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Home My WebLink AboutJanuaryWER - r 1~9 9;;~N A7 A (:7= ' . o. 1 1 s _;,A U Soccer Day'. Mayor Bill Watson signed a proclamation recognizing Saturday, November 20, 1993, as West U Soccer Day in West University Place. The Soccer Club is a completely volun- teer organization serving over 900 area children. It is recognized as one of the impor- tant community assets contributing to the quality of life that makes this such a great place to live. The Board of Directors include Bob Fry (Pr es id en t), Rick Holi , ington (Vice President), Larry Veselka (Secretary), Bill Reiss (Treasurer), Tom Troll, Larry City Currents is printed on Massey, Dan Butterwick, Dick Hamill, David Lahmlein, Bill Mack, Terri Warren, Jeff recycled paper! Overstreet, Steve Scott, Mike Monks, Robert LaForge, Patty Sparks, Becky Cubberly, George Herman, Kathy Eason, Becky Page, Tori Snyder, See Directors, Page 4 Mayor Bill Watson (665-3969) Mayor Pro Tem Tom Rushing (666-0434) City Council Members Teresa W. Fogler (664-6433), Linda Lewis (662-5812), Stan McCandless (669-1830) City Manager Michael Tanner (662-5812) 3800 University Boulevard - Houston, Texas 77005 Jan-l.,_-°y Y3, Page 2 As we start the new year, Seniors should remember that we have many activities held in the Senior Wing almost all day long. If you have decided you need to start exercising, we have two types of classes. In addition to "Sit and Get Fit" and "Early Risers" we offer hula and line dance. Need to develop your creative skills? How about joining the beading or ceramic class? Maybe your social circle needs expanding. We enjoy dart baseball, bridge and bingo weekly. If you yearn to travel, but don't want to leave town, you can end the wan- derlust with slide shows on Tuesday after- noons. This is a short rundown of some of our regularly scheduled activities that will help you get fit, enhance your well-being and keep you social calendar full. We also of- fer day trips, seminars, luncheons and par- ties. Please refer to our latest brochure that should have recently arrived in your mail. Don't forget that we also offer rides to visit a doctor, dentist or beauty shop. Grocery shopping happens on Thursday mornings. This year make it your resolution to join up with Senior Services. We would love to have you! Events - Call 668-8478 for reservations January 6, Thursday - Line Dance re- sumes for another ten-week program. 12 noon - 1:30pm, $30 for the ten sessions. January 11, Tuesday - Tour the newly renovated Bayou Bend. Two groups of six will take a 90-minute tour. There are stairs to climb and you must be able to stand throughout the tour. $8.50, Tours at lpm and 2pm. January 14, Friday - Beat the Winter Blahs Party at St. George Orthodox Church. Enjoy a famous spaghetti lunch while be- ing entertained by a trio from the Jalapenos Salsa band. 12 noon, Free. January 25, Tuesday - Slide show pre- sentation on Galveston hosted by Houston's well known Ray Miller. 2pm, Free. February 4, Friday - AARP Tax Assis- tance begins. Every Friday until April 15 from l0am - lpm. You must call and make a reservation. Free. Warming! Don't forget to protect your pipes during this cold time of the year. a continuing series, the results of our recent citizen survey on City Services and Safe are detailed below. 1. How weld you rate these City Services? rim Skeeters First Interstate Bank ' Houston Bread Company West U Little League Remember - Be ready to watch the race by 8:30am. There will be over 50 West U Runners. Call 745-0208 to help! Larry Massey, Hoopla Coordinator 30 31 Communications Friends of West U Building and Committee @ Parks Board @ Standards Commis- 7:30pm, Council 6:15pm sion @ 6:30pm, Chamber Parks Board @ Council Chamber 7:30pm, Conference Room Capital Improve- ments Task Force @ Building Quality Task 7:30 pm Conference Force @ 7:30pm, Room Council Chamber 2 3 4 5 6 West University City Council Recycling Commit- Building Quality Task Zoning & Planning Little League Workshop @ tee @ 7:00 pm, Force @ 7:30pm, Commission @ Registration, Noon 6:30pm, Conference Police Department Council Chamber 7:30pm, Council to 3:00pm, Room Chamber Community Center City Council Meeting @ 7:30pm 9 10 11 12 13 Marathon Building Quality Task Zoning Board of Contact Larry Force @ 7:30pm, Adjustment @ Massey @ 745-0208 Council Chamber 7:30pm, Council to help with Hoopla Chamber Committee 16 17 City Council Workshop @ 6:30pm, Conference Room City Council Meeting @ 7:30pm 18 19 Building Quality Task Force @ 7:30pm, Police Department 1 Public Hearing on Trees @ 9:30am, Council Chamber Softball Registration Deadline, Call Peggy Eggleston @ 669- 8437 141 15 20 21 22 Pershing Middle Softball Tryouts School - Texas from 9:00am to Club Dance 1:00pm, Softball Fields 231 241 251 261 27' 281 29 Pe -,e _7 -a If.,~ a ations To stop the thief of elevation known as subsidence, the Texas Legislature created the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District ("Subsidence District") in 1975 to regu- We all make resolutions in January to late the withdrawal of ground-water within Harris and Galveston counties. The Subsid- improve our fitness why not include a ence District is a local governmental agency created "...for the purpose of ending subsid- resolution to care for the Earth's fitness this ence which contributes to, or precipitates, flooding, inundation, or overflow of any area year, too! within the District, including, without limitation, rising waters resulting from storms or Resolve to DUCE the amount of gar- hurricanes." The Subsidence District has required cities such as West University, that bage your household generates by buying rely on groundwater as a water supply, to convert to a combined use of both ground- in bulk and by choosing products in refill- water and surface water. The surface water to be used by West University will be pur- able containers (dishwashing detergent, for chased from the City of Houston. example.) Try to make good choices when The Subsidence District is governed by a 17-member Board of Directors appointed by purchasing, based on the least amount of local government officials. The Subsidence District has no taxing authority and is self- packaging. supporting, raising revenue through the permitting of water wells. In order to drill or Resolve to USE everything possible. operate a well in Harris or Galveston counties, a permit from the Subsidence District is Now is a good time to give each member of required. Currently, three wells provide water to the residents of West University. your family a cloth napkin to use at each The Subsidence District tracks the rate of subsidence at 11 monitors located across the meal. You can feel good about saving a Harris-Galveston County area. These monitors, known as extensometers, measure the tree every tiar.;-- r ie napkin is reused. Con- amount of subsidence at a given location over time. One such extensometer, labeled the sider using y,? . c plates instead of paper Southwest Houston Extensometer, is located in the general area of West University. The plates for pie _ i - but don't throw them cumulative readings of the Southwest Houston Extensometer are shown on the graph away! Use thej again. below. Resolve to RECYCLE more than you al- As shown on the graph, approximately 1.5 feet of compaction (i.e. subsidence) oc- ready do. if you don't participate in the curred at the southwest Houston station from 1950-1992. In recent years, current rates of program yet, try to at least set newspap, subsidence in our area of the county were approximately 1.5 inches per year. and junk mail aside to be picked up L To reduce further sinking of West University and other areas in southwest Houston, the Wednesdays. The largest portion of gar- Subsidence District implemented a plan to rewire a greater use of surface water (i.e. bage sent to the landfill is paper, and it can lakes and rivers) for water supply with less dependence or, groundwater. Again, exces- be recycled! If you are already committed sive withdrawals of groundwater cause the ground to settle and the result is subsidence. to recycling, consider taking plastic 1 and A result of the Subsidence District's plan is that West University no longer can rely 2 to a nearby facility that accepts it. entirely on groundwater for its water supply, but will start using primarily surface water Be sure to have your Christmas trees on provided by the City of Houston in the fail of 1994. Once the plan is implemented, the the curb by Monday, January 10th. They water supply of West University will be comprised of 80% surface water and 20% ground- will be picked up by a separate truck that water. The conversion is coming and future issues of the City Currents will present week, Leave off any wrapping and remove advice on how to prepare for the change. the stand. it is important that you remove 0 o all nails, because the tree will be chipped _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and turned into compost, and nails will damage the equipment. P -0.5 W _ _ Do the right thing. If you miss the spe- v cial pickup, your tree will go, with the gar- 9 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - B bage, to the landfill rather than be turned into compost. What a sad fate! Start your °j'' - t year in an environmentally friendly way-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - fl the Recycling Committee thanks you! 2 2 Questions? Call Cindy Neal -Chair, Re- - - - " ' cycling Committee (665-3949) or Kim - -2.5 uU a z •2.5 Department of Solid Waste (662-5539). YEAR Directors, continues' from page one Larry Ellis, Richard de la Torre, Jane Huckaba, Janet Boggs, Clara Samuelson, Margie McNabb, Emily Booth, Rick Shallenberger, Tom Smith, Jean Polichino, Bob Barnett, Tom Dyer, Mike Fitzgerald, Robert Baumgartner, Barry Loder, Polly Kinnibrough, Joe Rousmaniere, Ray Weems, Ken Sparks, Lance Hellerman, Jim Kahlden, Martha Loder, Norman Riedmueller and Bill Watts. CrT' 7 Chi f' s e Park Lover's Ua l Be one of 400 lucky persons attend- ing the fun-filled West University Park Lov- ers' Ball, February 12, 1994, at the Wyndham Warwick Hotel. Be a grand spon- sor, sponsor, patron, underwriter or buy individual tickets at $40, $70 and $100. Proceeds go to enhance our parks and your support is needed. Seating is limited. Call Gayle Jackson, 667-0027, or Ginni Mithoff, 666-8941, and enjoy a wonderful Valentine's evening. Park Pavers Honor your family, remember a friend. For $300, an engraved brick is put in the park of your choice and your payment is used to help expand and improve West University parks. For more information, call Mark Spradling at 758-2828. Donations and Bequests Give some thought to leaving a bequest, a meaningful decision that will benefit West U parkgoers for generations to come. Do- nations to special projects in the form of gifts and memorials are special ways to assist in making our green space more at- tractive for all. And don't forget to check a monthly donation to the Parks Fund on your water bill. Cali 668-8096 for information. Great Decisions Foreign Affairs Discussion Groups Puzzled or intrigued by the "Flew World Disorder" in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union? Would you like to know more about the many changes in the world without having to study for finals? Then join a Great Decisions discussion group (no pre-requisites!). Great Decisions is the nation's oldest and most popular program of citizen education in world affairs. Discussions groups are informal and meet monthly or bi-monthly in the homes of the participants. Topics are selected from the Great Decisions briefing book, written under the auspices of theFor- eign Policy Association. A few of the 1994 topics are "Conflict in Former Yugoslavia," "Trade with the Pacific Rim," and "Islam and Politics." For more information about a group that meets in the West University area, call Virginia Clark, 665-6189, or Mar- guerite Claghorn, Coordinator, 669-8335. A ;s S._ccess Story The Campaign for West University Place Parks which began formally in 1990 is en- joying increased activity every year. The bulk of this success is due in no small part to you, the citizens of West University Place. Your support of the fund-raising ac- tivities of the Friends of West University Place Parks Fund, Inc. (Friends) and the planning and implementation endeavors of the West University Place Parks and Rec- reation Board (P&r ) have been instru- mental in building the momentum. The Park Lover's Ball is now in its third year and we anticipate another rousing "Park Party." ParkFest will be held at Co- lonial Park for so that more of you can en- joy our annual celebration of spring. The Park Pavers Program is lending a touch of warmth to our greenspace. The city itself has become more proactive with the addition of an Urban Forester and Parks and Recreation Director to the staff. These augmentations, combined with the new tree ordinance, position West U. to prudently manage its continued develop- ment. You are also probably aware of council's recent decision to budget a "park a year" for refurbishment. Outside sources have recognized our ac- complishments. The Park People of Hous- ton awarded the Friends, P&RB, the city and the Tree People the Synergy Award at its 1993 Spring Awards Banquet. Addi- tionally, the Wortham Foundation, Inc., has recently granted another $50,000 to the campaign. Our program started slowly. However, we now find ourselves, with your help, gathering speed with each passing month. The results of all of our efforts are tangible with improvements in all the neighborhood parks. If you would like more information or just have questions, please do not hesi- tate to call any of the Friends or P&RB. We can be reached most easily through the Parks and Recreation Department. Thank you for your support. Board of Directors The Friends Parks Fund, Inc. i You Know? Recently, the Friends transferred $70,000 for parks and greenspace enhancement? These are your donations at work! Ross Frazer, Chairman, Friends P- est IJ J~ Have you noticed the school lately? As the designated "town square" of West U, we have adopted the stance of bringing the school-grounds to first class status. Not only is it a school for 1100 students, but it is West U's largest park which we can all en- joy. In front of the school, we now have azaleas, crepe myrtles, ball cypress trees, wrought iron fencing, and, of course, 4000 square feet of pavers. The city is starting to upgrade the drainage around the school. We want West U Elementary to be a show- case, and I think it is getting there. This project was accomplished with the enor- mous effort of the following people: Buddy Bell, Tom, Michael, and Christo- pher Brombacher, Ann, Roger, and Chris- topher Martin, Sue, Bob and Chris Palmer, Jim and Tim McGregor, Leba, Rick, Nathaniel and Benjamin Shallenberger, Charlie Westin, Bob and John Semands, Mike and Kathy Eason, Diane McNealy, Sharon d'Orsey, Pamela Blakely, Marga- ret, Enrique, Erick and Ryan Sanchez, Gene Rock, Jeff Overhouse, Mike Pa, Mark Lowes, Gigi Hergenroeder, Dote Dawson, Brad and Mason Boswell, Ronald Ross, Pinet, Annie, Georgia and James McBride, Allison Randall, Diane Schroeder, Gary Rachlin, Dave Houston, Sarah Koller, Rick Spencer, Skip Rowley, and Martha and Marianne Hablinski, Leon Ahlers, James Short, Blake Willeford, John Horne, Chris Haggerty, John Short, Andrew Novotny, Casey Brown, Chris Parlette, August Endsley, Jay Crossley, and Angus Young, Mayor Bill Watson, and Dr. Ide and her family. Buddy Bell, Chairman West U Elementary Grounds Committee P.S. If you would like to donate a bench for the school, please contact me, at 661- 6394. Flag Contest! Imagine a West University Place flag fly- ing high over City Hall. This is what city council members are hoping to see in the near future, and your help is needed. Resi- dents, (kids too!) are invited to submit flag design to City Hall by Friday, Febf ary 4th. The winner, to be announced at Park Fest, will receive an annual pass al- lowing full usage of Colonial Park. Pagel - - - - - - - - - - - - - Please reserve: $2,000 Grand Sponsor Table $500 4 Underwriter Tickets $1,000 Sponsor Table $ 700 Patron Table $100 Park Lover Ticket $ 70 Tree Hugger Ticket (Tables Seat 10) $ 40 Grass Rooter Ticket I Cannot Attend, But I Am Sending A Donation Of: $ Enclosed is my check for payable to: Friends of West University Place Parks Fund, Inc. -.1-- - . . Q__ Page 8 The following residents have volunteered to help make our community safer by be- coming Block C aptains. If you would like to know more about the Neighborhood Watch Program or becoming a Block Captain, please call Bob Cleary at 668-5928. 3330 Albans Ray and Sue Herndon 6400 CommunityLarry Massey 4100 Albans Mary Lee Gray 6600 CommunityLinda George Smith 2931 Amherst Ben & Valerie Sheppard 2900 Duke Lloyd t Emily Castanedo 2800 Amherst Lorie Landers 27001~enwood Lou Bailey 2800 Amherst Suzanne Gutherie 2900 Georgetown-Michael & Lila Mazzone 2900 Amherst John Monahan 3000 Georgetown-Jane McCarthy 3100 Amherst Burt Balafante 3100 Georgetown-Tom Brombacher 2700 Arbuckle Tracy Christopher 3200 (Georgetown-Richard Schechter 3700 Arnold Linda Masera 2800 Jarrard Leslie Beck 4000 Arnold Marilyn Dorries 4200 Judson Rick Peters 6500 Belmont Donna Jaschke 3100 Lafayette Jane Huckeba 6300 Belmont Jim Council 4000 Marlowe Doug Durham 6300 Belmont Bob Higley 4000 Marquette Rebecca Caldwell 6400 Belmont Tom & Nance Peery 6300 Mercer Victoria Harshbarger 6700 Belmont Rolla Long 4100 Milton Mary Ann Harrison 3300 Bissonnet Mike Eason 2800 Nottingham-Linda Notch 6500 Brompton Dorothy Reiger 2900 Nottin i -Cullen Duke 6700 Brompton Linda Lewis 3200 D'a - _ .-Whitt Johnson 4100 Browning Donna Smiley 3700 Nottingham-Randy Hardy 5700 Buffalo Sp . Joanne Flynn 4100 Oberlin Jennifer Lin 6300 Buffalo Sp . Rick Spencer 30GO Pittsburg Michael Walsh 6400 Buffalo Sp . Walt Wissel 2800 Plumb Kenneth Rogers 6400 Buffalo Sp . Cora Bess Parks 3000 Plumb Phil Williams 3900 Byron Dave Zeger 3700 Plumb Bob Kelly 2600 Carolina WPeter Powell 2900 Rice Carolann Krause 2700 Carolina WPeter all 3000 Rice Barry Smitherman 3800 Case Reid Wilson 3100 Rice Cara Wallin Reid 4100 Case Nita Macha 3700 Rice Stan McCandless 4200 Case Stephanie Kissner 3700 Rice Jim Sowers 2900 Cason Beth Ann Bryan 4200 Rice Mike Krueger 3600 Cason Venugopal Menon 4215 Riley (Georgette Therault 3800 Coleridge Edie Vaughan - litional Block Captains 4100 Coleridge Michell- - L s ~"'Sted ne, o, - 'EI City (a -.3t U--' mace 3800 Uin ersity NO. Houston, Tex °7°7005