Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association

Your Merry Oaks Environment

What You Can Do

9/1/04
Gutters Are For Rain Only
Please do not leave grass clippings on the sidewalk or in the street gutters.

You can aim the lawn mower so the grass clippings fall back onto the lawn, providing nutrients as they decompose or you can rake up the clippings and use them for mulch or compost. You can spread clippings over a layer of newspaper in the vegetable or flower garden or use clippings as mulch under bushes. Clippings left on the sidewalk are unsightly, they decompose and damage the sidewalk, are a nuisance to walkers and lastly and perhaps worst-- they run into the storm drains, clogging them and polluting the creeks. Just regard grass clippings as free fertilizer and mulch.
Never allow grass clippings to be released into the storm sewer system that discharges directly to creeks and lakes in Mecklenburg County. Surface water quality is negatively impacted when trash and organic materials (grass clippings, leaves, limbs) are left along creek banks or dumped, blown or washed directly into storm drains and creeks. City Ordinance #2562 dated 3/22/04 prohibits anything but rain and snow from being sent down the drains. Grass clippings and leaves contain residual pesticides/fertilizers; clog storm drains and grates; and decompose slowly, which decreases the amount of dissolved oxygen available to aquatic life. Remember, when the City has to send a truck to clean out your storm drains, it is costing you taxpayer money!


Char-Meck recycling information is available at: http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/LUESA/Solid+Waste/Residential+Recycling/Home.htm Also see http://www.wipeoutwaste.com

Char-Meck also sponsors the PLANT program http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/LUESA/Solid+Waste/PLANT+Program/Home.htm

Hands-On Saturday 2004
Watch for details on the What's Happening Calendar section of our website.

Mosquitos
704-336-5101 is the number to call if you see unusual increase or standing water that needs to be taken care of.
After rains, empty flower pots or any containers that have water in them.

Raccoons
If you don't have a cap on your chimney, you might want to consider one right away. It seems raccoons displaced by school and golf course construction are finding Merry Oaks chimneys better than hollow trees as a nesting place. Under your house or in your chimney, they can be expensive to remove, so barricade all home openings and DO NOT leave cat or dog food outside. For more information, click on the hotlink at bottom of this page.

What you can do to help –

· Don’t dump kitchen grease down the drain as grease blockages cause more than half of all sewage spills and creates clogs. Collect it in a can and dispose of the can in the trash when the grease hardens. It can also be mixed with absorbent materials like coffee grounds and kitty litter, and then put in the trash. If you detect foul odors or see a manhole overflowing, call Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities at 704-357-6064. The line is answered 24 hours a day. If that doesn’t work, contact the County EPA, 704-336-5500 during normal business hours or per the blue pages section of the phone book.
· Dispose of used motor oil, antifreeze and transmission fluid by taking it to one of the County’s four full-service recycling centers: 123000 N. Statesville Rd, 8440 Byrum Drive, 17131 Lancaster Highway or 8007 Pence Road. You can also go to Safety-Kleen at 2320 Yadkin Avenue. Discount coupons may be available from Jiffy Lube. Check the web site www.wipeoutwaste.com or call 704-432-1772 for more information.

· Be careful of insecticides and lawn chemicals as they eventually make their way into the groundwater and creeks.

· Empty all containers with standing water in them. Birdbaths and small ponds, which are not frequently changed, will breed mosquitoes, as will flowerpots with standing water. Home improvement stores have tablets that can be placed in ponds to prevent mosquito breeding.

· Do not leave dog or cat food in dishes outside to attract opossums and raccoons. Watch for free or discounted rabies clinics for your pet. Rabies has been found just across Eastway Drive so we need to be extra certain to have all our pets vaccinated this year.

· We often have hawks, owls and even a heron in our area. Do not disturb them as they hunt mice and other rodents.

· Smoke: Char-Meck has regulations concerning bonfires, leaf-burning, etc. Check their website or the local fire department for more information. The regulations provide for a fine.

· Clean up after your dog – it’s the law.

· Report litter to apartment management. They are trying to keep their grounds clean.

· If you see a problem such as abandoned cars, grocery carts, bulky trash at curbs for extended time, etc. notify a MONA board member and we’ll help you solve it.

· Participate in the periodic creek walks led by Jasper Parham. We pick up litter, and in general check the condition of the creek. If you spot the creek excessively muddy or discolored, please notify Jasper.

Previous Articles

Merry Oaks Road Cleanup 7/12/2003
A swarm of MONA members attacked overgrown sidewalks and street gutters on Saturday July 12 to make this major thoroughfare look much neater. Thanks to all of the twenty or twenty-five people who showed up with edgers and rakes in hand. Savannah, John and others of the younger set were a big help also. Great exercise as well as helping the entire community!

Briar Creek

From newsletter article, May 2002, by Jasper Parham
Briar Creek forms the western boundary of our neighborhood park and greenway. About four years ago Merry Oaks Neighborhood Association committed to cleaning the creek and monitoring its health, through the County’s Adopt-A-Creek program. Jasper Parham is in charge of that effort.

4/20/02 Creek Walk began with one participant at the Central Avenue Bridge. As usual, the bulk of the litter was in the beginning stretch. It seems that the corridor and the businesses nearby generate a lot of litter, which ends up in the creek. About an hour later, two more participants joined. Amazingly, the water was crystal clear. The creek bed was visible the entire length of the walk, except where the depth was more than knee high. The vegetation was abundant. Poison ivy is becoming more prevalent. There are many birch saplings along most of the creek bank. We saw hundreds of fresh water mussel shells and minnows, a few small fish, dozens of fish nesting sites, a snapping turtle and a male mallard duck nesting with 9 eggs. Participants were Brad Haigler, Aric King and Jasper Parham. Approximately 200 pounds of litter was collected.

In February 2002, we began to notice trash dumped into the tributary that runs alongside the Hillcrest Apartment on Arnold Drive. Even though this isn’t part of the Adopt-A-Creek project, it was cleaned since it does flow into Briar Creek and was an unsightly mess. All the litter was removed from the side of the creek opposite the Hillcrest. Richard Stenhouse and Matt Wise assisted me and were invaluable resources physically and spiritually. I felt more at ease with help from these Arnold neighbors. Everett McPhail and Bill Sells also assisted.

There were several quite inspiring moments on the creek. On Thursday, I had been hearing barred owls calling, and then suddenly I heard a noise within 50 feet. It was an owl ascending from the ground to a tree limb with a mouth full of feathers. On Friday I was approaching the creek where a very large tree limb had fallen across the creek. I heard something rustling in the leaves on the ground. Then I saw a 3-foot long, very rotund snake slithering down the bank into the creek. The coloration pattern was obviously that of a copperhead. On Saturday, I went back to check for anything that was missed. I heard a noise, and saw a very large bird ascend to a tree limb. This was no owl, but a Blue Heron with a wingspan of 4-5 feet.

Apparently the creek, in spite of all the garbage abuse, is healthy enough to support a diverse species of animals. Minnows were visible on numerous occasions and there were numerous crawdad and other critter openings on the ground.

We pulled 10 shopping carts from the creek, along with 2 bicycles, hundreds of bottles, cans, paper, etc. A total of about 600 pounds of debris was pulled from the creek. Hillcrest Apartments has been contacted on several occasions to ask them for their help
Help Keep Briar Creek Clean By Ben Shaver
Briar Creek is the only creek in our neighborhood and it is our job to help protect it, whether it’s by being aware of the junk we allow to go down the storm drains in the street or by going out and picking up trash from the street or the creek itself. I’m 14 years old and if I’m capable of this, something tells me you are too. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, you can start by not littering in our neighborhood and not pouring oils, animal fat, and vegetable fat down your sink drain. Grease causes more that half of our sewer spills, and when a sewer spills it drains to the creek. Overall, if it is not something you would feed to your kids, don’t dump it in storm drains or down the kitchen sink.
If you see or suspect a sewage overflow or spill, call 704/357-6064.
When you see trash or clutter (including grass, sticks and leaves) that could end up in the storm drains in front of your or your neighbor’s house, stop by and clean it up. We need to allow the city’s systems to function by doing our small part.
There are many other things you can do, including using rechargeable batteries, recycling motor oil, being aware of water usage (taking shorter showers, less flushes of the toilet), and not buying products that contain Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). 05/01/03

Links

Recycling
Raccoons and other critters
Wipe Out Waste-recycling, composting, report litterbugs