July-August 2002 SLNA Scoop Archive
8/18--Burkie The Begger
Revisits The 'Hood
We had a visit from an
early-morning door pounder, presumably James Burkie, recently mentioned
as a pest/threat in Bouldin and here. 5:45am or so, usual story about
leaking radiator, needs $8. We ran him off and he went to the next door
neighbor, who turned him away also.
Just a note, the police advise to call 911 immediately in these cases.
I'm keeping my neighbor's telephone number close to the phone for quick
help, too, and I've told neighbors that they can count on my help. No
vigilantism here, just strength in togetherness.
Regards,
Kevin Lewis
8/17--Thornton Road To
See More Development
Another piece of property on 2509 Thornton has sold...and closed.
It is the acre where the pink farm house once was, the Kieke property.
Someone named William Hurt (not Howell) bought it and plans are for more
duplexes. The property is presently zoned SF-3...
FYI
Bryan
8/16--Nominating
Committee Announced
Hello SLNA
members,
As per the SLNA bylaws,
http://www.southlamar.org/Bylaws.htm,
it is the duty of the President to appoint a nominating committee of
five people prior to the October meeting. I am appointing the following
people who have all expressed interest in serving in this capacity.
They are, in alpha order:
Patricia Fiske (Del Curto)
pfiske@austin.rr.com
Carol Gibbs (Roberts)
ZIGWINDIT@msn.com
Michael Greenberg (South Oak)
magreenberg@kpmg.com
Marci Roberts (Southland)
marci@meodesign.com
Kathryn Stern (Morgan)
stern_kathryn@hotmail.com
This group will be making nominations of officers for 2003. Feel
free to contact any of this group to make suggestions or to express your
interest in serving as an SLNA officer. You can find links to their
email addresses next to their names listed above.
The nominating committee will present their recommendations at the
October meeting. Nominations can also be made from the floor at that
meeting. Following nominations, the election will take place at
the October meeting with the new officers taking office in January.
(Our bylaws state
that officers shall not serve more than two consecutive terms in the
same elected office. Marci and I were both
reelected last year and therefore will be leaving our respective
offices.)
Please refer to the SLNA bylaws (link above) if you have any questions
or feel free to contact me.
Bryan
8/16--The Beggar Is Back!
I repost this from the Bouldin NA list. The guy is back at it again!
FYI
Bryan
Neighbors! Burkie the door pounder is back. There were four
police units on Post Oak this morning. One of my neighbors called to
report this guy on the door next to his. They couldn't hold him because
he had done nothing strictly illegal. How well did the cops know this
guy? Name, home address, record, method of doing business. Here's
the deal. Burkie is a kind of scruffy looking guy. He has a sky
blue '89 Sedan de Ville with a lot of damage to the left front (some of
the same cops this morning responded to his accident the other day).
He's a substance abuser. He's a thief. He will drive around until he
decides to stop, get out of his car and commence to pound on your door.
If you open the door, he will give you a sob story until you give him
money or tell him to get lost. If you don't open the door, he will
literally pound it in and take your stuff unless you tell him you are
calling the cops. He hasn't hurt anyone. So far. The APD officers were
clear on this. If you see the car, day or night, call 911 and report it
as a suspicious vehicle. If someone starts pounding on your door in the
middle of the night, call 911 first. Daytime, too. The only way to get
rid of the guy is to keep rousting him. Eventually he'll slip up. It's
fine with the cops. Nothing would make them happier than Burkie back in
the slammer. They think it's only a matter of time until he loses it and
snaps on someone. Let's make sure it's not one us, okay?
8/13--Beer Store At
Former Diamond Shamrock Site?
Hello all,
I was contacted by Brad Henningsgaard this afternoon. He is proposing to
construct a drive through Beer business called Eskimo Hut on the
property previously occupied by the Diamond Shamrock gas station.
In order to do so, he will need a zoning change from CS to CS-1.
Apparently, an Austin lawyer, Jim Nassour, has purchased this property
and has it available for lease. Eskimo Hut desires to lease the
space from him.
I suggested that Eskimo Hut make a formal presentation to the Executive
Committee and anyone else interested in attending. A meeting date has
not been set yet. I will advise if and when that happens. If
they proceed in a zoning change, property owners within 300 feet and the
SLNA will be notified by the city.
That is all of the information I have at this time.
FYI,
Bryan
8/10--Sidewalks To Zilker
School?
Details about the Safe Routes To School (SRS) grant program that we've
been watching for have finally been announced. The program appears to
hold considerable promise to improve transportation safety for school
children, along with the 'pedestrian-' and 'bicycle-friendliness' of
neighborhoods
that our organizations have long desired.
Application deadline is December 6, 2002, and full details are included
at the following website:
www.saferoutestexas.org
We need to get to work on this one! They have a pretty good chunk of
money but it will be spread statewide.
Bryan
8/2--Nomination Committee
for New Officers
Hello all SLNA'ers,
Last year the election of officers slid till December. You can see below
that the bylaws need to be updated in the area mentioning "quarterly"
meetings. Since the bylaws, as they read presently, state the nominating
committee must be appointed prior to the October meeting, we need to
form a nominating committee now. I would like to designate the committee
at the August meeting.
Would any of you, that are "active members" as stated in the bylaws,
care to serve on the nominating committee? Please let me know
ASAP. I will appoint the committee soon in order for them to have time
to make selections.
Marci and I have hit our two year term limits in the offices we each
hold and we'll need some new folks to step up. Could that be you?
Thanks,
Bryan
SLNA bylaws
A. Positions and Terms of Election
1. The officers of the Association shall be elected from the active
membership and shall be: President, Vice President, Recording Secretary,
Treasurer, and Delegate to the Austin Neighborhood Council and South
Central Coalition.
2. These five or six elected officers shall comprise the Executive
Committee.
3. Officers shall be elected for one-year terms at the October quarterly
meeting and shall assume office at the January meeting. The officers
shall not serve more than two consecutive terms in the same elected
office.
4. Nomination of officers shall be the responsibility of a five-member
Nominating Committee appointed by the President from the active
membership prior to the October quarterly meeting. Nominations may also
be made from the floor at the meeting.
8/1--Update on Odgen
Supply 7/31--SLNA Plans For
National Night Out
For those of you that were asking about the status of Odgen Supply on
Thornton: Mr. Lopez with the city enforcement office left me
a message today. Odgen did not show up at his docket hearing, and
the judge simply rescheduled it for September. That is all I know
to date. For more information contact Mr. Lopex at COA.
Bryan
National Night Out, America's
Night Out Against Crime is this Tuesday, Aug. 6th.
(What's National Night Out, you say?
Visit
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/nno.htm to find out...)
Please plan on going outside your house around 6pm and meet and mingle
with your neighbors on your block!.
At 7pm come on down to the Unity Church grounds to meet with SLNA folks
from all over the hood.
Austin Police, Austin Fire Department Engine, and an EMS vehicle will
all make a visit with us there. Kids should love it and you can
ask any questions you might have!
BYO Whatever.
Please plan on stopping by the church sometime after 7!
Bryan
'7/31--Mosquito Spraying &
the "No Spray" List
News Flash:
The City of Austin is planning to spray for mosquito control. The
following is information on some of the chemicals they plan to use, and
how you can stop them from spraying in your neighborhood. Please share
this info with everyone you know in Austin:
What chemicals are used in spraying operations?
Biomist (permethrin) is manufactured by Clarke Mosquito Control Products
of Roselle, Illinois. Scourge (resmerthrin) is manufactured by
Aventis Environmental Science USA of Montvale, New Jersey. Both
are of the chemical family of synergized synthetic pyrethroids. These
chemicals can only be applied by appropriately certified technicians,
and the environmental conditions under which they may be used is tightly
defined.
Permethrin effects on aquatic organisms: Aquatic ecosystems are
particularly vulnerable to the impact of permethrin. A fragile balance
exists between the quality and quantity of insects and other
invertebrates that serve as fish food.
Effects on other organisms: Permethrin is extremely toxic to bees.
Severe losses may be expected if bees are present at treatment time, or
within a day thereafter. Permethrin is also toxic to wildlife. It should
not be applied, or allowed to drift, to crops or weeds in which active
foraging takes place.
Resmethrin effects on aquatic organisms: Resmethrin is very highly toxic
to fish.
What is the "No Spray" list?
This is a list of residents who do not want mosquito spraying operations
near their homes. No spraying will be done within 200 feet of the
property of anyone on the "No Spray" list. To have your name included on
the list, call 972-5600.
Here is a link to the city page about
spraying:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/news/02/mosquito_fight.htm
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/health/020726wnv.htm (Nilke virus)
7/30--At Your Doorstep
Below are the links for the
August 2002 edition of the City of Austin's At Your Doorstep
neighborhood newsletter:
PDF -
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/doorstep/02/downloads/8_02.pdf
Text -
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/doorstep/02/august_2002.htm
BK
7/12--Call for Newsletter
Submissions
Hi SLNA landers,
I'm trying to get an earlier start for the next newsletter! It has
been a last minute push the last couple of issues. Anyone wanting
to make suggestions, or better yet, write something, please be thinking
about it now. Let me know if you have something to contribute.
JoDee has been doing a stellar job on the newsletter layout, especially
when we have been getting it all together with little time to spare!
We also still need about five more members that can help out with the
"paper routes", delivering the newsletters door to door. Contact
Carol Gibbs if you can take about a 30 minute walk and deliver a route,
every other month!
Next meeting is Aug 15th (yes, Tax Day for those of you that did an
extension!)
Thanks,
BK
7/9--Neighborhood Watch
Forum July 16
I pass this along from APD District Rep Kenny Nash for those interested.
This is your chance to give direct input to APD on issues in your area:
speeding traffic, criminal activity, etc.
Bryan
From the desk of Officer Kenny Nash:
Hello everyone. I am writing everyone to let them know about an upcoming
Neighborhood Watch forum. It will be held on Tuesday, the 16th of July,
from 6pm-8pm. This will be held at the Kinney Avenue Baptist Church,
1801 Kinney Avenue. We will have guest speakers and representatives from the
District Reps office, the Victim services unit, 911, 311 and the chief
will be
present as well. This is a great opportunity to get some valuable
information and get some useful material as well. Refreshments will be
provided. Please let everyone in your neighborhoods know. Hit your
E-mail lists and spread the word. We are hoping for a large turnout
Thanks for your help and keep up the good work,
Kenny
P.S. I would like to have the largest turnout!! My districts should rule
this meeting.
7/9--The Future of the Former Diamond Shamrock Station
For those of you tracking the property which had been the Diamond
Shamrock station at the corner of Lamar and Kinney Road, I spoke with
the real estate department of Valero Energy (owner of the property) this
morning. Chuck Divelbiss (210-592-4526), who handles this district
for Valero Energy, informed me that the property has been sold, but he
could not disclose the buyer at this time. He expects a closing date in
about three months. There will be closure of the site as a gas station
and there will be deed restrictions placed on the land to prevent the
property from being used as another gas station in the future. He did
reveal that the owners of the proposed storage facility across Kinney
are NOT the buyers of this
property. I ask him to please notify us, the NA, of the buyer when it
becomes public record.
FYI
Bryan
7/4--Update on Proposed
Infill Revisions
A note from George Adams, planner at COA:
Please note that the proposal to permit Secondary Apartments city-wide
on SF-3 zoned lots with a minimum size of 5,750 square feet will be
withdrawn from the proposed revisions. Exhibit A has not been revised
yet but will be in the near future.
We would still like to consider changes to lessen confusion and increase
flexibility between two-family / duplex / secondary apartment without
reducing the minimum lot size.
Also, for your information we are planning on holding two meetings in
July, tentatively set for the 17th and the 29th, to discuss the proposed
infill revisions. Additional details and e-mail notification will
follow.
George Adams
Further info will be posted at the COA website in a few days.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/development/codeamend.htm
Bryan
7/3--More
Panhandling in Neighborhood
Here's a couple of reported recent incidents of panhandling.
From Kevin Lewis:
We on Iva Lane have now, too, been visited by odd panhandling/casing for
opportunities guy.
Last Friday at 6:50am there was a very soft knock on the front door.
Fortunately the dog raised heck. We answered, it was familiar rap. His
280Z car had broken down, late for work, had $22, but needed $4 more for
part, might get fired. Late 30's-early 40s white guy, dark brown hair,
jeans and t-shirt, not really dirty but "hard"-looking. Did not want to
take no for an answer. After we politely declined, he stalked off toward
Lamar.
We called 311 to report. Just to recap, this guy has been operating for
several months in South Austin. APD is aware, but has not caught him
actually doing anything illegal. They say, do not give him money or
help. It's just a scam, if not worse.
And from Ruth Powers:
Last Wednesday morning around 6:30, June 26,
I saw a guy knocking from door to door on Del Curto. I told him the
police were looking for someone just like him who had been going door to
door. His story was that he was trying to get to work but his serpentine
belt was broken. I told him to leave the neighborhood and stayed to tell
the woman who had come out about the problem. As I walked toward home, I
saw him again and told him to leave the neighborhood. At that point he
saw Larry the mailman's son and started walking toward him. I told
him I was going to call the police. He stuck to his hard luck story.
I called the 911 and they did stop him at the car wash. The officer said
this was not the same man they have been looking for, but I am sure his
story was made up. He was even stopping cars on Del Curto Rd, can you
imagine?
Description: white, 30-35 years old, goatee, brown/red hair, sage green
t-shirt, cutoff jeans, walking shoes. 5" 8-10, medium weight. I think it
is important to speak with neighbors who are not likely to be on the
internet to read these warnings.
7/3--4th of July Party
Details
Hey Neighbors!!!!
Just a reminder about the 4th of July party. I want to thank
everyone for their concerns and suggestions. I hope I have addressed
them all. It starts at 6 pm at the end of Southland. We will be in
neighbors yards.
This is a covered dish type of affair. Bring some stuff and we will all
share. Don't forget plates, plastic ware, napkins, cups for your party.
We have tables coming from the Four Seasons (a neighbor is going to
donate use of them) for food set-ups. Bryan is bringing a grill for
anything that you would like to cook on it. There will be a blender for
crushing up goodies of your choice. I will bring some ice for it. I will
also bring my big trash can.
The band (their name is "The Good Seeds") will be setting up away from
adjacent neighbors. They aren't that loud but if it ends up being a
problem they can play acoustically.
Monica has donated the use of her bathroom if anyone has an
emergency--otherwise you're welcome to use the bathroom in my house at
the end of the block.
Transportation to the fireworks did not pan out, so everyone is left to
their own devices for seeing the display at Zilker.
Is there anything that I am forgetting? I would love to see each
and everyone of you there!!!!
Happy Independence Day
Marci Roberts