westside at buttercup creek - february 2012

Copyright © 2012 Peel, Inc. Westside News - February 2012 1

Westside at Buttercup Creek

Volume 3, Number 2 Febraury 2012

Official Newsletter of the Westside at Buttercup Creek HOA

WestsideneWs

Neighborhood Mailing List

New legislation has been passed that requires that homeowners in an HOA be notified of all Board meetings. If you would like to be on this new notification list, go to www.boardmeetingnotices.com, locate the “Westside at Buttercup Creek Homeowners Assn, Inc” link to subscribe.

(Continued on Page 3)

I Was Almost Attacked by Dogs in Our Neighborhood

By an anonymous homeownerRunners. You see them everywhere in our

neighborhood. I am one of them who can often be seen running along our streets enjoying the beautiful houses, trails, and friendly neighbors. I have always felt safe in our neighborhood. At the end of December, this changed. One evening a friend and I were finishing up a run along Fall Creek Drive and I noticed a lady across the street from me waving her arms and yelling at me to get my attention. I stopped to listen. What I heard struck pure terror in my heart, “Run! Two pit bulls are loose!” Immediately I heard ferocious barking and turning my head I saw two large, aggressive dogs charging towards me. Fearing for our lives, my friend and I tried unsuccessfully to scale a set of mailboxes, hoping to get out of reach from these dogs. Within the next few seconds a car drove between the dogs and myself and honked its horn at the dogs. Thankfully, the two pit bulls changed direction away from me. Shakily I was able to get home. Once I was able to calm myself from a potentially deadly situation, I called the police to report the incident. I was told that the dogs were found and returned to their owners. While glad these dogs were no longer on the loose, my sense of safety in our wonderful neighborhood has been shaken.

Within the next few days, I drove to the area along Fall Creek Drive where this occurred, to thank the kind woman who may have very well saved my life. While speaking with her, she informed me that the dogs live along her street, and the car that honked to distract the attention

away from me was in fact her son. If it had not been for the care and concern shown by one of our neighbors, this story very well may have had a different ending.

My reasons for sharing this with our community are many. First, PLEASE be aware of your surroundings. Know that we have aggressive dogs in our neighborhood. There are many children in our neighborhood, those that walk their dogs, runners, etc… If you own a dog, and most especially if these pit bulls are yours, you must keep your dog properly fenced in at ALL times. When walking your dogs, they MUST be on a leash. Please do not risk the safety of your neighbors!

It is hard to think rationally in a moment of crisis, but have a plan for what you would do if confronted by an aggressive dog. After my near miss, I have spent some time reading about the proper response to an approaching dog. It is important to avoid your impulse to run. This is one of the worst things you can do. You can’t outrun a dog. Running away will cause the dog to view you as prey. Experts say that you should face the dog, square your shoulders, and use a strong authoritative voice to tell the dog to “GO AWAY!”

I love this neighborhood, and I want to feel safe in it. At the same time, I am a dog owner and an animal lover and I hate the thought of calling animal control to retrieve someone’s beloved pet. Aggressive animals and animals that bite are euthanized at the pound, and we

Neighborhood Social

CommitteeThe neighborhood Social

Commit t e e’s 2012 even t planning meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 7:00pm. The location will be Roasters Coffee Haven on Little Elm Trail. Come out and help plan the fun events for our neighborhood this year!

2 Westside News - February 2012 Copyright © 2012 Peel, Inc.

Westside at Buttercup Creekboard of directors

advertising infoPlease support the businesses that advertise in the Westside

News. Their advertising dollars make it possible for all Westside at Buttercup Creek 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.

President, Darrell Park [email protected] V. President, Dennis Domanski .... [email protected] Secretary, Terra Thomas ........................ [email protected], Jerry Bordic [email protected], Natalie Woods .................. [email protected] Website .......................................www.westsidehoa.org

management info

newsletter infoeditorRandy Woods ...................... [email protected]

Publisher Peel, Inc. ..................................................... 512-263-9181 Advertising............................... [email protected]

Do you want to help out in the community but don’t have a lot of time? Join one of the following Committees and help out as much or as little as you want.

Cave Preserve ............ Darrell Park [email protected] .....Randy Woods [email protected] ......................... Ross Burns ..................... [email protected] Bordic ............. [email protected] .................. Rand Zumwalt ............................................ .............................................. [email protected] .........Torsten Weirich .......... [email protected] Watch ..... Paul BlorPool ............................ Jay Clover [email protected] ....................... Terra Thomas ............. [email protected]

committees

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DOG ATTACK.... - (Continued from Cover Page)

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should all take care that a good dog doesn’t end up there through our carelessness. So check your fences, there may be loose boards, go get a new leash, make sure your dog’s shots are current so that if he bites me the vet doesn’t have to perform a necropsy to see if he has rabies. In the meantime, I’ll run with my pepper spray and cell phone and hope I don’t see any unleashed dogs.article X, section 3 of the hoa ccr’s states

the following:

“…no more than two ( 2) dogs, and not more than two (2) cats or other common household pets may be kept by the Owner or Occupant of any Living Unit, provided they are not kept for any commercial purpose. Any allowable pet that is kept in a household must be confined to its Owner’s Lot either by constraints of a backyard fence, a leash or within the Living Unit. No animal shall be permitted to run freely away from its Owner’s Lot and must be controlled by a leash. All applicable leash and licensing laws in effect in the City of Cedar Park and Williamson County, to the extent more restrictive than this provision, shall also apply to this animal husbandry provision and shall be complied with by all Owners and Occupants of Lots.”

living near a tinderboxBy Paul McKelveyLast summer, when 1,600 homes burned in wildfires in Bastrop

County, it was easy to recall how close Westside at Buttercup Creek had come to having a similar situation.

In 2008, two children played with matches in the greenbelt behind Red Ranch Circle. They set the grass on fire. As the wind drove the flames, the children realized they could not control it. One of them called the fire department.

The earliest responders came from just a mile away. Yet it was already too late for one fence. While the trucks rolled, two neighbors battled a flaming fence with garden hoses. When an ash juniper in the greenbelt exploded and sent flames blasting 10 feet into the yard, they decided to fall back and wait for the firemen who were arriving on Red Ranch Circle.

Meanwhile, brush trucks were searching on South Lakeline and Cypress Creek for a way into the greenbelt. They had never been there before.

Back on Red Ranch Circle, the snorkel truck operator raised the mast while other firemen connected the truck to a fire hydrant. Other firemen broke through backyard fences carrying tactical hoses, trying to find the head of the fire.




NOT AvAilAbleONliNe

When the snorkel started spraying from the nozzle atop the mast, the water arced over the roofs of the houses. Unfortunately, the gusty wind blew the water away from the fire. The fire was spreading rapidly, burning through dry grass, setting junipers and fences aflame.

The firemen kept breaking through fences to get ahead of the fire. Finally, at the fourth house, they made it. They looked up and saw that a pergola attached to the back of the house had started to burn. The first team doused the pergola quickly while the second team went through the back fence to douse the wildfire headed that way.

Finally, the brush trucks found a way back to the greenbelt from Cypress Creek. They rushed in spraying and dousing the last of the flames.

A lot of fire lessons were learned that day. Some of the changes have been implemented. Firefighters, for example, have learned the

way to enter every greenbelt, every area of the preserves.

Many lessons remain to be acted upon. The greenbelts are still a tinderbox. The drought has dried out all but the hardiest trees and plants. Tall grass and piles of brush in the greenbelts provide ready fuel for a wildfire. There is no firebreak between the greenbelt/preserve areas and back fences.

The fences along the greenbelts are all wood, dried and ready for ignition in the relentless heat of summer. Those who have stained their fences using linseed oil may have increased their flammability. Fences run from the greenbelts to alongside homes, wooden fuses for flame to follow.

Trees stand near the rear fence line, ready to be ignited by a fire racing through the greenbelt. Some of the trees are resinous juniper trees, ready to burn with explosive intensity when ignited.

becoming firewise

The Texas Cave Conservancy, which manages the caves and reserves in Westside, has developed a fire plan for the Westside Cave Preserve. Although the Conservancy does not own all the land, it has developed a plan that includes the greenbelts. According to Mike Walsh, president of the Conservancy, trails have been widened and access improved in a number of areas already. The plan is to have fire department-controlled access to all the greenbelts and preserves. As soon as money can be raised, the accesses will be built.

While nothing can be done about the fact that we live closely together, we can reduce some of the fire hazards. There is a program called Firewise that explains how to build and landscape in the urban-forest interface where we live. Here are a few suggestions from that program.

living Near a Tinderbox - (Continued from Page 3)



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1. As much as possible, keep a 30-foot no-fuel zone around the house. Any burnable vegetation, other than grass, is fuel for a fire.

2. Gutters should be cleaned of debris regularly. Leaves, needles and other debris should be cleaned off the roof. These can ignite quickly from the wind-carried sparks of a wildfire.

3. Vents on the soffit and roof should be screened to prevent the entry of sparks, another source of ignition for houses during a wildfire.

4. Fences should be made as fire resistant as possible. Fire resistant paint that can be tinted is available.

5. Avoid building wooden decks, gazebos, and pergolas within 30 feet of the house. They act as piles of kindling, dried and ready to burn, in a wildfire.

6. Firewood, propane, and gasoline should be kept as far away from the house as possible.

7. Use non-flammable mulch such as stone, especially next to the house.

8. Tree limbs should not be above roofs.9. Grass should be kept mowed and watered.As the Texas Cave Conservancy, HOA and City of Cedar Park

work toward completing the fire plan, there will be opportunity for citizen comments and input. Bring your suggestions and comments

to the Westside at Buttercup Creek Board of Directors.Paul McKelvey and his wife moved to Westside in 1996. Their

home on Red Ranch Circle backs up to a 5-mile long greenbelt that snakes through the neighborhood. The experiences reported are his, as are all the photos that accompany the article.

living Near a Tinderbox - (Continued from Page 4)



I'd love the opportunity to help you with all your painting needs. I pride myself on being on time & delivering

a �nished product that will exceedyour expectations.

Wade Phillips - Owner & Westside Resident

At no time will any source be allowed to use the Westside 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 Westside News is exclusively for the private use of the Westside at Buttercup Creek 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.

Police: suspect tries to lure boy, 9

Police ask for help in finding man, vehicleCEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) - Cedar Park Police Department

asks the public to watch for a man driving a pickup truck who allegedly tried to lure a 9-year-old boy to his truck with candy on Tuesday.

Police said the boy was riding his bicycle on Nelson Ranch Road at about 11 a.m. when he was approached by a man driving a light blue pickup truck. The boy said the man asked him if we wanted some candy, then followed him as he rode his bike to a friend’s house on Anna Court.

the susPect’s descriPtion is:• white• in his mid to late 30s• light brown hair• moustache• thin beard• The pickup truck had silver bumpers, according to the boy.CPPD asks for help from the community with identifying the

suspect or the vehicle.Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to

call Detective Sgt. Bryan Wukasch with the Cedar Park Police Department at 512-528-8067.

SeND US YOUr Event Pictures!!

Do you have a picture of an event that you would like to run in this newsletter? Send it to us and we will publish it in the next issue. Email the picture to [email protected]. Be sure to include the text that you would like to have as the caption. Pictures will appear in color online at www.PEELinc.com.

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sketch of child enticement suspect out

Contact Cedar Park Police if you see himCEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) - Cedar Park police have released

a composite sketch of the likeness of a man suspected of trying to lure two children to a pickup truck in separate events in late December.

The sketch applies to the Dec. 30 event wherein a 9-year-old girl reported that a man in a truck stopped near her and said, “Hey, kid, get in the car.” He made an attempt to physically abduct her and drove away when the girl ran from him.

On Dec. 27, a similar incident happened when a 9-year-old boy was approached by a man driving a pickup truck as he rode his bicycle. The driver asked him if he wanted some candy, then followed the boy for a short time before he drove away.

the susPect is described as:

• white male• mid-20s to mid-30s• with “shaggy” hair• wearing sunglasses• moustache

In one instance, the truck was described as blue, with paint scratches on the tailgate and a silver bumper.

The other description of the pickup truck was said to be dark blue, newer model, with tinted windows and four doors.

Anyone with information about either case or knows of someone matching the attached drawing is asked to contact Cedar Park Police Criminal Investigation Tip Line at 512-528-8067, or call 911 in an emergency to report suspicious activity in progress.


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westside at buttercup creek - february 2012

Documents

aggressive dogs

approaching dog

wonderful neighborhood

pit bulls

fall creek drive

westside news

buttercup creekvolume

friendly neighbors