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OLD GLEBE CIVIC ASSOCIATION
June 2002
Dear Neighbor:
Welcome to the second edition of the Old Glebe Civic Association ‘E-Letter’. Thanks to your e-mail connection, we are able to provide this information more easily, less expensively and more currently than our usual ‘hard copy’ production. Since you will receive this newsletter at least one month in advance of the mailed copy, please feel free to print it out and share it with a neighbor who does not have e-mail.
Indoor Teen Concert At Madison Center on Saturday, June 8, 2002
For those of you who did not get a notice from the County, there will be an indoo teen concert at the Madison Center on Saturday, June 8th from 7:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. The concert will be located in the gym. A representative from Arlington Police Department will be on hand for the entire eveng along with PRCR recreation staff. If you have any questions or concerns about the concert please contact: Saundra Green at 703-228-5210 or Ide Sneed at 703-228-5311.
We recently queried the Department of Public Works about the status of this project. Originally it was to begin in January, and then was re-scheduled for July 2002. Now the project is scheduled to begin in October 2002, with completion in twelve months. The project has been delayed because it actually involves two projects: one, the installation of a 36-inch water main along North Old Glebe Road and two, upgrade of the Fort Ethan Allen Water Pumping Station. It was decided to combine these two projects to minimize the disturbance and disruption of water service in the neighborhood, but this has also caused the delay. If you have any questions about the project, call Juan Javier at 703-228-3657.
Someone’s Been Swiping My Goldfish!
For those that have small ponds or pools in their back yards, and have goldfish in them, you may have seen a fish or two ‘go missing’ in recent months. Most likely, it’s not due to mischief or vandalism, at least not the traditional sort. Our sources say that it’s probably ‘Bobby, the Blue Heron’, who has been seen in these parts appreciatively swallowing a decorative fish or two. As best we can tell, Bobby makes his home between the Potomac River and the Canal on the other side of Chain Bridge. Sigh, just one more ‘DC commuter’ we have to put up with!
Block Captains
“CAPT” Bill Schwab of our Executive Committee has taken this program to a new level. We now have designated ‘block captains’ for 36 of the 37 blocks in our civic association. Block captains are the ‘local link’ in our association, passing information and concerns both up and down the line. In addition to keeping you informed about what’s going on in the County and your neighborhood, Block Captains can also be seen (cheerfully) distributing our newsletters and special notices. We still need one more block captain to cover the nine homes along Dittmar Rd between N Vermont and N Wakefield St. If you can help, please contact Bill Schwab at 703-237-9521 or captbill@erols.com.
(Remember, just because we’re suburbanites, doesn’t mean we can’t talk to our neighbors!)
Neighborhood Day
Thanks to Bill Schwab, Iris and Bill Bond, Katrine Pendleton, Helen Duval, Rich Samp, Bobbie Hays, and Ike Sneed and the staff at the Madison Community Center, we had a very successful program and turnout. For those of you that couldn’t make it (??), you missed a great ‘White Elephant’ table, Sparky the Fire Dog and the Arlington County Fire Department’s new fire engine, Wally Owen’s outstanding lecture and tour of Ft. Ethan Allen, and various notables such as County Manager Ron Carlee, Arlington County Board Candidate Mike Clancy, and the Parks Department Representative, Kurt Louis. We are presently discussing future social/community events and would like your ideas as well. Several suggestions are: 1) a Community Yard Sale (consignment); and 2) A Bluegrass Music and Barbeque Appreciation Day. Let us hear from you!
We All Have a Problem on June 16
Except for Dads that is. Do you and your family wonder what to do for Dad each year? He already has enough ties, scarves, etc. to fill two Goodwill bins, or if you go out to dinner, he probably winds up having to pay for it. So what can you do for the guy?
Here’s a couple of suggestions: One, take him fishing. If you’ve never taken the Gulf Branch trail down to the Potomac, then you and your family are truly missing a great local experience. The trail enters out on the Potomac either up a cliff (not for the tikes!), or at several more accessible locations on the water. Tossing a worm or a spinning lure into the water is almost guaranteed to get results!
Two, for the more sedentary among us, get Dad a new ‘Hand-Crank Emergency Radio’. For those ‘occasional’ power outages, or for a more serious situation, this item can’t be beat. It has AM/FM and short-wave bands, a built-in flashlight and operates on three AA batteries, as well as the hand-crank, which gives up to one hour of operation on a few minutes worth of cranking. This item can be found at your local Restoration Hardware store for $49.99 (Tyson’s) or at various web sites for $39.99 (crank in ‘Grundig FR200’ into your search engine.)
(Disclaimer: I am not the local manager of Restoration Hardware, and my last name isn’t ‘Grundig’!)
Election of Officers and Approval of Survey
At our semi-annual meeting held Sunday, April 28 at the Madison Center, we twisted just enough arms to come up with an (almost) complete slate of officers for the coming year. Those so honored were:
Burt Bostwick President
Helen Duval Vice President
Benny Parker Treasurer
Katrine Pendleton Secretary
Civic Federation Delegates and Alternates
Iris Bond
Kathy Fong
Bobbie Hays*
Connie Ramirez*
Marlene Risney*
Rich Samp
Bill Schwab (also ‘Block Admiral’)
*New officers
Helen Duval presented the results of our association survey, which were reviewed and approved by the membership. If you have not seen the results of the survey, contact Helen and she will e-mail you a copy or you can see a copy on our website at http://www.freehomepages.com/ogca/surveyresults.htm
Membership and Dues Contributions
Our latest count is 104 dues-paying members out of the 450 households in our association. Thanks to all who have recently joined for your support. If you haven’t joined, our Treasurer, Benny Parker, is always happy to take your money ($10 annually) at:
4328 37th Road N.
Arlington, VA 22207
If you paid dues in the current calendar year, you are paid up through next June 30, 2003. If you paid anytime prior to January 1 of this year, your dues are up for renewal. In order to facilitate the annual dues process, the Executive Committee has authorized a new category, Perpetual Membership. For $100 (less any amounts already paid in this calendar year), we promise not to bother you again for dues so long as you continue to reside in the Old Glebe Civic Association. This also helps keep our bookkeeping and administrative tasks to a manageable level. While we are not presently a registered non-profit organization (which would make your dues contributions eligible for a tax deduction), we are in the process of registering as a non-profit and will do our best to complete this process during the 2002 calendar year.
The Arlington Heritage Alliance recently announced the establishment of the “Friends of Ft. Ethan Allen” which will function as a subcommittee of the Alliance. Their goals include:
If you are interested in supporting these activities, please contact Laura Bobeczko at the Arlington Heritage Alliance (703) 241-0626, or lauralbobeczko@aol.com.
Note: The Arlington Heritage Alliance is a registered non-profit organization.
Gulf Branch Programs
The Gulf Branch Nature Center offers a number of outstanding programs for families, and for ‘tiny tots’ and pre-schoolers, especially during the summer. Call (703) 228-3403 for details, or drop by and pick up a copy of “The Snag”, which describes all the programs. Call early, as these programs fill up quickly.
Controlling ‘Spam’
Only slightly less annoying than the unsolicited phone calls and junk mail we receive are the e-mails that we get about….hair loss….weight gain….working at home….Viagra….etc., collectively known as ‘spam’. You may not know that you can easily banish these messages with a few mouse clicks. Whenever you get a message that you don’t want to receive again, click ‘Message, Block Sender’ in your e-mail program and you won’t be bothered again by the same sender. You can also designate specific words or phrases that will ban those messages to the ‘delete’ box by clicking ‘Message, Create Rule from Message’, and typing in the words or phrases you don’t need to know about. Now knowing all this, we trust you won’t apply these measures to your favorite civic association!
Concerns/Questions?
Please let us know what’s on your mind. If we can help, we will!
Officers
President Burt Bostwick 527-5415 bostwick@emerecon.com
Webmaster David Hunsberger 536-0910 davidhuns@aol.com
Block Admiral Bill Schwab 237-9521 captbill@erols.com