Travis Country West - July 2016

Copyright © 2016 Peel, Inc. Travis Country West Homeowners Association Newsletter - July 2016 1

Travis Country West

Official Publication of Travis Country West Community

Volume 11, Number 7 July 2016

TCW Neighborhood NeWsTCW Neighborhood NeWs

Date: Monday, May 16, 2016Time: 7:00 pmLocation: Austin Pizza Garden, 6266 W. Hwy. 290, Austin, TX 78735

Present: Julie Saft, Tim Shelhamer, Gary Jones, David Chastain, Paul and Melissa of Ascension Property Management

Noting the presence of a quorum, Julie Saft called the meeting to order at 7pm, and introduced the Board Members and the property managers.

Melissa Yehl read the Proof of Notice dated April 15, 2016.Cindy Gangstad moved to approve the minutes of 2015 Annual

Meeting as presented; Federico Mendoza seconded; motion carried.Julie Saft presented an HOA year in review reportThe pool deck was resurfaced in FebruaryTrail benches were added in JulyHigh speed wireless internet is now available at the poolNew landscape contract was awarded to Priority Landscapes. They

have been pro-active.Solar lights were installed at the East monument where no

electricity is available.Melissa Yehl provided a financial report which included a

comparison of May 2015 to May 2016 bank account and delinquent account balances. The 2016 budgeted expense projection was presented in pie chart format.

Election of two (2) DirectorsJulie Saft has submitted her nomination request. Julie Saft then

opened the floor to nominations.Mark Chavana nominated Mary Swanson; David Jones seconded;

motion carried.Jason Svatek nominated himself; Michael Tarsha seconded; motion

carried.Each candidate gave a nomination speech (Mark Chavana as

2016 Annual Meeting DRAFT Minutes of theTRAVIS COUNTRY WEST OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

NEXT MEETING IS AUGUST 3rd at 6PM at the POOLrepresentative for Mary Swanson who was not able to attend). Ballots were collected.

Committee ReportsSocial – Jason Svatek reported on the upcoming pool season

kickoff party featuring a food truck sponosored by David Chastain and Ryan Leahy; music by Michael Tarsha’s band The Clutch Kings Band, and Kona Ice. A July 3party is also planned. Jason also reported on bids he is collecting for a shade structure of the play scape, and the feasibility of adding swings. Fall zone limitations are making the project difficult.

ACC – Cindy Gangstad talked about submitting thorough projects, and what kinds of projects need to be submitted.

Communications – the committee is in need of a chairman. Primary duties include gathering and organizing submitted newsletter articles to the publisher.

Unfinished Business - Tim Shelhamer reported on the Los Indios Ventures commercial building project adjacent to the neighborhood on Southwest Parkway. The HOA has $30,000 being held in an escrow account, to be used within 3 years, for traffic mitigation. Federico Mendoza has agreed to help, given his expertise in the field.

New Business - There was discussion of granite and rock wash out along the walking trail. Long-term solutions can be achieved, but the budget is tight. The Board continues to seek affordable solutions.

There was a query about adding more dog stations along the interior sidewalk areas. Frustration over owners not picking up after their dogs was expressed.

Residents asked about no soliciting deterrents. One resident expressed they have had good luck with a large no soliciting plaque at their front door.

Election Results - Newly elected Directors are Julie Saft and Jason Svatek.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8pm.

2 Travis Country West Homeowners Association Newsletter - July 2016 Copyright © 2016 Peel, Inc.

Travis Country West

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Ascension Property ManagementPaul & Melissa Yehl

[email protected]

Ph: 512-255-1671Fax: 512-777-4905

BOARD OF DIRECTORSPresident ....................................................................Julie SaftVice-President ........................................................ Gary JonesSecretary .......................................................... Tim ShelhamerTreasurer ................................................... Jonathan GallmeierMember At Large ..............................................Dave ChastainEmail ....................................... [email protected]

CITY OF AUSTIN CONTACT NUMBERSDead Animal Pick up ............................................... 947-9400Abandoned Vehicle ................................................... 280-0075Pothole Repair .......................................................... 974-8750Street Light Outage .................................................. 505-7617

NEWSLETTER PUBLISHERPeel, Inc. ...........................www.PEELinc.com, 512-263-9181Editor - Pat Muntz ................................ [email protected] [email protected], 512-263-9181

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

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 [email protected]. The advertising deadline is the 8th of each month for the following month's newsletter.

ADVERTISING INFO

Summer is here. During the summer months there tends to be an increase in property crimes such as burglary of vehicles and burglary of residences. Most residential burglaries occur during the daytime, as a majority of people work during daytime hours which leaves no one at home. In addition, during summer, many people go on vacation for extended periods of time, leaving their home unwatched. These are a few things you can do to help lessen the chance of being a victim of crime.

Auto Burglary Prevention:• Always lock your vehicle and take your keys—even in your own

driveway.• Never leave your car running and unattended.• Park in a well-lit area.• Take valuables with you—if you must leave valuables in your car,

keep them out of sight.

Home Burglary Prevention:• Keep your doors and windows locked when you are away.• Do not post vacation plans or photos indicating you are on vacation

on social media.• Burglars search for homes that appear to be unoccupied. A car in

the driveway, motion sensitive lights, interior lights and radios and TVs on timers all give the impression that someone is in the home.

• Notify a trusted neighbor to watch your home while you are away.• If you see suspicious activity, call 911 immediately.

Austin Police DepartmentStephen Woytkewicz #5385

Senior Police OfficerRegion 4 District Representative

http://www.austintexas.gov/page/district-representatives-region-41(512)974-4281

[email protected]

Summer Burglary Prevention


Travis Country West

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Travis Country West

In many child drownings, adults are nearby but have no idea the victim is dying. Here’s what to look for.

The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine; what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not 10 feet away, their 9-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this captain know—from 50 feet away—what the father couldn’t recognize from just 10? Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew know what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response—so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In some of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening.* Drowning does not look like drowning—Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:• “Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically

unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.

• Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like DrowningBy Mario Vittone

mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

• Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

• Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

• From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and

thrashing isn’t in real trouble—they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long—but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:• Head low in the water, mouth at water level• Head tilted back with mouth open• Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus• Eyes closed• Hair over forehead or eyes• Not using legs—vertical• Hyperventilating or gasping• Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway• Trying to roll over on the back• Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder

So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK—don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer at all—they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents—children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

(See a video of the Instinctive Drowning Response.)This article is reprinted from Mario Vittone’s blog. Join him on

Facebook.

(Continued on Page 5)


Travis Country WestCorrection, June 5, 2013: This article originally cited a CDC statistic

in referring to the number of child drownings in which a nearby adult watches the child with no idea a drowning is occurring. According to the CDC's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, no CDC studies have measured the number of such occurrences. The reference has been removed. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

NOBODY IS DROWNPROOFWATCH KIDS AROUND WATER

COLIN HOLST

PREVENT drowningwww.colinshope.org/quiz

TAKE the Water Safety Quiz

LEARN more at www.colinshope.org

BECOME a Water Guardian for your child

THESE WATER SAFETY TIPS CAN SAVE LIVESDROWNING IS PREVENTABLE

37 Texas children have already fatally drowned in 2016

WATCH KIDS & KEEP IN ARM’S REACH

LEARN TO SWIM

WEAR LIFE JACKETS

MULTIPLE BARRIERS AROUND WATER

KEEP YOUR HOME SAFER

CHECK WATER SOURCES FIRST

PRACTICE DRAIN SAFETY

BE SAFER IN OPEN WATER

LEARN CPR

(Continued from Page 4) At no time will any source be allowed to use TCW Neighborhood News' contents, or loan said contents, to others in anyway, shape or form, nor in any media, website, print, film, e-mail, electrostatic copy, fax, or etc. for the purpose of solicitation, commercial use, or any use for profit, political campaigns, or other self amplification, under penalty of law without written or expressed permission from Peel, Inc. The information in the TCW Neighborhood News is exclusively for the private use of the Travis Country West HOA and Peel, Inc.

DISCLAIMER: Articles and ads in this newsletter express the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Peel, Inc. or its employees. Peel, Inc. is not responsible for the accuracy of any facts stated in articles submitted by others. The publisher also assumes no responsibility for the advertising content with this publication. All warranties and representations made in the advertising content are solely that of the advertiser and any such claims regarding its content should be taken up with the advertiser.* The publisher assumes no liability with regard to its advertisers for misprints or failure to place advertising in this publication except for the actual cost of such advertising.* Although every effort is taken to avoid mistakes and/or misprints, the publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors of information or typographical mistakes, except as limited to the cost of advertising as stated above or in the case of misinformation, a printed retraction/correction.* Under no circumstances shall the publisher be held liable for incidental or consequential damages, inconvenience, loss of business or services, or any other liabilities from failure to publish, or from failure to publish in a timely manner, except as limited to liabilities stated above.


Travis Country West

Emerald ash borer, often referred to as EAB, is an exotic pest from Asia. This beetle is a serious threat to ash trees. Emerald ash borer was accidentally introduced into the United States and was found in Michigan in 2002.

Four beetles were found in a trap located in NE Texas (Harrison County) in late April 2016. There are currently no confirmed cases of ash trees that are infested. The beetles will continue to be monitored throughout the state.

Larvae bore into trees under the bark and cut off the water and nutrient conducting vessels. Larvae are creamy white, legless with a flattened body. Larvae are 1- 1 ½ inches in length when fully developed.

As an adult, the beetle is elongated and cylindrical with the pronotum (a part of the thorax) extended back as a lobe towards the abdomen. Most notably, these beetles are bright, metallic green with reddish hues. Adults are about 1/2 inch in size. If the wings are removed or lifted, the upper side of the abdomen is bright coppery-red which can help differentiate this beetle from closely related species in Texas.

In infested trees, canopy die back is often seen in the top one third of the canopy and then moves down until the tree is bare. Epicormic shoots (leafy shoots coming off the trunk of the tree) may also be seen. Vertical fissures may appear on the bark and galleries may be able to be seen through openings. If bark is peeled off, serpentine galleries packed with frass (excrement) may be seen. Adult beetles produce a d-shaped exit hole (1/8 inch diameter). Woodpeckers may cause damage to tees infested with EAB. Look for flaking bark and uneven holes caused by the woodpeckers feeding on larvae and pupae.

If EAB activity is confirmed for ash trees within an area, it is recommended that a systemic insecticide treatment is given to ash trees of high value. If more than 50% of an infested ash tree crown

remains, then treatment with a systemic insecticide may slow the attack. If less than 50% of an infested ash tree crown remains, the tree should be removed.

For great information on emerald ash borer within Texas see the following site: https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/eab/

This information is to have you watch for this beetle on ash trees in your area. Only 4 beetles have been found currently and only in NE Texas. No trees have yet been confirmed to be infested.

For more information or help with identification, contact Wizzie Brown, Texas AgriLife Extension Service Program Specialist at 512.854.9600. Check out my blog at www.urban-ipm.blogspot.com

The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service or the Texas A&M AgriLife Research is implied.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service provides equal access in its programs, activities, education and employment, without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Emerald ash borer found in Texas


Travis Country West

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Travis Country West - July 2016