Ellsworth Springs

Newsletters are available at the Office of Neighborhoods

Nov 14, 2003

The most recent Ellsworth Springs Neighborhood Association newsletter (in its original as printed two column format) may be downloaded from the Office of Neighborhoods website: http://www.ci.vancouver.wa.us/neighborhoods/index.html.

Newsletters more than two weeks old may be found at:
http://www.ci.vancouver.wa.us/neighborhoods/archived-mailings.htm.

Newsletters are distributed door to door every few months. Please do not mistake them for advertising flyers. The newsletter listing the current officers of the association is below: but not in newpaper format).

Ellsworth Springs News
Ellsworth Springs Neighborhood Association November 2003


Thank you from the outgoing chair

I?’ve been the association chair for two years; during that time I?’ve learned a lot and worked with many excellent volunteers. It has been an experience I wouldn?’t have wanted to miss. Thank you for supporting the board and me in our decisions. Thanks for your generous donations at our cleanups.

Thank you, Pam Milne and your newsletter delivery troops, for doing such a complete job! I don?’t have all of your individual names but delivering 1100 newsletters requires many volunteers. Again, thank you!

A special thanks to the board members who stayed the entire 2 years: Cinda Connelly, Susan Williamson, Walter Johnson, Pam Milne and Dawn Davenport. You kept me working; I couldn?’t have done it without you! Thank you to past board members Matthew Aiello, Jeff Hartup, Pam Kirkendall, Debbie Peterson and Randy Winkel.

Sincerely,

Karla McCutcheon



New Ellsworth Springs Neighborhood
Association Board

Hello, my name is Cinda Connelly. I am the new chair of the Ellsworth Springs Neighborhood Association. My fellow board members and I look forward to serving you during the following two years.

BOARD POSITIONS:
Chair: Cinda Connelly - 944-1669
Vice Chair: Karla McCutcheon
Secretary: Susan Williamson
Treasurer: Susan Williamson
Newsletter Dist.: Pam Milne
Web: Walter Johnson
Action Plan: Cinda Connelly
At Large: Eunice Royer
Parks & Rec: Karla McCutcheon
Neighborhood Traffic Safety Alliance: Karla McCutcheon

COMMITTEES: (non-board positions)
Neighborhood Cleanup: Bill Connelly
Precinct Meetings: Erich Hovley
Newsletter Editor: Laurie Davis


LEAF COUPON PROGRAM AIMS TO KEEP DRAINS CLEAR

To keep streets free from flooding this fall, please do not rake or blow leaves into the street. Instead, by using a leaf coupon, Vancouver and Clark County residents can drop off their leaves free of charge through December 15 at:


H & H Wood Recyclers
8401 NE 117th Ave.
(8-5 M-Sat., 9-4 Sun.)


McFarlane's Bark
8806 NE 117th Ave.
(8-5 M-Sat., Sun.
through Nov.)


West Van Materials
Recovery Center
6601 NW Old Lower River Rd.
(6-6 M-F., 8-4 Sat.)


Coupons for free leaf recycling were included in the September and October City of Vancouver water/sewer bills, the October Curbside Recycling newsletter and in our neighborhood newsletter. Coupons are also available at the leaf drop off sites and at the Hazel Dell Sewer District office. For additional coupons, call 397-6118, ext. 4352 or 696-8186.

The coupon program is for leaves only - other types of yard debris or mixed loads of leaves and yard debris will be charged the regular yard debris price at all facilities.


LEAF BOXES ON NOVEMBER 22ND AND 23RD.

Street Maintenance will place leaf boxes in our neighborhood. This is a trial program.

Please remember:

 LEAVES ONLY - please, no plastic or paper bags with your leaves.

 The city will not be able to offer this service again if people use it to dispose of garbage or other yard debris.

Leaf boxes will be in place at the foot of 98th Avenue at SE 12th Street on November 23 and 23.


CERT CITIZEN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM

Two volunteers from our neighborhood are doing CERT training: Tom Antolic and Tanner Davenport. The training is a big commitment. Thanks to Tom and Tanner, we will have CERT-trained neighbors to assist us in a disaster. For info on training sessions, visit the Clark Regional Emergency Services website at 'www.co.clark,wa.us/
emergency/cert.'

TREASURER'S REPORT

We have $1,420 in our treasury. Our cleanup generated $574.85 in donations. We had expenses of $40 for CERT training. We now have enough money to explore the possibility of a matching grant for a neighborhood project.

TRAFFIC

There are new pedestrian crossing signs at the pedestrian refuge on SE 10th St. and many reflectors on the street before the refuge. Please slow down! There is a lot of fast traffic on SE 10th St. This is your neighborhood -- let's keep it as safe as possible!

OCTOBER 4, 2003 CLEANUP

We had another successful cleanup. Thank you, Walter and Louise Johnson, for doing a great job as cleanup co-chairs. Thanks also to the many volunteers, too many to name individually, many of whom worked all day. Neighbors who used the cleanup generously donated $574.85!

There were 10 truckloads of bulky items totaling 25.84 tons at a disposal cost of $1827.53. 5 drop boxes of yard debris totaling 7.59 tons @ disposal cost of $374.32. Total dumping cost to the city $2,201.85. The bulky items total for this year was up from the 2002 total of 16.63 tons; the yard debris was about the same.

Curt Warner again allowed us to use his property; it is an ideal site and contributes to the cleanup success. Thank you, Curt Warner, for helping us to achieve a cleaner neighborhood.

Next cleanup - October 2, 2004.

CAR RAMPS FOUND AT CLEANUP

An incomplete set of car ramps, that were brought as give-away items at the Cleanup, were taken before the rest of the set arrived. The parts that were left behind are black ramps and are about a foot and a half long. Please call Walter Johnson at 360-260-8709 by the end of the month to claim them.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The City of Vancouver is looking for volunteers to assist with disabled parking enforcement and business compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Interested applicants can call L. G. Nelson at 735-8777.

NEW PUBLIC PARK

Ellsworth Springs Neighborhood has a new public park. On Saturday, October 25th, the Ellsworth on the Park Condominiums hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new park in the midst of the condos. Officials from Realvest, the managers of the condos, the Vancouver City Council and Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation, as well as many neighbors from the Ellsworth Springs Neighborhood were there to welcome the new public park.

Realvest will maintain the park for a year. It will be turned over to the City of Vancouver and the Parks and Recreation sometime next year. If you have an idea for a name for the park please e-mail us at [call Chair for email address, it is being withheld from the online edition because of past problems with SPAM (junk email) when our prior email address was listed on the webpages.]
OCTOBER 23 NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING

Marion Swendsen, Community Policing Specialist, spoke at our last meeting. Her presentation included a variety of maps showing the number of reported crimes of various types in each neighborhood. She also offered suggestions for ways to interact with the police department and techniques to ensure our own personal and home safety. She indicated that identity theft is on the rise and offered techniques to prevent it, including shredding any documents that identify you and your personal information. It is also critical that you always lock your vehicles and remove any personal data (such as registration data) from the glove box and store them elsewhere in the car. Car, home and identity thieves rely on as much personal information that you can provide them - remove it from your car!

Vancouver City Police East
Precinct is located at 1201 SE Tech Center Drive #190. Their non-emergency number is 696-8100. Marion Swendsen's number is 735-8770. Call 911 for medical, fire, police, and any suspicious activity, even if you're not sure whether it's an emergency.

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

Traffic Complaint hotline:
619-4101
Clogged street drains: 696-8177
Animal Control: 693-4746
Code Enforcement: 735-8873
Ext. 8711


HOME ENERGY CONSERVATION

Clark Public Utilities has energy counselors to help customers cut electricity use in their homes. You may call to discuss your energy use, or upon request, a counselor can come to your home for an energy audit. Energy counselors also administer weatherizataion, heat pump, and solar water heating loan programs. Cal DuWayne Dunham at 360-992-3355.

HEATING YOUR HOME SAFELY

Heating equipment is the leading cause of home fires during the winter months. Space heaters that are fueled by electricity, wood, gas or kerosene pose a great hazard. Use them safely by keeping them at least three feet from any combustible materials. Turn them off when you leave the house or go to sleep. Look for models that have an automatic shutoff feature and have been tested by a laboratory. Use professionals to install and inspect in-wall varieties such as baseboards. Make sure that the device is well ventilated, especially propane heaters, which are responsible for most of the non-fire deaths. If you have a fireplace or wood stove, have your chimney inspected each year and cleaned if necessary. Use only seasoned hardwood. Use fire screens to keep sparks inside the fireplace. Never burn trash in the fireplace, including gift boxes, gift-wrap, tissue paper, mailing tubes, paper bags or cards and envelopes.