Laurel Creek - November 2014

LAUREL CREEK November 2014

Official Newsletter of the Residents of Laurel Creek

LAUREL CREEK

Volume 1, Issue 11

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT OCTOBER 7, 2014

A fun time was had by all. Lots of good food and company was shared this National Night Out. Neighbors came by from different streets to enjoy the festivities.

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Laurel Creek - November 2014

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LAUREL CREEK COMMUNITY CONTACTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Agnes Murphree....................................................... President Kristah Slate......................................................Vice President Gregory Magness.......................................................Secretary Ray Beishline............................................................Treasurer Sue Beishline..............................................................Director To reach a Board Member, please email frank@sterlingasi.com

NEWSLETTER INFO EDITOR Roxanne Martinez............................ roxanne@sterlingasi.com ......................................................................832.678.4500 Janine Cruz........................................... janine@sterligasi.com NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER Peel, Inc........................... 888-687-6444, www.PEELinc.com Advertising.................................... advertising@PEELinc.com

IMPORTANT NUMBERS Sterling Association Services, Inc. .................................................servicedesk@sterlingasi.com ..................................................................... 832-678-4500 6842 N. Sam Houston Parkway W., Houston TX 77064 Mailing Address – P.O. Box 38113, Houston TX 77238-08113 Association Manager Roxanne Martinez............................ roxanne@sterlingasi.com Administrative Assistant Janine Cruz........................................ janine @sterlingasi.com Call Before You Dig ................................................................ 1.800.DIG.TESS ...................................................................1.800.344.8377 Street Light Outage www.centerpointenergy.com (Have light number) ......................................................................713.207.2222 Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Service ............................................. http://records.txdps.state.tx.us Police Information

BOARD MEETING AGENDA Our next scheduled Board Meeting is December 18th at the Windfern MUD building at 14410 Mauna Loa at 6:30 p.m. All Homeowners are welcome to attend and have the opportunity to address the Board. The general Board Meeting agenda is as follows: Call to Order General Session Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes

Guests or Homeowners to Address the Board III. Financial Report IV.

Old Business

V.

New Business

VI. Executive Session Collection Report Attorney Status Report Deed Restriction Report

VII. Adjournment

If you witness a crime or suspicious activity call Pct. 4 Constable

......................................................... 281.376.3472 or 911 Cy Fair Volunteer Dept. (Ambulance) ........................................ (Non-emergency) 713.466.6151 Poison Center ...................................................................1.800.222.1222

Please remember: We do not live in the City of Houston but in Harris County.

Inform the emergency operator of this to assure a more prompt response.

Street Light Outages Centerpoint...................................................713.207.2222 .............................................. www.centerpoint.com/outage

You will need the 6 digit from the pole

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LAUREL CREEK

SAVE Future for Laurel Creek

DATE

Laurel Creek neighbors will get together to celebrate a visit from Santa. Santa is booked for Sunday, December 21st from 4-5pm at the Gazebo Park If you are interested in organizing or helping out with neighborhood events, please contact Kristah Slate at 713.882.7699 orkristah_slate@yahoo.com.

There are many important issues facing our neighborhood and decisions that will be made in the near future that affect your homeownership. Contract bids are coming up for vote.

Budget is being prepared to see if the association can afford to pay for services provided to our residents; such as utilities, pest control, landscaping and property management.

This board is very much concerned about costs, contract performance and keeping our property looking well maintained.

This entire decision making takes a spirit of cooperation and a shared concern for the property owners in Laurel Creek.

BASHANS PAINTING & HOME REPAIR • Interior & Exterior Painting • HardiPlank Replacement • Sheetrock Repair • Cabinet Painting • Pressure Washing • Fence Repair/Replacement • Custom Staining • Gutter Repair & Replacement • Crown Molding

• Wallpaper Removal • Wood Replacement • Interior Carpentry • Wallpaper Removal & Texture • Garage Floor Epoxy • Roofing • Faux Painting

Thanksgiving Wishes . . . from my home to yours. May your holidays be filled with many happy memories and new reasons for thanks.

If your future includes a change of address, I'd like to offer my services in meeting all of your real estate needs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

NO MONEY UP FRONT

20 Years Experience • References Available Commercial/Residential ~ FREE ESTIMATES ~ BashansPainting@earthlink.net

u Fully INSuREd

281-347-6702 281-731-3383 cell

For All Your Real Estate Needs, Call today!

Lynn C| oLLins, mba | realtor® chms

cne

Certified Home Marketing Specialist Certified Negotiation Expert Area Resident

281.743.1159

Office: 281.444.5140 lynn.collins@garygreene.com ©2014 Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. Better Homes and Gardens® is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation licensed to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Franchise is Independently Owned and Operated. If your property is currently listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers.

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LAUREL CREEK

Microchips for Pet Identification

Pets may become lost for many different reasons. Some pets may bolt outside unexpectedly when house doors are opened.

They may escape via fence gates that are accidentally left open or through gaps in the fencing that are unknown to the owner. Pets may react to loud sounds such as fireworks and thunderstorms by running and may become disoriented and lost. Pets may also become lost during natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes and flash flooding. People are often surprised how far a dog or cat can travel in one day if they lose their sense of direction and are unable to get back home.

When pets become lost, their chance of being returned to their home and their owner depends on the ability to identify the pet’s owner and their contact information. Collars with tags displaying the owner’s contact information are a great start in providing identity for a pet. Unfortunately, collars may come off an animal leaving no means of identifying the pet’s owner.

However, microchips are available for pets and they serve as a permanent means of providing a pet’s identification.

A microchip is a small device about the size of a large grain of rice. The microchip does not contain a power source such as a battery so it will last for the pet’s entire lifetime. The information stored on the microchip is only activated when a microchip scanner is used to send out a low frequency radio signal. Dogs and cats are not affected by the microchip except in rare cases.

Your veterinarian can discuss the minimal risks with you prior to the procedure. The risks are similar to the minimal risks seen with any type of injection under the skin.

A microchip can be inserted under the skin of a dog, cat or other animal by a veterinarian, a veterinary technician or in some instances an animal care facility. The microchip is implanted using a special syringe and needle. It is injected under the skin similar to the way a vaccine is injected. Sedation is not required unless the pet is routinely reluctant to be handled. If the pet is already scheduled to be sedated for a procedure such as a surgery, owners can use that opportunity to request a microchip be placed while the pet is sedated. A scan of the microchip is done both before and after the microchip is implanted to confirm the unique code assigned to that microchip is working properly. Often times the microchip will be rescanned each year to ensure the code is still being read properly by the hand scanner.

After the microchip has been placed, the owner is given

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registration papers to complete. The registry is maintained by the microchip manufacturer, distributor or an associated company. The registration includes information such as the pet’s name and owner contact information. Registration allows the pet’s information to be linked to the specific microchip number.

The registry serves as contact information should the pet ever become lost. It may also be used as proof of ownership for that pet. The fees for maintaining the registration vary depending on the company. Some companies charge a fee each year and others charge a single lifetime fee. There are several manufacturers and distributors used here in the United States so owners should inquire about the registration fees ahead of time. A tag is usually given to the owner to place on the pet’s collar to indicate the pet has a microchip. However, this tag is helpful but not essential since most animal facilities routinely scan lost pets to check for a microchip. The tag does visually let people know the pet has a microchip.

When a pet is lost, anyone who finds them can take the animal to be scanned to identify if it has a microchip. Most veterinarians and animal shelters will have a microchip hand scanner which looks like a large wand with a small readout screen. When the scanner is passed over the area of the microchip the unique microchip code encoded on the microchip is displayed on the readout screen. The information displayed is the microchip’s manufacturer and the identification code number not any personal information regarding the pet. The microchip registry can then be contacted so that they may notify the owner that their pet has been found. It is vital the owner keep their registration information up to date.

Microchips for pets allow for quick identification of lost pets and their prompt return to their owners. Microchips are so reliable for identification that some countries around the world require microchips be used for identification of all pets. Your veterinarian can discuss microchips in more detail with you and set up an appointment for this important way to provide permanent identification for your pet. It can mean the difference between lost pets being reunited with an owner or not. When you hear cases of pets being reunited with owners over great distances that pet usually has a microchip. Even for those pets that wander lost closer to home it is a great tool for permanent identification of that pet.

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LAUREL CREEK

Exterior Improvements Because Laurel Creek is a Deed Restricted Community, any changes that you wish to make to the exterior of your home must first be approved by the Architectural Control Committee (ACC).

This includes roofing, decks, swimming pools, fence replacement, painting – even if you are re-painting using the same color, tree removal, door re-staining, etc. For a complete list, or if you have any questions about a planned project, please contact Sterling at 832678-4500. Exterior Improvement Application forms are available online at Sterling’s website at www.sterlingasi.com.

The ACC members are volunteers who act as quickly as possible to review each application; however please remember that they have 60 days to render a decision. Please do not start any work until you have received written approval from Sterling.

LEASH LAWS

FOR HARRIS COUNTY Your pet must be on a leash while off your property.

Please be a responsible pet owner and pick up after your pet.

Barking Dogs

The DIFFERENCE is...

Julie Sample Houston Business Journal

TOP 25 REALTORS

(eleven consecutive years!)

Your neighbor specializing in Laurel Creek Real Estate for 16 years

(713) 253-9387 Professional Group Copyright © 2014 Peel, Inc.

JulieSample@Comcast.net www.juliesample.net

If your dog is frequently outside in your yard for several hours, please ensure that your dog does not bark incessantly.

Noise caused by barking dogs can be a source of stress and impact one's health and relationship with your neighbors.

Noise pollution is proven to cause heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke, is a general threat to health and wellness and impacts the quality of sleep by disrupting sleep cycles.

Chronic stress can lower your immunity to all diseases.

Laurel Creek

IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO LIVE

Let’s keep it that way!

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LAUREL CREEK H o us ton Da nc e Th eatre’s 32nd Annua l Produc ti on of

THE NUTCRACKER BALLET Celebrating our 32nd year, North Houston’s Premiere Ballet Company, Houston Dance Theatre, again gives local audiences the opportunity to experience the beauty and elegance of a Christmas tradition … The Nutcracker.

Two performances are scheduled to take the stage:

Saturday, November 29th at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 30th at 2:30 p.m.

The performances are held at the beautiful Westfield’s Geiger Performing Arts Center, 16713 Ella Boulevard; 1 mile south of 1960.

Reserved seating tickets are $22 each and may be purchased online at: www.houstondancetheatre.org

Featured Russian Professional Guest Artists will join the cast of 75 local dancers, including the Houston Dance Theatre Company.

Included in the cast from Fairfield are

Madison Bradley, Rachael Dulaney, Olivia Letney, Alayna Parlevliet, and Sydney Parlevliet

Houston Dance Theatre is an Honor Company of Regional Dance America. This exceptional production continues to enhance the arts in our community! This is the one to see! For best available seating purchase your tickets early. Group sales are available. For further information or ticket sales, visit our website at: www. houstondancetheatre.org.

Box Office location: American Academy of Dance / Home of Houston Dance Theatre 15775 Bammel Village Drive Houston, TX. 77014 For telephone - credit card orders call: 281-444-9698

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LAUREL CREEK NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE

COMMUNICATIONS The board is looking for volunteers to help explore options for community-wide, electronic communications.

If you are interested in helping, please contact Greg Magness at magmite@yahoo.com."

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At no time will any source be allowed to use Laurel Creek's 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 Laurel Creek is exclusively for the private use of the Laurel 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.

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