Pine Brook Periodical
Official Newsletter of Pine Brook Homeowner's Association
It’s Pool Time!
The pool is ready for action, after much maintenance this spring. It has been entirely resurfaced and has a new diving board, the Pavillion has new ceiling fans, and the Orca swim team has completed the installation of their new dive platforms for swim meets. How to get a pool tag Pool tags will be distributed on Saturday, May 1, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at the Pool Pavilion. The pool opens the same day. Residents may download the pool tag form from the website (www.ciaservices. com), fill it out and request tags be mailed to them, or bring the completed form to the pavilion. Pool hours The new pool hours were not available at the Periodical press time, but will be posted on-line at www.ciaservices.com. Private parties Have your next party at the pool! The pool and pavilion may also be reserved for private parties by contacting CIA Services at 1-888-219-0563.
We Want To Know What You Think!
Watch for a new community survey from the Board to arrive in your mailbox this month. The survey will address the sentiments of the community that guide the Board in looking after the community assets. Copies of the previous surveys are located on the website, www.ciaservices.com. Copyright © 2010 Peel, Inc.
May 2010 - Volume 2, Issue 5
Preventing A House Burglary by Lt. David Sauer Houston Police Department Burglary & Theft Division
I often get questions about how to prevent your house from getting burglarized. Having been involved in several types of burglary investigations, I can give you some basic cost-effective crime prevention tips to secure your house. I live in Pine Brook and oversee our off-duty officers that patrol our neighborhood. Use Your Alarm First, get your alarm monitored. All the homes in Pine Brook have alarms, and I know several residents that do not set their alarms. Most of them do not have them monitored. Once you get the alarm monitored, you need to get an Alarm Permit from the City of Houston and/or the City of Pasadena to ensure a police response from that agency. If you do not have a valid alarm permit, the police will not respond unless your alarm system has an audio/video feed that verifies a suspect is in the residence. As you know, the alarm will not prevent your home from being burglarized; but it is one of the most cost-effective deterrents you can use. The cost to have an alarm monitored is between $17 and $25 a month. Placing alarm stickers on or near the doors and windows alerts the burglars that you have a monitored alarm. Most burglars will not want to bring attention to themselves, so they look for another house that doesn’t appear to have an alarm. If the burglars do make entry into a house that has the alarm set and monitored, the alarm will sound and they know they only have a few minutes to be in the house. If your alarm is not set and not monitored, the crooks could be in your house for an hour or more going through each room looking for items to steal. Lock Up Second, have a good quality doorknob and deadbolt. I think some of the homes in Pine Brook came with Schlage hardware and, in my opinion, it is a good-quality product. In my home, I installed a Schlage double-cylinder deadbolt (need a key to open from outside and inside) on the front and back door to prevent burglars from breaking the glass next to the doors and easily opening the deadbolt. If you do change to a double-cylinder deadbolt, make sure you keep a key in close proximity to the door and everyone in the family knows where it’s at in case of an emergency. Next, make sure you have a steelreinforced plate behind your strike plates (door knob and deadbolt) and that you use 3” wood screws. This will reinforce the door jamb and make it harder (Continued on Page 4) Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
Pine Brook Periodical Board of Directors President........................................................... Doug Quillen Vice President.....................................................David Leboe Director............................................................Susan Bobrick Secretary..............................................................Tricia Totten Treasurer.....................................................Melinda Kokkinis CIA Services Community Manager...... Danielle Chiodi-Jones Administrative Assistant.................................... Sennait Tasfai
EGG-CEPTIONAL - Wow!
The Easter Bunny was impressed with how many Pine Brook families came to see him at the Easter Egg Hunt. Thank you for spending a portion of your Easter Weekend with us, and we cannot wait for next year. 2500 eggs just didn't seem to be enough for the expert hunters in our neighborhood...maybe next year we can try some more challenging activities for our more experienced egg hunters. Your ideas are welcome! The PBCA Board of Directors would like to extend a special THANKS to Amy Best and all the volunteers that organized the Easter Egg Hunt!
Be A Courteous Pet Owner
Maintenance Coordinator......................................Ed Barnett Newsletter Editor............................................ Jenny Verghese
Management Information C.I.A. Service, Inc. Ph: 713-981-9000 Fax: 713-981-9090 Email:
[email protected] www.ciaservices.com
Newsletter Information Publisher Peel, Inc........................ www.PEELinc.com, 512-263-9181 Article Submission......................................
[email protected] Advertising................................
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Dog owners – please respect the efforts of your neighbors who have spent considerable money and time to plant spring flowers. When your canine companion relieves him or herself on flowers, the flowers are destroyed. When walking your dog, please keep him on a leash. Additionally, there are lovely walking trails outside of the central neighborhood, and a very nice dog park at Bay Area Park. Your neighbors thank you!
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS Interested in submitting an article? You can do so by emailing
[email protected] or by going to: http://www.peelinc.com/articleSubmit.php. All news must be received by the 9th of the month prior to the issue.
advertising information Please support the businesses that advertise in the Pine Brook Periodical. Their advertising dollars make it possible for all Pine Brook residents to receive the monthly newsletter at no charge. If you would like to support the newsletter by advertising, please contact our sales office at 512-263-9181 or advertising@PEELinc. com. The advertising deadline is the 8th of each month for the following month's newsletter.
Carpet
Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
Installed
Tile
Handscraped Wood
Wood
$ 5.09 Installed Including Trims
$ 2.79 Installed Free Grout
Free Padding
Laminate
Don't want to wait on the mail? The Pine Brook Periodical can be viewed online at www.PEELinc.com
$ 1.39
Granite Top
$ 27.99 Installed 1 and ½ “edge
Other Services: Kitchen Remodeling Installed Including Trims Shower Remodeling Backsplash $ 2.89 Shutters & Blinds
$ 4.59
Installed
Including Trims
FREE ESTIMATE
We replace wooden spindles with iron balusters Copyright © 2010 Peel, Inc.
Pine Brook Periodical The Inside Scoop On Houston’s New Trash Rules By Rob Plaza
I talked with two garbage collectors this morning. Dealing with “extra trash” Our home has always been serviced by two trucks each garbage day (as well as a third green truck every other week for recycling). The normal trucks are an automated truck for the big bins, and a regular truck for everything else. With the new yard trim recycling program, the regular truck will only pickup yard waste. They will not pick-up the extra house waste bags. In my case, I cleaned out my garage so had extra garbage this week. There has been a law in effect for some time that requires you put a special “extra trash” sticker on each bag of extra trash, but it has rarely been enforced. Now, however, the city is enforcing that rule, and the garbage guy thinks it will always be enforced. When the automated truck driver sees a sticker, the driver will empty your big bin first and then get out of his truck to put the extra items in your now empty bin. He will then re-empty your bin. The driver doesn’t like doing this, so he will do it only for bags with the sticker. He recommended if you have extra bags to toss them in your neighbor’s big bins.
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Compostable bags: made to degrade Also, my neighbor put out lawn clippings in the big paper bags from Pasadena (they use to live in Pasadena). The garbage collectors did not take them and I asked the garbage guys about it. The said the city is serious. They will take only the official city bags. These bags are made of a special plastic-like material that breaks down naturally. They can handle getting wet in a rainstorm on garbage pick-up day, but if they get wet and you try to use them a week or two later, they will fall apart. I asked what happens if you fill them the day after garbage pick-up, they get wet in a rainstorm, and then you put them out on the curb the next week. I was told the bags may start falling apart.
Read A Good Book Lately???
Your input is valued and your ideas are just what we need to jump start a Pine Brook Book Club. If you are an avid reader and interested in being involved in the Book Club, please email Amy Best at
[email protected].
Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
Pine Brook Periodical House Burglary - (Cont. from Page 1) New Fences for a burglar to pry and/or kick the door open. If you only have a strike plate installed with Coming Soon ¾” screws, that is a very weak door jamb and
The Pine Brook Community Association Board of Directors approved replacement of 1600 feet of cedar plank community fences in the following areas: • Park Circle & Chestnut Oak • W. Pine Brook Way & Park Center Way • Park Center Dr. & W. Pine Brook Way • Dunmore Drive & Royalfield Drive The new fences will be six feet high, which will include the toe board. Residents are reminded that replacement of fences requires ARC approval. Fences are limited to six feet high, and must be of cedar pickets. See the fence guidelines on the CIA website (www. ciaservices.com) for more details. The board is also exploring options for replacing the concrete walls on El Dorado and Clear Lake City Blvd with brick walls. More information will be forthcoming in the next few months.
can be forced open easily. A Schlage deadbolt could cost you around $40, and the set could cost about $140. Schlage has a lifetime finish warranty. So if your hardware has faded and/ or the finish is peeling away, contact Schlage for a replacement. Hopefully, these basic cost-effective crime prevention tips will help you reduce your chances of becoming a victim. The televisions, desktops, laptops and all the other material items can be replaced, but it’s those special belongings like your great grandmother’s wedding ring or a rosary that has been handed down by several generations that can never be replaced. If you have any questions, comments and/or want to provide me with any feedback, email me at
[email protected] or call me at 713-731-5946. Watch for my next article on laptop/desktop tracking software and backing-up those special photos.
UPCOMING EVENTS: July 4th will be here before you know it, so start planning now for your bike, scooter, wagon or stroller decorations. Pets are welcome to join the fun, and prizes will be awarded for the best designs! Time and date to be determined.
Classified Ads
Personal classifieds (one time sell items, such as a used bike...) run at no charge to Pine Brook residents, limit 30 words, please e-mail
[email protected]. Business classifieds (offering a service or product line for profit) are $50, limit 40 words, please contact Peel, Inc. Sales Office @ 512-263-9181 or advertising@ PEELinc.com.
Electricity is ON SALE at StarTex Power! Alan “Petrodamus” Lammey, host of ‘Energy Week’, can be heard every Sunday on 1070 KNTH in Houston. I’m Texas Energy Analyst, Alan Lammey. In case you didn’t know, electricity rates are currently at lows not seen in years, which means that NOW is the time to lock in a very low electricity rate with the provider that I highly recommend to all my radio show listeners: StarTex Power. StarTex Power is local and reputable, with some of the most competitive rates available in all of Texas. You can switch right online at www.StarTexPower.com
Sign Up Today Online: www. StarTexPower.com or call 866-917-8271 PLEASE USE “NEIGHBORHOOD NEWSLETTER” as your referral!
“Highest in Residential Customer Satisfaction with Retail Electric Service” ... J.D. Power and Associates
PUCT #10089
Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
StarTex Power received the highest numerical score among residential electric service providers in Texas in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Texas Residential Retail Electric service Satisfaction Study . Study based on responses from 6,890 consumers measuring 15 providers and measures opinions of consumers with their electric service provider. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed between October 2008 and June 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com. SM
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Pine Brook Periodical Space Center About Pine Brook Parks Intermediate The Mexican Plum Hmmm….. what is that white blooming tree with the intoxicating fragrance in our Plans Awards Day
parks? It is along the sidewalk at the playground pool park; near the wetland observation deck; at the Park Center & W. Pine Brook Way park; at Chapel Park Way & W. Pine Brook Way park; at Sterling Wood & Noble Pine park; Pine Blossom & Meadow Grove park; Pine Green park; and along the nature trail in the wetland forest fringe area. In Texas, it is not cold enough for cherry blossoms. Instead, we have the native Mexican Plum - a tough, drought resistant understory tree that you might frequently see in sunny areas in the wild. The Mexican Plum produces small fruits for birds and mammals and is a host plant for the lovely Tiger Swallowtail, Viceroy, Henry’s Elfin, and the Cecropia moth. Most of these Mexican Plums were planted in 2005 by Parks & Grounds Committee volunteers, and in 2008 by wetland restoration volunteers.
SCIS Awards Day is scheduled for May 27. Sixth and seventh grade awards will be during the school day (time TBA). Eighth grade awards will be announced and presented at 6 p.m. in the Commons area. The following awards will be given: • All A’s • All A’s & B’s • American Legion Award • Daughter of American Revolution • Most Improved • Outstanding Student • Presidential Gold (A for all three years here) • Presidential Silver (A/B for all three years here)
18TH ANNUAL
More Home Builders! More Professional Remodelers! Housing Seminars & How-To Workshops! Home Decorating & Design Experts!
June 12-13, 2010 | Reliant Center, Houston
Buying? Building? Remodeling? Discount coupon at www.GHBAshows.com. Copyright © 2010 Peel, Inc.
3,500 sq. ft. Showcase Home by Frontier Custom Builders! Susan Fruit Interiors’ “New American Home”! Chef Scotty Campbell presents “A Passion for Cooking”! Prizes & Giveaways! Show Times: Sat 9a-6p; Sun 11a-6p Admission: Adults $9; Seniors $7; Kids 12 & Under Free Exhibit with us! Member & nonmember exhibitors welcome. Call 281-645-6654. Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
Pine Brook Periodical At no time will any source be allowed to use the Pine Brook Periodical's 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 Peel, Inc. The information in the Pine Brook Periodical is exclusively for the private use of the Pine Brook HOA and Peel, Inc.
NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE
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.
Bashans Painting & Home Repair Commercial/Residential Free Estimates
281-347-6702 281-731-3383cell
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Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
• Interior & Exterior Painting • Hardi Plank Installation • Wood Replacement • Sheetrock Repair • Interior Carpentry • Cabinet Painting • Wallpaper Removal and Texturizing • Pressure Washing • Fence Repair/Replacement • Garage Floor Epoxy • Custom Staining • Roofing • Gutter Repair/Replacement • Faux Painting References Available • Fully Insured No PAymENt UNtIl ComPlEtIoN
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Pine Brook Periodical Space Center Intermediate Events for the month of May
May 4 • Teacher Appreciation Day • Symphonic Band & Full Orchestra Recording Concert (location TBA) – 7:30pm (Required)* May 5 • Career Day • 6th Grade Band Rehearsal – 4:15-5:15 pm (Required) • CCC of PTA’s Regular Meeting May 6 • Faculty/Staff Appreciation Luncheon • 6th Grade Band Rehearsal (4:15 –5pm) & Final Concert – 7:30 p.m. Concert (Required) May 7 • Spring Social • Band Festival: Moores Opera House @ University of Houston –Symphonic Band (Required)* May 8 Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) May 9 Mother’s Day May 13 SCIS PTA Old and New Executive Board Meeting May 14 Theater Arts Spring Showcase @ SCIS - 7pm
May 17 Pre-AP Eco-Art Field Trip May 19 Mark Wood Assembly for SCIS May 20 Officer and Chair Training at UBC May 21 Rehearsal with Mark Wood @ Grace Church May 22 Rehearsal and Concert with Mark Wood May 25 Booster Club Executive Board Meeting – 1pm (Band Hall) May 27 Awards Day (6th & 7th during school; 8th @ 6pm) May 28 7th/8th Grade Bands Final Concert @ SCIS – 7:30pm (Required) May 31 Memorial Day Holiday
Classified Ads
Personal classifieds (one time sell items, such as a used bike...) run at no charge to Pine Brook residents, limit 30 words, please e-mail
[email protected]. Business classifieds (offering a service or product line for profit) are $50, limit 40 words, please contact Peel, Inc. Sales Office @ 512-263-9181 or
[email protected].
Advertise YOUR business to YOUR neighbors for less than 8¢ per home. Effective Advertising, Done Right. Call today to Reserve your space.
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Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
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For more information, check out our website at
www.colinshope.org Increasing water safety awareness and standards FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DROWNING DROWNING CAN STILL OCCUR EVEN IF YOU KNOW HOW TO SWIM
Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children ages 1-4
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NO ONE is “drown proof” – no matter their level of swimming ability.
Falls, entrapments, and injuries lead to drowning regardless of swimming level.
A majority of people overestimate their own and their child’s ability to swim, especially in a panic event.
DROWNING WILL AFFECT YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW
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Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of unintentional injury-related death ages 1-14.
DROWNING IS QUICK AND SILENT 2min
Drowning occurs in as little as 2 minutes.
4min
Irreversible brain damage occurs in as little as 4 minutes.
5min
Most children are out of sight or missing for less than 5 minutes and usually in the presence of 1 or both parents.
6min
Most children die who are submerged for as little as 6-10
Children who drown do not scream, splash, or struggle. They silently slip beneath the water, even with adults & lifeguards present.
Pine Brook Periodical - May 2010
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