Briarhills - July 2021 by Peel, Inc.

BRIARHILLS

JULY 2021 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 07 The Official Publication of The Briarhills POA

POA Board Elections: Calling for Candidates

Celebration

Dear Residents,

Please join us this 4th of July for a Briarhills Parade and Community Event. Parade participants should plan to gather at the corner of Coachlight and Swiss Hill at 10:30 a.m. The parade, led by a fire truck and our Constables, will start at 10:45 a.m. and move down Swiss Hill to Stoney Hill and then west on Briarhills Parkway. It will end at the Briarhills Park, Community Center and Pool. Decorated bikes, scooters, strollers, wagons, parents, children and pets (must be on a leash) are highly encouraged. Get creative and let's see your red, white and blue, Briarhills! Chili Cheese hot dogs, chips and drinks will be served after the parade and there will be lots of fun activities such as inflatables, face painter, music and more. All families are invited to attend and celebrate. Bring your lawn chairs! The BPOA looks forward to seeing you and your family there.

The election for new POA Board members will be this September. Every Briarhills POA homeowner currently residing in the neighborhood is eligible to run for the Board. Now is a good time to start thinking whether you can be a part of this great opportunity to be involved in the management of our neighborhood. The Briarhills POA Board is comprised of seven members – The Directors. Four Director seats are up for election this year. After the new Directors are elected, all seven will get together to vote for the Officers of the Board: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Directors are also assigned specific duties such as: Architectural Control, Safety, Management & Maintenance, and Community Relations. Interested candidates need to provide a written bio to include their professional background and their interest in running as well as any other information they wish to share with the other residents for why they should vote for them. These descriptions will be published in the August edition of the Briarbeat for distribution to all the residents prior to the election. ALL CANDIDATE BIOS ARE DUE BACK TO THE POA FOR PUBLICATION BY NOON, JULY 12 VIA EMAIL ONLY. Ca n d i d a t e s s h o u l d e m a i l t h e i r b i o s t o officemanager@briarhillspoa.org If you have any questions, or would like to talk to one of Continued on Page 3

Briarhills - July 2021

BRIARHILLS GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Emergency...................................................................... 911

By appointment only

Constable (Closest Law Enforcement)................281-463-6666

OFFICE CONTACT

Poison Help................................................ 1-800-222-1222 Library and Community Center......................832-393-1880 City Services.............................................................Call 311 Citizens' Assistance..........................................713-247-1888 Public Works...................................................713-837-0600 Neighborhood Protection................................713-525-2525 Animal Control...............................................713-229-7300 Wild animal problem......................................713-861-9453 Hazardous waste..............................................713-551-7355 OTHER UTILITY SERVICES

Street light problem.........................................713-207-2222 ...................................................................(then 1 then 4) Power out/emergency......................................713-207-2222 Gas leak suspected...........................................713-659-2111 Before you dig..........................................................Call 811 BRIARHILLS SERVICES

Trash collection...............................................281-368-8397 Amenity tags...................................................281-558-7422 Tennis courts...................................................281-558-7422 Pool parties......................................................281-558-7422 Clubhouse rental.............................................281-558-7422 ADVERTISING INFORMATION

Please support the businesses that advertise in the Briar Hills Beat. Their advertising dollars make it possible for all Briar Hills residents to receive the monthly newsletter at no charge. If you would like to support the newsletter by advertising, please contact our sales office at 888-687-6444 or advertising@PEELinc.com. The advertising deadline is the 8th of each month for the following month's newsletter. NEWSLETTER INFORMATION

Article Submission..............................briarhills@sbcglobal.net Advertising....................................advertising@PEELinc.com

2021

Briarhills - July 2021

Street Address ............14300 Briarhills Parkway, Houston, TX 77077 Mailing Address .............. P.O. Box 940548, Houston, TX 77094-7548 Telephone................................................ 281-558-7422 Email............................ officemanager@briarhillspoa.org Website.........................................www.briarhillspoa.org To help you get acquainted with the neighborhood, please visit www.briarhillspoa.org and learn about current events and news happening in Briarhills. Please also take the time and register for an online account so you may access various features of the website that are not available to the public. You will also be able to immediately receive important BPOA announcements by email. Your information will only be used for official BPOA communication and will not be shared.

BRIARHILLS AMENITIES & ELECTRONIC ACCESS CARDS Available for the use and enjoyment of each resident is the Briarhills POA Recreation Center. The Recreation Center includes four and two-tenths (4.2) acres equipped with a swimming pool for the family, a wading pool for tots, lighted tennis courts, playground equipment, a community clubhouse, basketball court and off-street parking. Electronic access cards are required to access the pool, unisex restroom and tennis courts. Registered property owners and tenants may receive 2 cards per property address. Check the website or contact the POA office to obtain access cards.

SWIMMING POOL The swimming pool is normally open from Memorial Day weekend through the start of school in August, six days a week (Tuesday through Sunday). The pool is staffed with certified lifeguards during swim season and maintained by a reputable pool management company.

TENNIS

Tennis courts must be reserved through the online reservation system at www.briarhillspoa.org (log-in account is required).

BRIARHILLS COMMUNITY CENTER The Briarhills Community Center may be reserved by residents for private events. Check the website or contact the POA office to make a reservation.

Continued from Cover the current Directors, please send an email to officemanager@ briarhillspoa.org or call 281-558-7422. Please also check the website, www.briarhillspoa.org, for any updates/announcements on the election.

MONTHLY BOARD MEETINGS The BPOA board meets at the Briarhills Community Center on the second Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. Residents are invited to attend these meeting where the board will discuss and make decisions on issues that will impact the Briarhills POA community.

POA MAINTENANCE FEES Invoices for BPOA dues are mailed in early December. Please contact the POA office if you do not receive your invoice by December 15. Non-receipt of the invoice does not preclude payment of the dues. The above information is subject to change without prior notice.

Briarhills - July 2021

BRIARHILLS Monthly Constable Stats for the Month of May 2021

Burglary of Motor Vehicle: 2

Meet The Citizen: 20

Open Window/ Car Door: 1

Information Call: 1

Criminal Mischief : 1

Special Assignments: 25

Suspicious Vehicles: 3

Incident Report: 3

Traffic Stops: 3

Contract Check: 132

Suspicious Person: 7

Check Park: 6

Disturbance Loud Noise: 1

Vacation Watch: 11

Civil Process: 1

Neighborhood Check: 61

Writ : 3

Unknown Medical Emergencies: 1

Solicitor: 2

Traffic Initiative: 1

Briarhills - July 2021

DEED RESTRICTION REMINDERS A few friendly reminders from the Deed Restriction Committee: 1) It is summertime and yards need to be mowed and edged more often, trees and shrubs cut back, and weeds removed. In the month of June alone, we sent 58 deed restriction notices for yard maintenance violations. 2) Keep your sidewalks clear of low lying tree limbs, overgrown shrubs and mud. 3) Please do not leave garden hoses lying out in your front yard when not in use. Please tidy up and store away neatly. 4) Please bring your trash and recycling containers in promptly on collection days and store away from street view. Many homeowners are storing their trash cans out on their driveway which is not allowed. 5) Please look over the exterior of your home. Check to see if it needs maintenance or repair. Is the paint chipping? Could the exterior of your home use a good power washing? Is your garage door in good shape? 6) Please replace or repair mailboxes that are broken, rusting or leaning. 7) If your house number on your home and/or at the curb has missing numbers, please replace them. 8) Please repair or replace missing or broken fence pickets. If your fence is painted or stained, be sure it still looks good and doesn’t need a new coat of paint or stain. Please, do your part to keep Briarhills Beautiful!

BRIARHILLS

A BIG THANK YOU FROM THE BRIARHILLS DOLPHINS!! The Briarhills Dolphins had a fun and successful 2021 summer swim season. Our swimmers were so happy to return to swimming at the Briarhills pool this year. The Dolphins hosted 3 home swim meets during the month of June against visiting Ashford Forest Whales, South Briar Barracudas and the Villagers Piranhas. The visiting teams were extremely impressed by our community and facilities and the Dolphins team received lots of praise for being a very friendly and welcoming host. We would like to extend a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to our wonderful business sponsors, many of whom support our team year after year. With funds donated by our sponsors, we were able to buy swimmer tents, ready benches and delineators for use at our meets, kickboards, pull buoys and an equipment cart for practices, computer equipment for scoring and signage to post in the area on the day of our meets. Please patronize these local community businesses and help us say thanks from the Briarhills Dolphins Swim Team! Platinum Sponsors Allegiance Bank Boskalis Offshore Energy Briarhills HOA GGI Home Team – Thalia & Josh Prosperity Bank Gold Sponsors Briarhills POA Cognitive Psychiatry Energy Realty – Sherry Campbell Silver Sponsors Coldwell Banker Realty – Aurore Artus Its All about You Women’s Boutique The Poerschke Law Firm, PC Bronze Sponsors Auto Check M.A.C. Memorial Athletic Club and Aquatic Center Scandrill In-Kind Sponsors Child Camp Photography Kolache Bar Energy Corridor Pecan Creek Grille Registration for the 2022 summer swim season will open in April of 2022. Please visit our website at briarhillsdolphins. swimtopia.com for more information. Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

Briarhills - July 2021

BRIARHILLS

Mosquitoes are out in masses and since they are capable of disease transmission, it is important that you protect yourself when spending time outside. Of course, you can wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt in light colors to reduce the number of mosquitoes that can reach your skin when outside, but this is not always the option people choose with temperatures on the rise. Another option to protect yourself is repellent. Repellent should only be applied to clothing and exposed skin; do not apply repellent underneath clothing! If you want to apply repellent to your face, spray your hands with repellent and rub it onto your face. Do not spray repellent directly into your face or near eyes or mouth. Make sure to apply repellent outdoors. Do not allow children to handle repellents and seek advice from a physician regarding insect repellent use for children under two years of age. Wash hands before eating, smoking, or using the restroom. To reduce disease transmission from mosquitoes, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends using a product registered with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) containing one of the following active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-methane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. DEET, also known N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide or N, N-diemethylbenzamide, was developed by the U.S. Army in 1946 to protect soldiers in insect-infested areas. Pesticides containing DEET have been used by the public since 1957. Products containing DEET should not be used on children younger than 2 months of age (read the label and check with your pediatrician if you have questions). DEET has a slight odor and may have a greasy feel to some people. It may damage plastic, rubber, vinyl, or synthetic fabrics. DEET may be irritating to the eyes and skin for some people and comes in a wide variety of concentrations, so choose one that will work best for your situation. Picaridin was first made in the 1980’s and resembles a natural compound called piperine (which is found in plants used to produce black pepper). Picaridin has been used in Europe and Australia for many years but has only been in the U.S. since 2005. Picaridin is non-greasy and odorless. IR-3535, or 3-[N-Butyl-N- acetyl]-aminopropionic acid, ethyl ester, was developed in the mid- 1970’s and became registered for use in the U.S. in 1999. It is registered as a biopesticide by the EPA because it is functionally identical to a naturally occurring substance (an amino acid). It may dissolve or damage plastics and may be irritating to the eyes. Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) and PMD (para-menthane-3,8diol) are essentially the same thing; PMD is the synthesized (lab created) version of oil of lemon eucalyptus. “Pure” or “essential” oil of lemon eucalyptus is not labeled as a repellent and has not 6

Briarhills - July 2021

undergone testing and should not be used as a repellent product. OLE/PMD has been on the market in the U.S. since 2002. OLE/ PMD should not be used on children younger than 3 years of age. The natural product (OLE) has known allergens within it while the synthetic version (PMD) has less of a risk to allergens. This product is classified as a biopesticide. OLE/PMD has a varying range of residual, some offering about 20 minutes of protection while other products may last up to two hours. The product 2-undecanone is also known as methyl nonyl ketone or IBI-246. It is a colorless oil that can either be produced synthetically or extracted from plants such as rue, cloves, ginger, strawberries, or wild grown tomatoes. This product is fairly new. Many factors play into how long a repellent will last for a person. Some of these are: • The concentration (or percent of active ingredient) of the product. You can find the percentage on the product label. • Person’s attractiveness. Some people are more attractive to mosquitoes than others (and no scientific research has proven that it is because of eating garlic, taking vitamin B, using tobacco products, etc.). A person’s genetic code plays a large part on what makes a person so attractive to mosquitoes. • Frequency and uniformity of application. In other words, how often is the repellent applied and how good of coverage did you get? • Activity level of the person. The more active the person is, the more sweat they produce which can cause the repellent to wash off the surface of the skin. As a word of caution, there are products that combine sunscreen and insect repellent. The CDC recommends that if you need sunscreen and repellent, that you choose two separate products. Sunscreen should be applied more often than repellents. 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.urbanipm.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. Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

BRIARHILLS a killer of a wasp by Jim and Lynne Weber

What are those large, solitary wasps we see flying around our yards from late June to September? Often referred to as the Cicada Killer or Cicada Wasp (Sphecius speciosus), this native species occurs in the eastern and midwestern U.S. regions, southwards through Texas into Mexico and Central America. Cicada killers are so named since they prey on cicadas and provision their nests with them. While large and intimidating, they offer a measure of natural control on cicada populations. They benefit our native plants by pollinating flowers and protecting trees from the numerous cicadas that feed on their roots and foliage. Cicada killers are robust wasps up to 2 inches long, with amber wings and black to reddish-brown abdomens with yellow stripes. The females are somewhat larger than the males, and both are among the largest wasps in the U.S. These solitary wasps have a very unusual and interesting lifecycle. Females are commonly seen skimming around areas with sparse vegetation for nesting sites, burrowing a tunnel, 10 to 20 inches deep, in dry or bare soil. In digging a burrow, she will dislodge the soil with her jaws, and using her hind legs that are equipped with special spines, push the loose soil behind her as she backs out of the burrow. The female cicada killer proceeds to capture cicadas, sometimes even in flight, paralyzing them with her venomous sting. She places the cicadas beneath her, grasping them with her legs, and either flies or drags her prey, which is twice her weight, into her burrow. After placing a few cicadas in her nest, she begins to lay her eggs. Females can predetermine the sex of the egg, and she lays multiple male eggs on a single cicada. But each female egg is given 2 or 3 cicadas, as females are larger, require more food, and more females are needed to create new generations. Eggs are always laid under the left or right second leg of the cicada. The female then closes the burrow with dirt, as the eggs hatch in a few days, but the larvae take some time to mature, feeding on cicadas as they overwinter in their burrow, not emerging as adults until the following spring. Adult male cicada killers emerge in spring before the females, defending the territory around their emergence hole and searching Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

Nature Watch Cicada Killer

for females. They typically perch on the ground, flying up to attack any rival males. Once females emerge, mating occurs, and the males die shortly after. Females live long enough to dig and provision their nests, and die after laying all of their eggs. Cicada killer wasps are not aggressive toward humans and rarely sting unless provoked by grasping them roughly, accidentally stepping on them, or if caught in clothing. Only the females have stingers, and while males will actively defend their perching areas against other males near nesting sites, they have no stingers. Both males and females have large jaws, but they are not known to grasp human skin and bite. If swatted at, they will just fly away rather than attack. They are simply focused on cicadas or other cicada killers! Send your nature-related questions to naturewatch@austin. rr.com and we’ll do our best to answer them. If you enjoy reading these articles, check out our books, Nature Watch Austin, Nature Watch Big Bend, and Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies (all published by Texas A&M University Press), and our blog at naturewatchaustin.blogspot.com. Briarhills - July 2021

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Briarhills - July 2021