TCW Neighborhood NeWs

[Pages:8]Volume 3, Number 9 September 2008

Travis Country West

TCW Neighborhood NeWs

Official Publication of Travis Country West Community

We Can Make a Difference

I was reluctant to start using reusable shopping bags. On Earth Day in April 2008, many stores gave a reusable shopping bag in exchange for plastic bags. I thought I would give this a try, as the bag was FREE. I then procrastinated to use the bag. I finally used the bag one month ago and have found it easier to use that coming home with extra plastic bags that can get thrown away. I encourage all to try one reusable bag for 3 weeks and see what happens. Many of the stores have the bags for .99 cents. I am also going to start using the reusable shopping bags as gift bags, as they cost less than most gift bags and can be used again. Below is an article I found regarding the use of reusable bags.

Article submitted by TCW Neighbor

From Your TCW Neighbor's

Kitchen

Easy Potato Salad

Ingredients 4 boiled eggs 2 tablespoons dill pickle relish 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish 3 tablespoons mustard 1 cup mayonnaise 2 lbs small red potatoes cooked and cut into quarters Salt & Pepper

Directions 1. Place potatoes in a large mixing bowl. 2. Add rest of ingredients. 3. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Austin Sees Little Change

Submitted by Weston Sythoff

The Austin area came through yet another month relatively unscathed by recent national economic trends. Though the area saw total non-agricultural employment decrease by 200 jobs in June, this reduction was caused by seasonal employment decline due to the summer break for universities and local school districts.

"While overall job growth declined, it's important to note that aside from Government, which lost 4,000 jobs, nearly every other industry saw growth," said Alan Miller, executive director of Workforce Solutions.

Leisure and Hospitality led area growth with an increase of 1,200 jobs in June 2008. Over the last year, Leisure and Hospitality has grown by 2,800 jobs, a rate of 3.5%. Mining & Construction, Manufacturing, and Finance all experienced healthy growth, adding 800, 600, and 400 jobs, respectively. Retail Trade added 300 jobs and has gained 2,500 jobs since June of 2007, for an annual growth rate of 3.1%. The only other industry to lose jobs was Professional and Business Services, which declined by only 200.

The annual growth rate for all sectors in the Austin-Round Rock MSA* was 1.8% with a total job growth of 13,900 over the last 12 months.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the unemployment rate for the Austin-Round Rock MSA in May 2008 rose slightly to 4.2 percent. The rate was 3.9% one year ago.

The unemployment rate for Texas was 4.4 percent, and the U.S. rate was 5.5%.

Workforce Solutions ? Capital Area Workforce Board is a non-profit workforce development organization that serves the businesses and residents of Travis County. The mission of Workforce Solutions is to lead an innovative, high quality workforce system that ensures the economic viability of the region.

*The Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties.

Copyright ? 2008 Peel, Inc.

Travis Country West Homeowner's Association Newsletter September - 2008

Travis Country West

Your Homeowners' Association Committee Members

Board of Directors

John Campbell ...........................................................President Rina Hartline ......................................................Vice President Rob Herb................................................... Treasurer/Secretary Seth Prejean ................................................................ Director

For information email: board@

TCW Committees

The neighborhood has started the following committees and we are always looking for new volunteers. Please use the contact email for questions and volunteer opportunities.

Social Committee social@

Pool Committee pool@

Landscape Committee landscape@

Newsletter Committee newsletter@

Architectural Committee architectural@

Useful City of Austin Contact Numbers

Dead Animal Pick up ...........................................947-9400 Abandoned Vehicle ..............................................280-0075 Pothole Repair......................................................974-8750 Street Light Outage ..............................................505-7617

TCW Teenage Job Seekers

Baby Pet House Yard

Name

Age Sit Sit Sit Work Phone

Grubbs, Nicholas.......... 12.................... ? ............................ 301-7381

Grubbs, Savannah+ ...... 13.........?......... ? ............................ 301-7381

Patel, Rebecca .............. 17.........?......... ? ........? .................. 567-4344

Not Available Online

*-CPR Training

+-First Aid Training

Attention Teenagers

The Teenage Job Seekers listing service is offered free of charge to all Travis Country West teenagers seeking work. Submit your name and information to newsletter@ by the 9th of the month!

!!! Travis Country West Newsletter !!!

The Travis Country West newsletter is a FREE monthly publication mailed to all Travis Country West residents. If you are interested in submitting an ARTICLE, FAVORITE RECIPE or FAVORITE PHOTO, please submit it to: newsletter@ by the 5th day of the month.

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Advertising Information

Please support the businesses that advertise in the Travis Country West Community Newsletter. Their advertising dollars make it possible for all Travis Country West residents to receive the monthly newsletter at no charge. No homeowners association funds are used to produce or mail the newsletters. If you would like to support the newsletter by advertising, please contact our sales office at 512-263-9181 or advertising@. The advertising deadline is the 10th of each month for the following month's newsletter.

Newsletter Information

Publisher Peel, Inc. ........................ , 512-263-9181 Articles ............................newsletter@ Advertising ........ advertising@, 512-263-9181

2 Travis Country West Homeowner's Association Newsletter - September 2008

Copyright ? 2008 Peel, Inc.

Travis Country West

Sunday

Monday

1

Labor Day

September 2008

Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday

2 National Blueberry Popsicle Day

3 Barkley the dog's Birthday (sesame street)

4 Eat an Extra Dessert Day

Friday

5 Jesse James' Birthday - 1847

Saturday

6 Barbi Doll Day - 1959

7

8

9

Raggedy Ann's Miss America

Teddy

Birthday - 1915 Pageant Birthday Bear Day

14

National Pet

Memorial Day

15 16 National Thank

You Day

National Working Parents Day

10 Swap Ideas Day

17 National Student Day

11 12 National

National

Emergency

Chocolate

Responders Day Milkshake Day

18 19 New York Times'

Birthday - 1852

National Butterscotch Pudding Day

13

Positive Thinking Day

20 International Student Day

21 World Gratitude Day

22American

Business Women's Day

23 First Day of Fall

24 First Toy Store Opened

25

26

27

National Comic

*Shamu's

Tonight Show

Book Day Birthday - 1985 Birthday - 1954

28

29

Family Health &

VFW

Fitness Day

Birthday

30

Safety Pin Invented

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Copyright ? 2008 Peel, Inc.

Travis Country West Homeowner's Association Newsletter September - 2008

Travis Country West

National Night Out

Submitted by Deputy James Kitchens, Travis County Sheriff's Office

Dear Friends,

and enjoyable program to promote neighborhood spirit and police-

Greetings! It's time again to gather your neighbors and team up with community partnerships in our fight for safer communities. The

your Law Enforcement Agency to give crime a going-away party. benefits that your community will derive from NNO will most

National Night Out is an annual event normally held on the certainly extend well beyond the one night.

first Tuesday of August. This year it will take place on October 7, The Travis County Sheriff's Office has promoted National Night Out

2008. National Night Out is sponsored by the National Night Out for the past 25 years. Our participation has grown from helping with a

Association of Town Watch. This past year's National Night Out handful of neighborhood get-togethers to more than 4,000 participants

campaigns involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, enjoying block parties, carnivals, parades and an assortment of

business, neighborhood organizations and local public officials from other activities. Our involvement has grown from a couple of crime

more than 9,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, prevention officers, to dozens of patrol officers, sergeants, lieutenants,

Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, more than 29.5 captains, majors, county commissioners and the Sheriff.

million participated in National Night Out last year.

National Night Out is a great way to get together with your

National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug neighbors, find out what's going on in your community and visit with

prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in local local law enforcement officers about that you can do to help reduce

anti-crime efforts, and to strengthen neighborhood spirit and law the opportunities for crimes to occur. Participation can be as simple as

enforcement ? community partnership. But its primary goal is to a small block party, or as big as a parade or carnival. To get involved,

send a strong message to criminals to let them know neighborhoods or to find out how to register your event for National Night Out, call

are organized and fighting back.

the Travis County Sheriff's Office at 854-8413 or 854-9770.

Along with the traditional display of porch lights and front-yard Deputy James Kitchens

vigils, cities, towns and neighborhoods celebrate NNO with a variety Travis County Sheriff's Office

of events and activities such as block parties, cookouts, visits from Community Services & Outreach Unit

local law enforcement officers, parades flashlights walks contests (512) 854.8413

and youth programs. NNO has proven to be an effective, inexpensive Fax: (512) 854.4719

(Flyer on pg 7)

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Printing & Publishing

Publishing community newsletters since 1991

We currently publish newsletters

for the following subdivisions in Austin:

Avery Ranch Barton Creek Barton Hills

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Courtyard Davenport Ranch

Forest Creek Granada Hills Highland Park West Balcones Jester Estates Lake Pointe

Lakewood Laurel Oaks Neighborhood Assoc.

Legend Oaks II

Long Canyon Lost Creek

Pemberton Heights River Place Scenic Brook Sendera

Shady Hollow Sonoma

South Lamar Neighborhood Assoc. Steiner Ranch Stone Canyon

The Hills of Lakeway Travis Country West

Twin Creeks Villages of Westen Oaks

Westcreek Wood Glen

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Travis Country West Homeowner's Association Newsletter - September 2008

Copyright ? 2008 Peel, Inc.

Travis Country West

Nature Watch

by Jim and Lynne Weber

Hummingbird Highways One of the most abundant jewels in Texas, the black-chinned

hummingbird may be small, but its' fall migration is a feat of gigantic proportions!

Measuring a mere three and one-half inches long with a three and three-quarter-inch wing span, this hummingbird weighs only three to three and one-half grams, which is about equivalent to the weight of a dime plus a dollar bill. The male is dull metallic green above, gray below, black on the chin and upper throat, with an iridescent violet lower throat known as a gorget (pronounced gore-jet). The female lacks the characteristic coloring on the chin, upper throat, and lower throat.

Like all hummingbirds, nectar serves as its main food source, fueling the tiny bird's extreme metabolism. These hummingbirds feed on several species of plants, most notably native penstemons, agaves, salvias, sages, and honeysuckles. While artificial feeders supplement their diet, they also prey on insects and spiders, particularly during nesting season, which gives them the dietary fat and protein necessary to breed.

The black-chinned hummingbird's unique skeletal structure allows them to fly forwards, backwards, sideways, and even on their backs! This requires a wingbeat frequency of about 50 beats per second, and massive muscles that make up a third of their tiny body weight. While the males perform an elaborate flight display during courtship, no pair bond is formed between the males and females. Females build the tiny nest (out of spider webs, mosses, and various plant fibers), incubate the eggs, and raise the young, while the males are feeding and off chasing other females. This is unusual among birds as a whole, since this class of animals exhibits the greatest amount of monogamy among vertebrates (animals with a backbone or spinal column).

While most biologists believe that the shortening length of daylight hours triggers fall migration, the black-chinned hummingbird begins its long journey south from Texas in September, to spend the winter in western Mexico. The number of birds migrating south may be twice that of the northward trip in the spring, since it includes all immature birds that hatched during the summer, as well as surviving adults.

Amazingly, for a newly hatched hummingbird, there is no memory of past migrations, only an urge to put on a lot of weight, fly in a particular direction for a certain amount of time and hundreds of miles, and look for a good place to over-winter. Once it learns such a route, a bird may retrace it every year as long as it lives! There is evidence that fall and spring migration routes differ, with the hummingbirds following the Texas coast back into Mexico in the fall and crossing non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico on their way north in the spring. Perhaps the hurricane season is a factor, and these birds have developed an innate sense to avoid the Gulf during its most precarious weather season.

The timing of the fall hummingbird migration occurs when their natural food is most abundant. However, you can enjoy this amazing spectacle up-close by keeping your feeders full of clear, fresh sugar water through at least the end October, and enjoying the company of these enchanting little gems as they make a rest stop in your yard!

Send your nature-related questions to naturewatch@austin. and we'll do our best to answer them.

SSuuddookkuu

The challenge is to fill every row across, every column down, and every 3x3 box with the digits 1 through 9. Each 1 through 9 digit must appear only once in each row across, each column down, and each 3x3 box.

*Solution at

? 2006. Feature Exchange

Copyright ? 2008 Peel, Inc.

Travis Country West Homeowner's Association Newsletter September - 2008

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