Dear Village Neighbor / Friend,
We have recorded the first 100 households as members of our CAWSV. Only 250 more to go.
Security – We do not conduct active Neighborhood Watch Patrols, but do encourage all to look out not only for your own family and property, but also that of your immediate neighbors. Recent report of someone rummaging through unlocked parked cars is concerning, but can be mostly eliminated by locking your cars to include those in your garage and by not leaving valuables in plain sight even when you do lock your cars.
If / when you return to the village late at night or in the wee hours of the morn, drive around a bit on village streets before going home; you might just see someone doing something they shouldn’t. Do not confront them, but do record as much detail about the person and make, model, color and ideally license plate number of their car and call the police.
If you become a victim, even if you failed to secure your car or valuables inside the car - report it to the police, non-emergency number (703/691-2131).
Pooper Scooper Law - the regulation cites that all pet owners must remove or clean up all fecal waste deposited by their dogs on public and private property. This includes neighbor’s yards, sidewalks, city parks, school grounds (not allowed on school property) and others. Pet owners who violate the County’s pooper scooper law may incur a fine up to $250.00. Some neighbors now believe that certain dog owners intentionally allow their dogs to defecate on their yard and leave it for whatever reason. Hope you also see how this can quickly get out of hand. It’s the law folks, not subject for interpretation. Also please dispose of it in your trash, not in your neighbor’s trash.
Thunderstorm / Hurricane Preparations & Damage Mitigation – Have a few more to add and then we’ll be done with this.
- Bob Havey discussed use of surge protectors, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or whole house surge protectors to protect electronic items.
- Trim dead branches out of trees and remove dead trees before they fall during a storm. Several village trees are dead or dying and need to be removed. Have you noticed that it costs a lot less to remove a tree before the storm than afterwards?
- Ride out storms in the lower levels of your home to add more house cushion between a falling tree and your family.
- Program emergency numbers into your fully charged cell phone. You can find them in your copy of the community directory and on our website (https://www.westspringfieldvillage.org/).
- Put flashlights with fully charged or useful batteries where you can find them in the darkness. Candles work, but may present a fire hazard, especially if you have younger children or pets.
- Make block ice to put into refrigerators and freezers. Fill you coolers with ice, food and drink that you use often during the day. Food lasts longer if you leave the fridge or freezer door closed.
- Clear debris from storm water intakes on your property and those curbside to prevent rain water from bypassing the intake and flooding streets and homes.
- Clean your gutters. Even with gutter guards, pollen cakes onto the guards rendering them (gutter guards) useless in heavy rains.
- Fill your vehicles with gas before storms of expected longer duration hit. Also ensure you have fuel and oil for your chainsaw.
- Fill your bathtubs in case we lose water like we did a several years ago. Use that water to bucket flush your toilets.
- Have matches or a lighter handy to light stove top burners and candles. Most gas ovens will not light without electricity, but stove top burners will work.
COVID-19 Update – The latest from Fairfax County concerning the virus can be found here. And, I stumbled onto a COVIG-19 Information Page on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/coronavirus_info/?page_source=bookmark.
SACC - Fairfax County is finalizing details for a K – 6th grade School Age Child Care (SACC) component for K – 6th grade at 37 county schools, Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM tarting 8 September. See more and attempt to register at: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/office-for-children/supporting-return-school-program. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack will be served. Fees (based on family income) and eligibility are listed on the website. Looks like the closest school to us participating in this program is Keene Mill Elementary. Expect high demand; register early.
Neighborhood Dinner Food Drop – Jeremy Barber’s Live Oak Restaurant did not disappoint with the delivered takeout food. The shrimp & grits, fried green tomatoes and deviled eggs were great! Thanks to Tim & Jenna Barron (Landor Lane) who arranged these events and planning for more. They hope to have one a month. Email them at timjennabarron@gmail.com with your ideas or restaurant suggestions.
Hannah’s Catering Company – Mattie Grimes-Couples (Vancouver) reported that Hannah’s, a local catering company has been providing meals weekly for pickup during the pandemic. Each week they have three meal options. Understand that we pre-order by Sunday evening and meals are delivered on Tuesdays at various drop off locations. Mattie says that she picks up her order at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Tuesdays. The meals for the next week's pickup are posted on the website, https://hannahsfinefoods.com/. The cooked meals are chilled and will need to be re-heated.
ISO Upright Freezer - Ben Migliaccio (Sandover Court, 703-268-3212) wants to buy a used upright freezer if anyone has one for sale. ISO does mean “in search of”; right?
Stay safe, happy and healthy.
John Cooley, CAWSV