize with
neighbors while enjoying a variety of ice cream treats on July 4th at 5:00 p.m. at the Gazebo. Feel free to bring your flags, decorative items, apple pie or other holiday treats for all to enjoy. For more information, contact James Deitiker.
Willowlake Park Clean-Up A Success
By James Deitiker, Social Events ChairpersonThe annual Willowlake park
clean-up was held on May 11, 2013. Enrique Sifentes, Elizabeth Deitiker and I participated in the park clean-up. It was a success despite a turnout of just three volunteers mainly due to rain the day before the event. We picked up many plastic bottles, cans and other trash, but left much for future clean-up. We plan to have another clean-up in October of this year. Look for more information in the September newsletter and also on our facebook page.
WillowlakeAll Emergencies ...............................................................911Bratton Pools .................................................. 281-988-7700Cypress-Fairbanks Hospital ............................ 281-897-3300Harris County Sheriff ..................................... 713-221-6000Department of Public Safety .......................... 281-890-5440Fire Department (non-emergency) ................. 713-466-6161Center Point Energy - Power Outages Only ... 713-207-2222Center Point Energy - Gas .............................. 713-659-2111Harris County Animal Control ...................... 281-999-3191Memorial City Hospital ................................. 713-932-3000MUD #11 ...................................................... 281-807-9500Poison Control Center ................................... 800-222-1222Willowplace Post Office ................................ 281-890-2392Harris County Road & Bridge ....................... 281-353-8424VF Waste Services, Inc. .................................. 713-787-9790Harris Co. Public Health & Environ. Svcs. .... 713-920-2831District 5 Vacation Watch .............................. 281-290-2100
Randall Management, Inc. Team ...................... 713-728-1126ManagerJane Godwin [email protected], ext. 11Asst. ManagerMiguel Trevino [email protected], ext. 15Deed RestrictionsLucy Sandoval [email protected], ext. 18CollectionsJennifer Phillips [email protected], ext. 22Answering ServiceAfter business hours for common area emergencies .............................. (713) 850-4729
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
MANAGEMENT INFO
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
For information on your homeowner’s assessments, deed restriction violations or questions in general please contact:
ATTENTION: Personal information submitted in articles may be archived
by Peel, Inc. and searchable in the future.
FOR SALE
Changes to Willowlake May 2013 Newsletter:Page 2- Under Board of DirectorsRemove: President Debi Bon and informationAdd: the word OPEN next to President
Under Teenage Job SeekersRemove: the names Travis and Trevor and their information
FOR SALE: Stationary bike in good condition $75If interested contact 832-248-3997.
Just A Few Reminders• A new list of the board members and their contact information
will be in the newsletter starting in July.
• Board meetings will no longer be on the third Thursday of each month. The new time will be printed in the August newsletter. In the mean time, if you wish to attend a board meeting please contact Randall Management.
• The 4th of July fireworks should end no later than 1:00am in consideration of your neighbors. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO SHOOT FIREARMS INTO THE AIR AT ANY TIME.
• Don’t forget to attend the Willowlake Ice Cream Social July 4th 5:00pm at the gazebo.
• School is out; watch out for children and teenagers playing in the streets.
INSTRUCTIONS:Combine flour and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Cut in 3/4 cup
butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture evenly into a greased 13- x 9- x 2-inch pan. Bake at 350 deg. for 15 to 17 minutes.
Combine 1 cup brown sugar and remaining ingredients except pecans, beating well. Stir in pecans. Pour filling over prepared crust. Bake at 350 deg. for 35 to 40 minutes or until firm. Let cool, and cut into bars. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.
Chinch BugsTip Sheet from Gardenline host Randy Lemmon
Once it’s hot enough in Houston, it’s not long before the dreaded chinch bugs come to suck the life out of our St. Augustine turfgrass. They especially like to chew up lawns that aren’t taken care of very well. In other words, well-watered and well-fertilized lawns are the best way to keep chinch bugs at bay. But what if you suspect you’ve got chinch bugs? Is there a quick way to tell?
Unfortunately, in many cases, people make the wrong diagnosis when chinch bugs begin their damage. Quite often, when the first telltale sign pops up in the form of small yellowing spots, people either assume they have a fungal disease or iron deficiency. Then, they spray in vain with a fungicide or put out an iron supplement or fertilizer. And even when people think they have chinch bugs, they sometimes don’t treat often enough to break the cycle. I’ll get to that a little later.
If you start seeing a small yellowing, irregular patch in the lawn, first find out if you’ve got chinch bugs. You can make that determination with a regular coffee can and a water hose, while you get down your hands and knees to do a little investigation. On the green-yellow edge of the patch, shove the coffee can (open at both ends, for my Aggie brethren out there) into the soil and fill it with water. If you see flea-like insects floating to the top, you’ve got chinch bugs.
While you’re on your hands and knees, push the grass aside and look down near the root systems - near that yellow-green edge of the patch again. See if you can spot those flea- sized bugs with white spots on their sides or the baby ones that are orange with a white ring.
To treat for chinch bugs, you need to apply a liquid insecticide (a synthetic pyrethroid like Bifenthrin, Permethrin, Cypermethrin or Deltamethrin) three times over a 21-day period ... or once every five to seven days ... up to four applications at most. Sadly, most people who try to treat for chinch bugs use a granular insecticide or they only make one application of liquid insecticide.
GardenLine is heard exclusively on NewsRadio 740 KTRH 6:00-10:00 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Call Today to Get Started On All Your Printing Needs.
EXPERIENCE MATTERS doing business for 30+ years.
Kids’ CornerMy 18-year old daughter and I were sitting in the yard one
afternoon when our cat sauntered by.“That cat certainly has a great life,” I remarked. “She comes
and goes just as she darn well pleases.”“That,” my daughter replied dryly, “is because she doesn’t live
with her mother.”
Mark Your CalendarJuly 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Waste/Recycle PickupJuly 4
Independence Day
Kids’ Cross-Country Team’s Season Starts September 10th
The Northwest Flyers Track Club Youth Cross-Country Team kicks off the fall season with registration and an orientation for parents and athletes on Tuesday, September 10, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. (location to be announced.) The first practice will be held at the Cypress Creek YMCA on Thursday, September 12.
The Northwest Flyers Track Club is a member program of USA Track and Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and cross country. The club is in its 26th year in the northwest Houston area. Ages 6-18 may participate in the team, and both beginners and experienced runners are welcome.
Contact Coach Eric Wentworth at [email protected] 281-961-6603 or Coach Donnell Carter [email protected], 281-467-4727 for more information. Visit www.northwestflyers.org to get updates and learn more about the team.
DID YOU KNOW?Ruling class: Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt
911 Hang Up 0Alarm Local 1 0Alarm/Rep. -Site 0 Alarm/Sil/Pan/HU 0Burglary/Motveh 1 Check Park 5 6Contract Check 105Crim Mischief 0Disch Fire Arm 0Dist/Family 0Dist/Juvenile 0Dist/Loud Noise 3Dist/Other 0DWI 0Illegal Dumping 0Meet the Resident 3Mud Bldg Chk 5Solicitors 0Susp Person 2Theft/Other 0Traffic Hazard 0Traffic Stop 0Vacation Watch 0Veh Abandon 0Veh Suspicious 4Vehicle Stolen 0
-Submitted by Dave BannenPresident
Willowlake Homeschool Corner
DID YOU KNOW?• Several families in Willowlake are homeschoolers!• Today an estimated 1.6 – 2.0 million children are being taught
at home by their parents.• On average, homeschool students in grades 1 – 4 perform
one grade level higher than their public and private school counterparts.
• By grade 8, the average homeschool student performs four grade levels above the national average.
• The number of families choosing to homeschool grows at an estimated annual rate of 7 – 15 percent.
• In a web poll taken by 989 respondents, 49% said religious conviction is the main reason they continue homeschooling; 15% positive social environment; 14% academic excellence; 12% specific needs of child; 5% curriculum choice; and 5% flexibility.
HOMESCHOOLING: GETTING STARTEDAs long as there have been parents and children, “homeschooling”
has been happening. It was only with the emergence of widespread compulsory public education that this age-old method of instruction was virtually forgotten, but not eradicated.
Foreign service workers or missionaries who by choice or necessity did not send their children to boarding schools continued the tradition of home education. Children who had illnesses that kept them from attending school were frequently taught at home. And families who lived in the remote areas of Alaska or other isolated regions answered their children’s educational needs with homeschooling.
In the 1970s and ‘80s, homeschooling experienced a renaissance as a few parents began to question whether the public education system or existing private schools were right for their individual child. They wondered if they might be able to do a better job.
And what do you know? Parents discovered they could do a great job. They told two friends who told two friends and so on. The modern homeschooling movement was born. (Source: HSLDA)
ONLINE RESOURCES:The following websites have tons of great information about
homeschooling:• Southeast Texas Homeschool Association: www.sethsa.org• Texas Homeschool Coalition: www.thsc.org• Home School Legal Defense Association: www.hslda.org
UPCOMING HOMESCHOOL EVENTS:THSC Southwest Convention & Family Conference: August 1-3, 2013
The Woodlands Waterway Marriott, The Woodlands, TexasIf you are interested in learning more about homeschooling or
connecting with other Willowlake homeschool families, email or call me anytime!
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H. Jackson Brown, Jr., wrote Life’s Little Instruction Book to provide his son with wisdom he could refer to as he lived his life. In that same spirit, community association leaders through the years have shared their advice and pearls of wisdom for better community association life. Here are a few tips from the Community Association Institute to guide all of us to ensure that our community association experience enhances our life.
1. Review the covenants, conditions and restrictions again after you move in.
2. Pay your assessments on time. It helps the association keep expenses down.
3. Attend the annual meeting. Find out what’s going on.4. Read the community magazine.5. Follow the rules.6. Serve on a committee. Serve because you care about your
neighborhood, not because you have a hidden agenda.7. Help organize a community event--a food drive, holiday gift drive,
or social event. Help Others.8. Vote when the opportunity arises.9. Remember that you are a member of the community association.
What is good for the Association is good for you. BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR!
10. Curb your dog. Keep him/her from disturbing the neighbors.11. Keep noises, i.e. televisions, music, lawn equipment, at a
reasonable volume during reasonable times.12. Park in your garage and keep the door closed. Park excess vehicles
only on the driveway; don’t park in the street.13. Take care of your property.....no junk cars, paint when needed,
junk out of yard and well manicured.14. Walk softly.15. Share a smile and a wave with a neighbor. 16. Offer to lend a hand.17. Welcome new neighbors to the community.18. Timely pick up (or ask your neighbors to do it for you if you are
away) your trash containers and store them away from your neighbors’ and public view.
19. Practice the Golden Rule. Do unto others as I would have them do unto me.
20. Have a good life.
Tips from the Community Association InstituteSubmitted by Mary Smith
WillowlakeAt no time will any source be allowed to use the Willowlake contents, or loan said contents, to others in anyway, shape or form, nor in any media, website, print, film, e-mail, electrostatic copy, fax, or etc. for the purpose of solicitation, commercial use, or any use for profit, political campaigns, or other self amplification, under penalty of law without written or expressed permission from the Willowlake Homeowners Association and Peel, Inc. The information in the Willowlake Watch is exclusively for the private use of Willowlake residents only.
DISCLAIMER: Articles and ads in this newsletter express the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Peel, Inc. or its employees. Peel, Inc. is not responsible for the accuracy of any facts stated in articles submitted by others. The publisher also assumes no responsibility for the advertising content with this publication. All warranties and representations made in the advertising content are solely that of the advertiser and any such claims regarding its content should be taken up with the advertiser.* The publisher assumes no liability with regard to its advertisers for misprints or failure to place advertising in this publication except for the actual cost of such advertising.* Although every effort is taken to avoid mistakes and/or misprints, the publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors of information or typographical mistakes, except as limited to the cost of advertising as stated above or in the case of misinformation, a printed retraction/correction.* Under no circumstances shall the publisher be held liable for incidental or consequential damages, inconvenience, loss of business or services, or any other liabilities from failure to publish, or from failure to publish in a timely manner, except as limited to liabilities stated above.
Do You Have Reason to Celebrate?
We want to hear from you! Email [email protected] to let the community know!
