City Connections - May Edition

Water Use Conservation / Drought Contingency Plan
PHASE ONE – SEASONAL CONSERVATION

Effective each year beginning May 1 and ending September 30. No outside watering between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Hand watering of shrubbery allowed at any hour. Variances to this regulation may be granted by permit only, available at the Municipal Complex (inspections/permits counter). Users of private well water or Lake water for irrigation are required to post a sign indicating so in a conspicuous location. Hand washing of vehicles shall be permitted providing there is no wasteful runoff. Wasteful runoff, by any means, shall be prohibited.

Mosquito Prevention is the Best Solution

Mosquito season is here!  City staff will be monitoring mosquito updates for the Denton County area.  Here are some tips to help prevent mosquito breeding habitat.  Empty out standing water from idle containers.

• Flower pots
• Buckets
• Cups, dog bowls
• Clean bird baths regularly.
• Clean out leaves & standing water from French Drain systems

Properly Dispose of Yard Waste

Residents and businesses are becoming more aware of the impact that improper disposal of yard waste has on their landscape, wallet, and local lakes, rivers, streams and creeks.  By leaving grass clippings and leaves on your lawn, you are supplying it with natural fertilizers and you spend less money on store-bought fertilizers.  A nearby storm drain may become clogged if grass clippings and/or leaves are swept or blown into the storm drain.  Clogged storm drains may cause flooding and requires that the City come out and clean the storm drain.  Yard waste in a local waterway depletes the oxygen level in the water, which is harmful to aquatic life.

What should you do with your yard waste?

• Remove yard waste from streets, sidewalks and driveways.  Blow or sweep grass clippings or tree leaves back up into the yard where they can help provide additional nutrients to your lawn.
• Don’t bag it.  Use grass clippings or fallen leaves as mulch or shred them and use them to fertilize the lawn and protect landscape plants from extreme weather.  Mulching mowers and blades make this easy.  If you have a compost bin, add the yard waste to that bin.
• If you hired a company to care for your lawn, educate them on proper lawn care.

Election Day – May 08, 2010

The General Election scheduled for May 08, 2010 is uncontested and the election has been cancelled in accordance with the Texas Election Code.  The following candidates are unopposed and will begin their official duties on May 11, 2010. A reception honoring the service of Mayor Dianne Costa and Council member Don Combs will be held on May 11 at the Municipal Complex from 6:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. The reception is open to the public.

                        Scott McDearmont, Place 1 (Mayor) 
                        Bill Irwin, Place 2 
                        Louis Robichaux, Place 4 
                        John McGee, Place 6

The election for Lewisville Independent School District (LISD) Board of Trustees will be conducted on May 08, 2010.  The Highland Village Municipal Complex will be a polling location for the LISD election.  The hours of the polling location on Election Day will be 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Early Voting by personal appearance runs through May 04, 2010. The hours for early voting on May 3– 4 are 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

A sample ballot for the Lewisville Independent School District Board of Trustee election is available on the city web site or at www.lisd.net. For additional information regarding the May 08, 2010 election, please call 940.349.3200 or visit Denton County’s website (http://elections.dentoncounty.com). 

Home-Based Business? We Want You in the Highland Village Business Directory!

For the past six years, the City of Highland Village has published the Highland Village Business Directory. The directory is delivered to every business and residence within the city, and included on our website for easy access. It is now time to publish the seventh edition of the directory. Once again, our goal is to include every business located in the City, including home-based businesses. If you wish to be included in the directory this year, please complete the form on the city web site and return to the City Manager’s office by June 14, 2010.  Our publication goal is late July of this year, for distribution in August. As in previous years, no advertising will be included and the directory will once again be published and distributed free of charge.

Become CPR Certified!  Learn to Save a Life!

The Highland Village Fire Department conducts monthly CPR for our residents and neighboring communities.  Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for Adults, Infants and Children and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training are provided in this course.

CPR classes will be held on Thursday, May 13 and Wednesday, June 9 from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
CPR costs are $25 for residents of Highland Village and $45 for non-residents.
Class size is limited, please sign-up early!

Please contact the Highland Village Fire Department at (972) 317-0890 to register.

Angie Needs a New Home!

Hey, I'm Angie.  How is your day going?  My days have been running together since May 2009.  That's when Michelle got me and my children from another shelter that was out of room.  All of my kids have been adopted but I am still here.  I can't understand it!  I'm a sweet, laid back kitty that likes to spend the day snoozing in between meals.  As you can tell, it's showing on my hips and tummy; girls, can we ever catch a break?  Contact Michelle Burke 972-317-6551 or mburke@highlandvillage.org for information on Angie.

What Parents Can Do About Cyberbullying

Parents can help stop cyberbullying. You can start by talking to kids about the issue and teaching them the rules below that will help prevent cyberbullying from happening to them or someone they know.

What Kids Need to Know:

• Never give out personal information online, whether in instant message profiles, chat rooms, blogs, or personal websites.
• Never tell anyone but your parents your password, even friends. 
• If someone sends a mean or threatening message, don't respond. Save it or print it out and show it to an adult.
• Never open emails from someone you don't know or from someone you know is a bully.
• Don't put anything online that you wouldn't want your classmates to see, even in email.
• Don't send messages when you're angry. Before clicking "send," ask yourself how you would feel if received the message.
• Help kids who are bullied online by not joining in and showing bullying messages to an adult. 
• Always be as polite online as you are in person.
• Since most cyberbullying takes place at home, it's important that parents know about cyberbullying and that they get involved in preventing it. Just like parents help their kids avoid inappropriate websites, they can protect them from cyberbullying.

What Parents Can Do:

• Keep your home computer is a busy area of your house.
• Set up email and chat accounts with your children. Make sure that you know their screen names and passwords and that they don't include any personal information in their online profiles.
• Regularly go over their instant messenger "buddy list" with them. Ask who each person is and how your children know him or her.

Print this list of commonly used acronyms in instant messenger and chat rooms from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and post it by your computer. Discuss cyberbullying with your children and ask if they have ever experienced it or seen it happen to someone.  Tell your children that you won't blame them if they are cyberbullied. Emphasize that you won't take away their computer privileges - this is the main reason kids don't tell adults when they are cyberbullied.

Drivers! Protect Pedestrians at Crosswalks

Who has the right of way at a marked crosswalk - a pedestrian or a vehicle?
Generally, the pedestrian. The law requires vehicles, on the half of the roadway on which a pedestrian is using a crosswalk, to yield the right of way to the pedestrian. Additionally, vehicles on the opposite side of the roadway, going in the opposite direction, must yield the right of way to the pedestrian once the pedestrian reaches a point in the crosswalk where he or she is in such proximity to that half of the roadway, as to be in danger. A pedestrian may not, however, leave a sidewalk or other place of safety and enter onto a crosswalk and into the path of a vehicle that is so close that it is impossible for the vehicle to stop. Essentially, when the pedestrian is in the crosswalk, vehicles must yield the right of way to the pedestrian.  However, a pedestrian may not proceed into a crosswalk, from a safe location, when vehicular traffic is in such proximity that it is impossible for the vehicle to stop.

What about pedestrians that choose to cross roadways at locations other than designated crosswalks?
The pedestrian, then, must yield the right-of-way to vehicular traffic on the roadway.  The Texas Transportation Code (Sec. 552.008), though, requires vehicle operators to exercise due care to avoid hitting pedestrians on the roadway.

Are the laws different for crosswalks at intersections with pedestrian signals?
Yes.  If control signals are present, pedestrians must wait until the signal gives the walk signal, before proceeding into the crosswalk.  While in the crosswalk, pursuant to the walk signal, the pedestrian has the right-of-way.  A pedestrian may not enter a crosswalk contrary to a Don't Walk or Wait signal.  If a pedestrian is in a crossw alk pursuant to a walk signal and the signal changes to Don't Walk or Wait, the pedestrian must proceed to a sidewalk or safety island.

What about an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection?
Unmarked crosswalks do exist at street intersections.  In unmarked crosswalks, pedestrians must yield the right-of-way to vehicles.

Highland Village Days Red, White & Blue Festival
Saturday, June 5, 2010

Morning Events at Unity Park

7:00 a.m.          Kid K/5K Run – Sponsored by Marcus High School Cross Country & Track
8:00 a.m.          Run Begins
9:00 a.m.          Family Fish Out
11:30 a.m.        Arbor Day Proclamation 
                      We’ll be giving out 100 Texas Redbud trees

For more information call: (972) 317-7430

Kids Kamp

Highland Village Parks and Recreation Department has planned a summer for your children they will never forget. Join us in the mornings for organized games and activities and then stick around in the afternoon for field trips you won’t find offered by any other kamp out there! Field trips are taken 4 out of 5 days a week weather permitting. Each participant will receive two free T-shirts and additional T-shirts can be purchased for ten dollars each.  Our kamps are scheduled weekly so you can customize your summer activities.

Kamp starts June 14 and ends August 13
Morning Kamp 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.       $65 per week
Afternoon Kamp 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.    $95 per week
All Day 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.                   $160 per week
Age: 6-12 years of age
Location: Briarhill Middle School

Please visit www.highlandvillage.org to see the tentative field trip schedule. Call the Parks and Recreation Department at 972-317-7430 for more information.

We Want Your Opinion! Highland Village Recreational Needs Assessment

The City of Highland Village would like your input on recreational programming.  In order to determine what recreational programs our residents desire a recreational needs assessment survey should be conducted.  Highland Village residents are asked to share their views and desires for Parks and Recreation Services by completing a recreational needs assessment public opinion survey.  The information collected will assist the Parks and Recreation Department in setting priorities and determine future needs for programs and facilities.  Your responses are very important to Highland Village so we hope you will take a few minutes to complete the survey. Visit the city web site and click on the Recreation Survey button.