Richard Rabe—President
Ruth Hurst—Vice President
Wanda Mommsen—Secretary
Dibbon Rowe—Treasurer
DON’T FORGET 3-1-1
AVR Management (281) 481-8062
Security Sure—Patrol (713) 778-1233
Republic Waste (281) 446-2030
Harris County Tax Assessor Paul Bettencourt (713) 755-5288
www.tax.co.harris.tx.us
City of Houston:
Mayor’s Office (713) 247-2200
Council Member Goldberg (713) 247-3991
Houston Police Department (713) 222-3131
Neighborhood Protection 311
Public Works & Engineering 311
City of Bellaire:
7008 South Rice Ave., Bellaire, TX 77401-4495.
Mayor: Mary Ann Goode
City Manager: Bernard Satterwhite, Jr.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Happy New Year to the residents of Braeburn Valley. I am your new President, Richard Rabe. I have lived in Braeburn Valley for 12 years and have served on the board since 1995. Before I go any further, Ruth Hurst is now Vice President, we didn’t let her get very far. Ruth has accomplished a lot for Braeburn Valley and continues to work on many other projects in and around our community.
Braeburn Valley’s board continues to progressively move forward. We have some nice improvements that we have been working on for some time. Those of you who travel down Twin Hills will notice that we had a new sidewalk poured as a continuation all the way to the pool. We have just installed a beautiful new wrought iron fence that surrounds the pool and a new roof has just been completed on the pool clubhouse as well.
I would like to ask each homeowner to help keep Braeburn Valley a safe neighborhood. Please report any suspicious persons, vehicles or activities to Security Sure (713-778-1233) and to HPD (713-222-3131). Another key way to keep our neighborhood safe is to make sure that all our streetlights are working properly. If you notice a streetlight out, please get the number located on the pole and the address of the home that the light is in front of. Once you get the information, you can call 3-1-1 (City of Houston’s Service Helpline). There is no charge for the call and a friendly operator will help you. Ruth and I can’t get to all of them, although we try!! If you are aware of an area that needs additional lighting, please either e-mail us from the website or let AVR Management know, so they can pass along the valuable information.
Sincerely,
Richard Rabe
2003 UPCOMING BV EVENTS
ANNUAL GARAGE SALE
When:
Saturday, March 22, 2003 (8 a.m. - 2 p.m.)Time to clean out those closets. We will be putting an ad in the Houston Chronicle. If you would like to be a part of the neighborhood garage sale, please call Gene Yi at (713) 484-7700 and leave your name, address and phone number.
MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION
When: Saturday, May 24, 2003 (11 a.m. - ???)
Where: Braeburn Valley Swimming Pool
Everyone come and join us for food, fun and games.
JULY 4TH PARADE
When: Friday, July 4, 2003 (11 a.m. - ????)
Where: Parade starts at 8000 Twin Hills and ends at pool.
Lunch will begin at 12 p.m. There will be a prize awarded for the best decorated bike.
MARDI GRAS AND ST. PATRICK’S DAY
RECIPES
By Mary Ann Waite
We have Mardi Gras this month and St. Patrick’s Day in March. Le me know how you like these recipes! Also I would like you to send me your favorite recipes to share with your BV neighbors. Our next issue for April/May will be Brunch Recipes. Please e-mail me at mwaite@houston.rr.com.
BOWTIE CRAWFISH CASSEROLE
6 T. butter or margarine or 1/2 of each
2 bunches green onions, chopped (include some green tops to equal 1/2 cup)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 t. chopped garlic from a jar or 1 clove minced
1 T. Flour
1 12 oz. pkg frozen crawfish tails, defrosted
1 8 oz. pkg shredded velvetta or other processed cheese
1 cup Half & Half (I use the fat-free kind)
2 t. Cajun seasoning
1 large tomato, chopped
1 12 oz. box of bowtie pasta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan (from a package)
Preheat oven to 350º. Melt butter or margarine in a large saucepan, add onions, garlic and green pepper. Simmer for 5 min. or until onions are opaque. Stir in flour and cook for 5 more min., stirring to keep from sticking. Add crawfish, cover and simmer for 15 min. Add cheese, half & half, Cajun seasoning and tomato. Cover and simmer for 20 min. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain pasta and pour into a 9 x 13 greased pan. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for 20 min or until bubbly. Serve with a salad and garlic bread.
CRAWFISH ETOUFEE
From Laurie Dawson - BV Resident
1 stick butter or margarine
1 10 oz. bag of frozen seasoning vegetables - onion, celery, green and red
peppers
1 can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Condensed Cream of Celery Soup
1 pound crawfish tails
Cook the frozen vegetables and butter/margarine over medium heat until onions are clear. Add both cans of soup and
Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add crawfish tails and simmer 10 more minutes. If desired, season to taste with Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Serve over rice, as a dip for toasted bread or as a topping for broiled fish. She made this for our Bunko group and it was fantastic!!
DID YOU KNOW?? All of the recipes in the newsletter can be found on our website. Sandy Taylor, our Webmaster has put all of our past newsletters on our website at www.braeburnvalley.com. Just use the search button with a topic (recipes, mosquitoes, trash, etc.) and the newsletter for each month will come up! Please let me know if there is anything else you would like to see in our newsletter or on the website. Don’t forget - all BV residents can post a free ad on the website.
Thank you,
Mary Ann Waite
IMPORTANT REMINDER
Theft Identity is still on the increase. Please do not put
mail out to be mailed in your mailbox to be picked up by the postman. It is an
invitation that says Steal Me! Please take your mail to the post office.
If you have any mail theft of any kind, please call the local police and report,
as this is your first step in reclaiming your identity.
UPDATE ON RUFFINO HILLS TRANSFER STATION
The third meeting has been scheduled for February 27, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. at Welch Middle School on South Gessner at West Bellfort. We all continue to work hard to try to stop this project from being built in our residential neighborhood.
Greater Fondren Southwest Super Neighborhood #36 has taken the leadership role in the protesting of the building of this transfer station in our community. We believe that there is strength in numbers. Working together works miracles.
In four weeks over 400 residents from Braeburn Valley, Glenshire, Braeburn Valley West, Northfield I & II, Northfield III, Riceville POA, Braeburn Gardens, Southwood Place, Fondren Green Meadow, Braeburn Glen, Maplewood West, West Brae Parkway, South Meadow, Willow Meadow, Gessport, Westbury, Bellbrook POA, West Bellfort POA, Coppertree Association, Crystal Falls Apartments, Glendale Park Apartments, Creekbend Gardens Retirement Center, Rustic Oaks Restaurant, churches and businesses along the service road of Beltway 8 that will be impacted by this transfer station have all joined in to stop this project.
If any resident of Braeburn Valley has any ideas concerning this effort, please feel free to give us your impute. Some of the ideas that residents have given are being investigated now. We need everyone that attended our meeting to urge their neighbors to please attend these meetings and to continue to show support by your presence.
John Carrington, the man that is hoping to be the Manager of Operations at this Transfer Station was in attendance at our last meeting. We need to continue to let all those involved in the building of this project (City of Bellaire and City of Houston) know at every opportunity that we do not want this Station in our area.
We continue to have the full support of Fort Bend County Commissioners. The investors that want to open this Transfer Station, are also trying to re-open a land fill in Fort Bend County, where they can dump the garbage from Ruffino Hills. The health and safety of the residents of Fort Bend County Richmond/Rosenberg are the motives behind their fight.
Please help us by attending the next meeting, February 27th and please bring a couple of your neighbors with you.
KEEP HOUSTON
BEAUTIFUL DAY
On March 29th, from 8 a.m. till’ 12 p.m., ,we will be having our City-Wide Cleanup in Houston. New Braeswood Revitalization will be sponsoring the cleanup again this year in the Greater Fondren Southwest Area.
Braeburn Valley will be joining with all the volunteers in cleaning up South Gessner from Bissonnet to Beltway 8. The residents of Braeburn Valley are planning on sprucing up the esplanades on South Gessner at the entrance to our subdivision. We are also asking for help from the town homes and the Crescent Place Apartments as well as the convenience store on Gessner and Twin Hills. If anyone in the subdivision would like to join us in these efforts, please call Ruth at (713) 776-2760 or e-mail her at Rtopsy1815@aol.com.
We will be meeting at the swimming pool in the subdivision at 8 a.m. on the morning of the event. Please register a week before hand as we will be furnishing lunch and will need to have a head count.
PLEASE MAKE PLANS TO JOIN US!!!!
POOL NEWS
Just recently, the Braeburn Valley Pool took on a new look with a brand new wrought iron fence and a new roof to boot. We also got a new sidewalk that leads up to the pool, so now no one will have to walk in the street. Go by and take a look.
Jimmy Gabriel,
Pool Committee
DATES TO REMEMBER
First Tuesday of each month
at Braeswood Assembly of God Church at 7 p.m. (located at 10611 Fondren at Willowbend), the Greater Fondren Southwest Super Neighborhood #36 meeting. This organization was formed to address all concerns that effect our total community. Working together works miracles.First Wednesday of each month, the Board of Directors for Braeburn Valley meets. Please call AVR Management to attend.
Third Tuesday of each month at the Fondren Storefront (located at 11168 Fondren) at 6 p.m., the Citizens Advisory Council meets and at 7 p.m., the Crime Awareness Committee meets. If you have any concerns in the area, please come to this meeting and share them. Captain Lumpkin, Sgt. Oliver and Officer Demaree are all in attendance to help address our concerns.
Fourth Monday of each month at Creekbend Gardens Retirement Center (located at 8106 Creekbend) at 7 p.m., the New Braeswood Revitalization Association meets. Beautification and Apartment Relations Committees meet at that time as well as Board. Everyone welcome and encouraged to join with us in the revitalization of our total area.
February 27, 2003 at Welch Middle School at 7 p.m. - Ruffino Hills Transfer Station Meeting
March 29, 2003 from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Keep Houston Beautiful Day at BV Swimming Pool.
April 29, 2003 at Braeswood Assembly of God Church, the Annual Spring Meeting for the Braeburn Valley HOA.
TIME TO UPDATE OUR PHONE & E-MAIL LIST
I have volunteered to update our homeowners contact information. I would really appreciate it if you could send me the information listed below via e-mail. If you don’t have e-mail, please send your information to Braeburn Valley HOA, c/o AVR Management and they will get it to me.
Maintaining this contact list is very important, please help us. The quickest, most efficient and cost effective way is if we can contact you via e-mail. For those of you that do not have e-mail, we will be more than happy to contact you by phone, if you will send us your current phone number.
We will need name, address, phone number, e-mail address and fax number.
Lillian F. Jones (Ljones42@houston.rr.com)
GETTING READY FOR THE GARAGE SALE
Here are some helpful hints on making your garage sale a monetary success.
Some of the best-selling garage sale items include antiques, baby equipment, bicycles, books, clothing, collectibles, electronics, furniture, household items, kids stuff, sporting goods, tools and anything with the tag still on it. However, don’t discard things because you think they are ugly, old or no one would buy it. Broken china might be used to make a mosaic tile picture frame, and out of style clothing could be purchased for a child’s dress-up box. Remember, your trash might be someone else’s treasure; so, tag everything for sale. Sort your merchandise into categories such as kids stuff, house wares, books, women’s clothing, kid’s toys, etc… Clean and repair items prior to the big sale; launder linens, polish furniture, silver and jewelry, and dust everything off. Make sure to put a price on every item. Garage sale gurus suggest pricing items at 10 to 20 percent of their retail cost. The day before the sale, go to the bank and get at least 50 dollars in cash so you can make change. You’ll need lots of singles and quarters, as well as a few nickels, dimes, five and ten dollar bills. Don’t allow shoppers in your home, and lock all doors, so that no one quietly slips in. Also don’t leave your merchandise unattended.
SOCIAL CLUB MEETINGS
We are going to start the Social Club meetings again. We will be meeting the second Saturday of every month for breakfast from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 10014 Murray Brook. For all of those interested, please mark your calendars and we look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions or comments, please call Gene Yi at (713) 484-7700.
WECS LANDSCAPING
832-816-7408
waltere1@msn.com 713-783-6636
713
LAWNS STARTING FROM $20 IN BRAEBURN VALLEY. WE WILL BEAT YOUR ACTUAL PRICES!!!!
INCLUDES CUTTING, EDGING, BLOWING & BAGGING.
SECURITY REPORT
The following is a summary of the security report provided by Security Sure for the month of January 2003.
2 Alarms
1 Attempted Burglary
1 Burglary of Vehicle
2 Dogs
3 Information
1 Suspicious Act
2 Suspicious Vehicles
1 Suspicious Person
1 Vandalism
Total = 14