Join your neighbors for an
“Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration”
(Hay Ride departs from 811 Lockwood)

Ride through the streets of Heights Park singing your favorite Christmas Carols. You may ‘jump on’ at any time during the ride. We will travel northbound on each street between Thompson & Floyd starting on Lockwood and ending at Heights Park. The hayride ends at 811 Lockwood and you will need to make arrangements to get back home if you jump on in the neighborhood.

8:00 p.m.
Join us back at 811 Lockwood for dessert…
roasted marshmallows, S’Mores and hot chocolate.

Julie Anders

Photos by Nathan Beach.

Heights Park Oktoberfest 2011
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22ND
@ HEIGHTS PARK
11:00AM – 1:00PM

Bounce House, face painter, bobbing for apples, horseshoes, free food!

We’ll have a pumpkin decorating contest with prizes awarded for the SCARIEST, FUNNIEST, and MOST CREATIVE pumpkins!

If you want to decorate a carved pumpkin, please carve it at home. We’ll have other decorating supplies on hand for you.

The Epiphany and Heights Park N.A. Neighborhood Garden was expanded on Saturday, Sept 24th. There was a big turnout of people helping and now the garden is almost double the size!

You may email Margaret at paulmiller4@att.net to reserve a plot.

The plots are 20′ x5′ x 6″. Eatable food is to be grown in the plots. The plot cost for 1 year is $75. We ask that you donate 10% of your produce to be given to Network. This spring’s produce taken to Network has been 500 pounds.

Come join the fun and meet neighbors and friends.
Margaret Miller, 972-238-8960

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT — TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4TH

Deadline for registering to have a police officer at your NNO block party was last week, but let us know if you plan to have a party. We’re hopeful that Heights Park will have a successful NNO this ar — as we’ve had in the past.

Richardson is looking for a 1st Place repeat this year. Let’s have a great turnout for our neighborhood!

http://www.cor.net/PDPRevention.aspx?id=14252

Officer Tommy Davis
Richardson Police Department
Crime Prevention Unit
140 N. Greenville Avenue
Richardson, Texas 75081
972-744-4773

SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22ND – OCTOBERFEST AT HEIGHTS PARK: 11:00 – 1:00

Bounce House, face painter, games, free food! Plus some special activities!

We’ll have a pumpkin decorating contest with prizes awarded for the SCARIEST, FUNNIEST, and MOST CREATIVE pumpkins! (Bring a pumpkin to decorate; markers and stencils will be provided for decorating. But if you want to decorate a carved pumpkin, please carve it at home)

More information coming in the HPNA Newsletter in September. You won’t want to miss it this year! Watch for the HPNA Newsletter coming to your doorstep during the first part of October.

Changes impact Stage 2 water conservation efforts set to take effect August 19, 2011.

(Richardson, TX) – The Richardson City Council has amended the City’s Emergency Water Management Plan, changing the schedule for water use and setting a new target conservation level. The amended plan was unanimously approved during this week’s, August 8, 2011, City Council meeting.

The most immediate impact the new plan will have will be on Stage 2 water conservation efforts set to go into effect on August 19, 2011.  The plan allows for twice per week watering based on address on a particular day of the week (see below for details). The new Stage 2 measure also targets a 5 percent reduction in water consumption as compared to 2 percent targeted in the old ordinance.

The plan’s Stage 3 water conservation plan was also changed to allow just one day per week watering instead of two. The target conservation level for Stage 3 was also increased to 10 percent from 5 percent.

On August 19, the City of Richardson will implement Stage 2 of its Emergency Water Management Plan. Implementation of the plan comes at the request of the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD), which supplies water to the City of Richardson.

Stage 2 conservation implements mandatory restrictions on water usage. Residents wishing to find out more can visit the City’s website at www.cor.net to find direct links for information or to report water restriction violations. Residents can also call 972-744-4111 for information or to report a violation.

Beginning August 19, the City’s Community Services Department will have inspectors on duty 18 hours a day, seven days a week to enforce Stage 2 watering restrictions. Anyone who receives a citation will not be required to appear in court, as is the custom with all other code citations. Instead, a defendant may elect to plead guilty and pay a window fine of:

• First offense – $150
• Second offense – $350
• Third offense – $1,500

If a citation is written as an “aggravated offense,” the defendant is required to appear before a municipal court judge to have the case resolved. Violators could see an up to $2,000 fine for failing to follow water conservation measures.

Mandatory water conservation measures to go into effect are as follows:

• Begin mandatory water use restrictions limiting all landscape and other outdoor water usage at each service address to two days per week as indicated below:
• Last digit of address allowed landscape watering days
  • 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 (odd) Wednesday and Sunday
  • 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 (even) Tuesday and Saturday

Hourly time water use restrictions may be imposed if warranted by current peak usage and/or pumping conditions. The lowest physical street address number will identify apartments, office building complexes or other property containing multiple addresses. If there is no street address number, a number will be assigned by the director of public services.

Water usage during Stage 2. Water usage during Stage 2 shall be subject to the following: 

• Reduce consumption by no less than five percent as compared to the same water usage of the prior year and in the same month.
• Newly constructed swimming pools, Jacuzzis, and spas may be filled once.
• Refilling after draining private swimming pools, Jacuzzis, or spas is prohibited without specific authorization from the director of public services.
• Excessive water runoff from any landscaped area onto impervious surfaces is prohibited.
• The washing or hosing down of buildings, sidewalks, driveways, patios, porches, parking areas or other paved surfaces is permitted while using a hose with a shutoff nozzle.
• The washing or rinsing of vehicles, boats, trailers, other mobile vehicles and equipment on owner’s premises must follow the allowed landscape water days schedule. A hand-held hose equipped with a positive shutoff nozzle, and/or hand-held bucket shall be used.
• No washing of vehicles shall be allowed without the use of an automatic shutoff nozzle.
• No outdoor watering between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. or during any periods of any precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc.).

Exemptions. The following water usage is exempt from Stage 2 restrictions: 

• Drip irrigation systems and soaker hoses used to keep foundations moist, except hourly limitations may apply.
• The watering of newly installed landscaping until the roots are established. Once established, the allowed landscape water days schedule must be followed.
• Commercial full-service or self-service car wash facilities, including those at service stations and automobile dealership facilities.
• Golf course landscape watering. Voluntary cutback and/or rescheduling will be requested through personal contact by the director of public services.
• Activities utilizing wastewater effluent, natural water springs, ponds or water wells.

To meet public health and safety needs and to help maintain overall water pressure, the City of Richardson will have certain facilities that must water outside the publicly mandated water restriction times. Such facilities include athletic and recreation facilities used by the public for a variety of purposes. Newly planted landscaping will also be maintained, but will follow the water restrictions in place for new landscaping that all other residents or businesses must follow.

“It’s much harder for the City to follow a two-day-per-week watering schedule than it is for the individual business or homeowner,” said Richardson Parks and Recreation Director Michael Massey. “We literally have thousands of sprinkler zones across the city that can’t be operational at the same time. So we will implement a watering strategy that will run outside of what most residents are doing, but will still attain our conservation goals and help our community maintain healthy facilities for athletic and recreational use.”

Though some City facilities will be watered outside times dictated by the ordinance, the City will maintain watering schedules that will meet or exceed conservation efforts. Other large public and private water users will also have variances for water usage, and will be monitored according to the guidelines in the variances for which they apply. Variances are also available by request for residents, businesses and other entities by contacting the City’s Public Services Department at972-744-4220.

The NTMWD initiated Stage 2 of the NTMWD Water Conservation and Drought Contingency and Water Emergency Response Plan as a result of the temporary loss of 22.5 percent of the Lake Texoma raw water supply due to invasive zebra mussels, the continued drought conditions with NTMWD’s Lake Chapman water supply capacity at 47 percent and peak water usage of 554 million gallons per day. The NTMWD put its Stage 2 plan into effect August 1, 2011.

Since Lake Texoma represents almost a quarter of the North Texas raw water supply, NTMWD continues to work with all state and federal agencies involved to safely restore the Texoma water supply while minimizing the transfer of zebra mussels into Lake Lavon and the Trinity River Basin. Although zebra mussels are not harmful to humans and do not contaminate the water, they do attach to water facilities and pipes that pump water causing increased operating and maintenance costs.

Extending the NTMWD’s water supply during Stage 2 through the efficient use of existing water resources is crucial to meeting the long-term water needs of the NTMWD’s Member Cities and Customers.

More information and tips on water conservation can be found on the City’s Water Conservation website available on the City’s homepage at www.cor.net. The site can also be accessed by using the QR code provided below. Further information is also available at www.wateriq.org andwww.ntmwd.com.

If you are planing a National Night Out block party, registration is now open!  Use the following link to register online, it only takes minutes.  You can indicate on the form if you want a Police Officer to visit your party.

Richardson is looking for a 1st Place repeat this year, don’t forget to register!

http://www.cor.net/PDPRevention.aspx?id=14252

Officer Tommy Davis
Richardson Police Department
Crime Prevention Unit
140 N. Greenville Avenue
Richardson, Texas 75081
972-744-4773

Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3)
Scam Alerts
May 10, 2011
This report, which is based upon information from law enforcement and complaints submitted to the IC3, details recent cyber crime trends and new twists to previously-existing cyber scams.

Job Scam Used To Reship Merchandise To Russia

In the reshipping scam, subjects hire individuals to receive, readdress, and forward or “reship” packages to addresses generally in the United Kingdom or Nigeria with recent schemes using addresses in Russia. Subjects purchase the reshipped merchandise with compromised credit cards. Some reshippers recognize the scam and are complicit in perpetuating the fraud, while other reshippers appear to be unaware of the scam. Often, reshippers realize the fraud upon receiving calls from the companies that sold the merchandise or from the owners of the stolen credit card numbers.

In a new version of this scam, subjects hire individuals as “Gift Wrapper Associates” to receive and gift-wrap merchandise and ship it to given addresses. Recent complainants reported they had responded to Craigslist ads, while others were contacted by email, possibly as a result of a resume they had posted online. Additionally, the complainants reportedly participated in phone interviews as part of the hiring process and were required to provide personally identifiable information (PII).

Subjects provide reshippers the necessary supplies to wrap the merchandise, such as boxes, wrapping paper, tape, ribbons, and bows. The victims’ PII gathered during the application process could potentially be used to obtain credit for other fraudulent purchases or to conduct other criminal activities. Such unauthorized use of PII often occurs in many types of identity theft-related scams such as other work-at-home, phishing, and various counterfeit check scams.

Counterfeit Check Scam Targeting Realtors And Real Estate Attorneys

Through the years, the IC3 has continued to receive complaints reporting counterfeit check scams. In this particular scam, subjects attempt to convince unwitting victims to cash checks or money orders and wire a portion of the funds overseas. After wiring the funds, the victim discovers that the check was fraudulent and is held responsible for the check amount.

One of the latest counterfeit check scams targets realtors and real estate attorneys. International subjects have been contacting U.S. realtors and real estate attorneys, claiming to be interested in purchasing property in the U.S. Subjects request a properties listing from realtors, indicating their intent to pay cash for the real property. Subjects then ask the realtor to provide a local attorney to handle the purchase and conduct the closing. Upon negotiating the price, the real estate attorneys received checks that were often written for hundreds of thousands of USD Once the check had been deposited, but before it cleared, the subject provided a reason for a portion of the funds to be wired to his account. Often in these scams, victims are not aware that the checks are from legitimate businesses’ accounts, fraudulently obtained by the subjects.

Officer Tommy Davis
Richardson Police Department
Crime Prevention Unit
140 N. Greenville Avenue
Richardson, Texas 75081
972-744-4773

WANT A FUN AND INEXPENSIVE DAY WITH THE FAMILY?

COME TO THE RICHARDSON WILDFLOWER! FESTIVAL

ON SUNDAY, MAY 22nd FOR THE

HPNA PATIO PARTY!

FREE PIZZA FOR HPNA MEMBERS

PLUS… KIDS UNDER 12 GET IN FREE!

The HPNA board has planned what we know will be a very fun and inexpensive day for your family! We have secured a patio area at this year’s Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival exclusively for our use.

We have 100 Wildflower! tickets to sell priced for Richardson residents at only $10 for a single all-day pass.  And Sunday, May 22nd is a kids under 12 get-in-free day! The patio is located near the Viewpoint Bank Stage. Convenient parking is $5 and we have some parking passes available if you want to purchase them in advance. Parking passes are for the green parking area close to the HPNA Patio.

PLUS…HPNA will have FREE PIZZA for HPNA members from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, the 22nd, so purchase your Wildflower! tickets from HPNA, and come to the HPNA Patio to get some free pizza! Sara Hickman will be doing a special event at Kidz Korner at 3:00 that day so you can have some pizza with us and then see Sara’s show. It will be a great way to spend the day with your family! (go to www.wildflowerfestival.com for the schedule of headliners).

HOW TO GET YOUR HPNA WILDFLOWER! TICKETS…

• • send an email to contact@heightspark.com to purchase tickets.
  • Tell us how many tickets you need and we’ll make arrangements to get them to you!

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS FROM HPNA AND COME HAVE A GREAT TIME!

(Event map below)

The whole day went off without a single hitch and barely a scraped knee. I attribute this to the great planning on the parts of leaders Margaret Miller, Kim Uhlmann, and other members of the church. It was truly inspiring how dozens of community members just got stuff done and pulled the whole thing together in about six hours.

– Nathan Beach / Plot #11

(photographs by Nathan Beach, feel free to use under Creative Commons BY 3.0)

From Kim Uhlmann, volunteer coordinator:

Hello Volunteers! Can you believe the time to build the community garden is finally here? We have a lot of helping hands & a lot of enthusiasm so here are general instructions for Saturday. Please note this change from the original information and Evite: We originally thought we would be there all day, but now we believe we will have completed everything around noon so lunch will be served, but not dinner.

Arrive/Check In: 8:30 a.m. in the back of the south parking lot
Check in @ table with Kim or Margaret & you will be instructed as to which work group you are in
Child care check in: Sarah Jo Skinner in the Parish Life Center (brief form to be filled out)

Work Groups: There is a leader for each work group that will instruct you on what to do

Tools: You should have received a Tool List at the Kick-Off meeting in January or when you paid your plot rental fee and I have also included it below. I cannot emphasize enough to please label your name on all tools you bring. Bring gloves, water bottle, sunscreen, etc. We will have a water container outside.

For those of you who are on the drilling or construction crews (you were previously emailed with a request to bring a drill if you have one), please also bring the following if you have it: a #2 Phillips or square drive bit, a 7/32 drill bit.

Plots: We will be assembling 2 rows of 10 plots, starting from the parking lot side (south) and moving north. If you wish to plant after we are through, then please feel free to do so. A Gardening Advisor will be on hand if you have questions. We will also show you how to turn on the water. Three garden hoses and 3 shower wands will be there for your convenience.

We thank you all for your help and are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Kim Uhlmann

TOOL LIST: PLEASE MARK YOUR TOOLS WITH YOUR NAME
Gloves, water bottle, sunscreen, dress in layers, etc.
Basic Wood Kit: Hammer, tape measure, square, level, drill and bits, extension cords
Earth Work Kit: Shovels, garden rake, fork
Other Tools as Needed: wire cutters, sledge hammer, wheel barrow, crow bar, screwdriver, wrecking bar
Prune Kit: pruning sheers, pruning saws

If you have other equipment that will be helpful, please bring. Not everyone will have all tools. Please bring what you have.