Loading...
2015/02/24 City news, features, and updates February 24, 2015 Th i s W e e k i n H u n t s v i l l e Proclamation issued - page 2 In this issu e . . . Composting - page 4 The Walker County Historical Commission (WCHC), the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, and the City of Huntsville’s Tourism and Cultural Services De- partment/Sam Houston Statue and Visitors Cen- ter are pleased to be taking part in the 34th Annu- al Texas Independence Day and General Sam Houston Birthday Celebration, to be held March 2. A day of special events will begin at 9 a.m., with a coffee and reception at the Gibbs-Powell House Walker County Museum, at 1228 Eleventh Street. The public is welcome to stop by until 10:15 a.m., before proceeding to the Gravesite Ceremony be- ginning at 11 a.m. in Oakwood Cemetery (at Gen- eral Sam Houston’s gravesite), on Sam Houston Special Texas Independence Day Events Gene Pipes Amphitheater to be dedicated Meter Reading FAQs - page 3 Memorial Drive (9th Street and Avenue I). The featured speaker there will be Dr. Alan Lefever, an ex- pert in Texas Baptist history from Baylor University. (In the event of rain, proceedings will be held in the Mance Park Junior High School Auditorium.) The Baptized Texan Cere- mony will also be conducted ($10 per baptism includes t- shirt, certificate, and Huntsville gift bag). Reservations are being accepted through February 25 for a buffet luncheon to be held at 12:30 p.m. at the W. S. Gibbs Conference Hall in the Katy & E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center at 1402 19th Street (reservations and $20 payment required by February 25, through the WCHC). The annual Toast to Texas and birthday cake for General Sam Houston will be even more special this year, as the dedication of the amphitheater in honor of former city manager Gene Pipes will be conducted in concert with these events, at the Sam Houston Statue and Visitor Cen- ter (7600 Highway 75 South) at 2 p.m. "We are excited to dedicate the amphitheater to honor Gene Pipes. His hard work and dedication to the project will be remembered on March 2," noted Tourism and Cul- tural Services Director Kimm Thomas. Call 936-435-2497 for more information. All events are open to the public, with reservations and payment re- quired by February 25 for the luncheon and Baptized Texan Ceremony. The Huntsville Public Library Gets Technical Check out what’s new at your Huntsville Public Library – Facebook, Twitter, and an App! The Huntsville Public Library has redesigned its web page at http://www.myhuntsvillelibrary.com to make finding information about pro- grams and services quicker and more efficient, as well as adding a calendar of events on the front page. The news and announcements are constantly updated to highlight the latest information. Anne Sparks, Assistant City Librarian, says, “We are always looking for new ways to embrace and offer our patrons new technology and make using the library both easy and fun!” Their Facebook page, Huntsville Public Library, provides clips about programs and events along with pictures, news, and information relevant to the Huntsville community. The Library's Twitter page, @HuntsvilleLib, shares the latest Tweets about what’s going on at the Library. Additionally, their new app, Bookmyne, can be downloaded to access accounts directly from all devices to see which items are checked out to an account, renew books, make or delete a hold, search the catalog, and much more. For more information, contact Anne-Frances Sparks at 291-5481. Career & Technical Education Month Mayor Woodward had the pleasure of proclaiming February 2015 as Career and Tech- nical Education Month in the City of Huntsville at the February 17 City Council meeting. Educators and students from Huntsville High School were on hand to receive the proc- lamation and celebrate the event. The City of Huntsville has been participating in the Chamber of Commerce’s Promoting Our Positives endeavor to highlight the successes in HISD. “We support all of the edu- cational opportunities in our community,” Mayor Woodward said. “The young people in Huntsville are exceptional, as are their instructors, and we are proud of their achievements.” The proclamation noted that HISD’s program offers fifteen of the sixteen Career Clusters rec- ognized by the Texas Education Agency. Program Director David Rosser noted that all of their classes are on one campus, something he said was not common across the state. It’s Still Valentine’s Day at the Wynne Home The Wynne Home Art Center is displaying a collection of vintage valentines from the collections of Nancy and Jerry Etheridge and from the Wynne family. Also displayed is a collection of antique toys from the collection of Ralph Pease. The public is invited to view these assemblages during regular hours (10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on Satur- days) throughout the month of February. The exhibition Dry Goods: The Quilts of Mary Laura Gibbs continues in the Brown- Wynne Gallery (Main Gallery) of the Wynne Home through April 15. For additional information on any exhibit, call 936-291-5424. Severe Weather Awareness Week The Texas Division of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have joined in urging all citizens to prepare for severe weather events and to educate themselves on safety strategies in anticipation of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Texas, March 1st through 7th, 2015. City of Huntsville Emergency Management Coordinator John Waldo encourages the public to plan for early spring weather, which may change without much notice. "I hope citizens will take time to consider their options and preparations in the event of severe weather,” Waldo said. “We think about hurricane season a lot, but planning for these spring events is just as important." A variety of resources and documents are available from the National Weather Service (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures.shtml) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (https://www.fema.gov/plan- prepare-mitigate). Mayor Woodward will issue an annual proclamation to EMC Waldo at the March 3 City Council meeting. For more information, contact John Waldo at 936-291-5945. The Huntsville Police Department is inviting citizens of Huntsville to participate in the 2015 Citizens’ Police Academy, a unique opportunity for participants to learn about police operations firsthand. The CPA is a 13-week program that will meet from 6–9 p.m. at the Huntsville Police Department on Monday nights. According to HPD Senior Officers Mark Jenkins and Kenneth Posey, those approved to take part in the program will attend sessions every Monday from April 13 to July 10. HPD’s Citizens’ Police Academy Applications Composting with an Expert City of Huntsville Solid Waste and Recycling Assistant Superintendent Natalie Mimms is a veteran composter, and hopes to convince you to become one, too! Contact her at 936-294-5743 or nmimms@huntsvilletx.gov. Don’t bag it-compost it! With a little time and ingenuity you can create your own safe and nutrient-rich compost to nourish your lawn and landscape plants, as well as reduce your need for watering. When you have yard waste, consider putting it in a compost pile instead of a bag that will be hauled off to the landfill. It’s simple, and if you ask any avid gardener, it is worth the effort. There are six major ingredients in a compost pile: - Nitrogen - all the green waste, like grass clippings, leaf trimmings, and kitchen scraps (no protein-rich meat or dairy scraps, they can stink and attract critters) - Carbon - brown waste like leaves, chipped limbs, and lawn thatch - Micro-organisms - the bugs that will turn your pile into a dark fertile resource. They are found in soil and water and on plant surfaces; everywhere, really. - Water - every living organism needs water to grow - Air - the type of micro-organisms that will turn a pile of yard waste into a pile of compost quickly need air - TIME! There are many different styles for developing a pile, and all of them will eventually lead to compost. You can go with the less structured route of putting every- thing in a heap in one spot and walk away from it and forget it, or go with more advanced systems with cages, boxes, or tumblers. No matter what type of sys-tem you go with, the principles of decomposition are all the same. You have to have a balance of the six ingredients in order for the magic to happen! The better your balance is, the faster it happens. Don’t worry about getting it exactly right, no matter what you do, it will eventually break down. You need equal weight of carbon ingredients and nitrogen ingredients. This is where it seems a little complicated, but it really isn’t so bad. Dried leaves are very light, so you need a lot more dried leaves that you need green leaves, kitchen scraps, or grass clippings. This is great news when fall brings lots of source material. You need your pile to stay damp all the way through. Not sopping wet or you will drown your organisms, but not dry or the organisms won’t be happy either. Like a wrung-out sponge. Your pile needs to be fluffy, so air can reach to the organisms. Often this is done by turning over your pile once every couple of weeks with a pitchfork or rake. Having different types of items in your pile will keep things from matting down. Shredded leaves, tiny sticks and pine needles, kitchen scraps like lettuce, apple peels, old flower stems, and grass clippings all will allow air to flow through the pile. The smaller the items in your pile, the faster they will decompose, so put items in a chipper or blender if you want to have a fast pile. A great way to shred bags and bags of dried leaves quickly is to put them inside an old trash can and (carefully) stick a yard string trimmer/weed-eater in the can. It’s like a giant blender and turns the leaves into tiny bits in seconds! Finally, all you have to do is wait. If you are very diligent with you pile and keep everything about it perfect, you can have fresh compost in a couple of months. If you are the type of person that prefers a more laid back method of putting it all in a pile and walking away from it and never looking at it again, you can have compost in about a year or two. There’s not really a wrong way to do it, and it keeps the green waste out of the landfill. Once your compost is ready, spread it around! Sprinkle it in your lawn, lay it down around the base of your bushes and trees, and put it in all your flower beds. The compost will deter weeds, add organic matter to your soil (which will help with water retention and a more even ground temperature), and will slowly re- lease nutrients to the plants and surrounding soil that will help make everything healthy and strong. “If you have ever wondered how a Huntsville police officer is trained, how the SWAT Team operates, or what it’s like to go on a night-shift ride-along, the Citizens’ Police Academy promises to be an engaging, one-of-a-kind experience,” Posey said. The HPD strives to make this class hands-on and enjoyable while educating the partici- pants about the police department and the local criminal justice system. According to Jenkins, the ideal candidate for the Citizens’ Police Academy is any local citi- zen with interest in the department or in law enforcement in general. More information about the Citizens’ Police Academy is available on the HPD website at www.huntsvillepolice.com, in the Community section. Those interested in applying for this year’s CPA should download and complete an applica- tion and release and deliver both to the Huntsville Police Department located at 1220 11th Street. The deadline to submit applications is Monday, March 23, 2015. For questions, please contact Senior Officer Mark Jenkins or Senior Officer Kenneth Posey at 936-291-5480.