AG Gazette February 2005
“Communication is the key to a strong community”
February 2005, volume 3, issue 1
Let’s get ready to Spiff!
By Bob Meyer
You can almost feel it in your bones. Though we’ve still got a bit of old man
winter to contend with, a string of nice days recently has brought more than a
few of us out to do some yard work and general “spiffing” up around our
properties. This happens every year when we get itching for spring, but this
year keep in mind that the 1st Annual Great Andover Glen Spiff is starting up.
Those properties that show pride of ownership, real improvements, and just plain
look good will be receiving some great prizes later in the summer at our
Neighborhood Picnic. The whole purpose of this program is to encourage pride of
ownership, general upkeep of the neighborhood, and even reduce the likelihood of
crime in our area. Not only does spiffing up the area keep all of our property
values higher, but statistics show that better kept neighborhoods actually
discourage crime by telling would be criminals that we care and are watching
out!
Your Andover Glen board has been working hard to get prizes donated from vendors
for this beautification program and it also has dedicated a small amount from
the treasury for this purpose. The board also decided that many smaller prizes
will be awarded as opposed to just a few large prizes. Some of the prizes
already donated include a gift certificate donated by Carmine Leonardo’s Deli, a
complete makeover and gift certificate for Mary Kay donated Anne Stellman, and a
two-month family membership donated by the Heartwood Athletic Club. We
appreciate these contributions and know that more are on the way! Some things
that you could be doing right now to begin spiffing up your property:
* Trim away dead and overgrown trees and brush
* Beginning planning your flowerbeds by drawing out simple diagrams
* Clear away dead plants from last season and remove dead leaves from around
shrubs and gardens.
We hope you get as excited as your AG Board is in this Great Andover Glen Spiff
program. We’ll keep you posted each month on some of the prizes that we have, a
few tips to spiff up your property and maybe feature a house or two that is
looking “spiff-tastic”.
Finally, remember that any major outdoor landscaping changes require you to fill
out a Property Improvement request form and submit it to Ron Adams. If you have
any questions about the Andover Glen Spiff program, please feel free to call me,
Bob Meyers, at 303-690-6927. ~
Can the urge to “spiff” go beyond our Mini-grant work day?
AG Holiday Neighborhood Party was relaxing and social
By Randy Simpson
Our annual AG Holiday Party, held once more this year at the Melton’s household
was nicely attended and was a very relaxing and social event. There was lots of
great food and drink, interesting conversation, and my favorite part of the
evening, John Melton played a long list of favorite holiday classics on the
piano. So good is his playing in fact, that even I sang along, and my mistuned
singing voice was barely noticeable under the outstanding musicianship of John.
Everyone brought one of their favorite snack dishes to munch on and it turned
out that the food was so good that my Holiday diet plans were doomed to go by
the wayside from the very start. Just too much temptingly good food!
John Melton struck the right notes to bring some Holiday Cheer to Andover Glen!
A special “Thank You!” is certainly in order to the Melton’s for opening up
their home and hosting this year’s party as well as the Wagner’s for hosting the
Children’s party at their home.
To anyone not attending this year, sorry you missed it. Take a chance, get out
of your rut, and join us next year. You’ll be glad you did, I promise! ~
AG Board exploring possibilities of power-washing and staining of perimeter
fencing
By Randy Simpson
At a recent board meeting, the your Andover Glen Board voted unanimously to
begin exploring the possibilities of having the some of the perimeter fencing in
our neighborhood power-washed and stained. The board will be exploring options
and costs related to this possibility during the next few months and will make a
decision in the spring. As with all decisions your AG board makes, it very much
welcomes any thoughts or comments that you might have related to this issue.
Contact phone numbers are on the last page of the Gazette, so please feel free
to contact any board member with your comments. ~
Andover Glen Neighborhood Watch
By Bob Meyer
While December was a very quite month for our neighborhood in terms a criminal
activity, we did have one incident in January that broke this period of quiet.
One of our neighbors was surprised by a “lurker” who was near their opened
garage as they were getting ready to leave. The garage door was only open a few
minutes and the “lurker” appears to have been attracted by open door. This
person was dressed in black and ran quickly away when spotted.
This incident brings up some important safety tips regarding open garages. Don’t
leave your garage door open, unless you are right there in the garage working
and needing to have the door open. Open garage doors are one of the favorite
entry points for thieves. So leave them closed when you’re not around, even for
5 minutes! Some other helpful tips include:
* Trim oversized bushes from around your home. These offer great hiding places
for the burglar.
* Consider adding more outside lighting to your house, including motion detector
lighting. The bad guys thrive on the cover of darkness!
Our Neighborhood Watch, person of the month goes to Fred Adams, the loyal canine
companion of Ron and Linda Adams. Twice Fred barked a loud GRRRUUUFFFF! And
warned them of strangers near the house. Ron and Linda then quickly followed up
on these warnings. This is exactly the kind of alertness and attention to the
neighborhood that we all need to employ. Fred earned an extra ration of doggie
treats for his efforts. If we follow Fred’s lead, we’ll all earn an extra safe
neighborhood! Congrats to Fred!
As the Neighborhood Watch coordinator, I want to help the neighborhood stay safe
and secure, but I can’t do it alone. It will take all of us looking out for each
other to keep our neighborhood safe and secure, and NOT a place criminals want
to be. I am always looking for those who want to get involved, or have some
other safety information they’d like to share. I can be reached at 303-690-6927.
~.
Some Helpful City of Aurora Phone Numbers & Contact Info
General Information 303-739-7000
Police Emergency 1-911 or 303-739-6000
Police Non-Emergency 303-365-2844
Animal Control 303-326-8280
Ask Aurora (24 hour) 303-739-7500
Aurora Web Site www.auroragov.org
Saving the Environment by Freecycling
By Cathy Hoganson
Did you know there is a worldwide Freecycle Network (www.freecycle.org) made up
of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people
who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Membership is
absolutely free. To sign up, all you have to do go to their web page and follow
the instructions to find our city. After you have located our area, an automatic
e-mail will be generated which, when sent, will sign you up for your local group
and send you a response with further instructions on how the program works.
The end result is that you can swap, give, or get stuff from other people right
here in the Aurora and Denver Area. Ever have an old item you didn’t know what
to do with and thought it would be shame to put it into a landfill? Well, now
you can Freecycle it! ~
Know of a good contractor? Share it with others!
By Randy Simpson
There are often times when you’re looking for a good and honest contractor to do
work in or around your home but you’re just not sure where to turn for someone
you can trust. In an effort to help everyone in Andover Glen find good
contractors, we’re going to begin posting names on our neighborhood website. It
will take a few months to get this set up, but by early spring we should have a
page up and running that will give you the contact names of contractors that
your neighbors here in Andover Glen have had a positive experience with. We’ll
let you know when this service is up and running.
If you have had a positive experience with a contractor and would like to
recommend them to your neighbors here in Andover Glen, please forward them to me
at rgatess@yahoo.com. Once the Contractor Recommendation page is set up on our
website, I will add that contractor to the list. In your email, please indicate
the contractor company name, a contact name, business phone number, and the
nature of the contract work they did for you. By sharing information, we can all
stay informed and get the best value for our home improvement dollar! ~
“The only thing worse than being dissatisfied with a job someone does for you,
is being dissatisfied with a job you do for someone else.” - Max Reed
Next Meeting reminder:
The next AG board meeting is open to all AG Association members will be held at
Shalom Park on Wednesday, February 23rd at 7 p.m.
Neighbor to Neighbor
Services and stuff for sale, cheap!
Baby Sitting: Red Cross Certified Babysitter!
Great rates. Responsible 9th Grader living right here in Andover Glen. Call
Elizabeth Melton 303-693-5183.
Baby Sitting: Red Cross Certified, 14 yr. Old
Morgan McCoy, 303-248-6213.
Baby Sitting: Experienced. Loves Kids, Very fair rates. Brandy Helfer,
303-248-6213.
Baby Sitting: Experienced neighborhood Baby- sitter. Kristin Guerra,
303-766-0464.
Baby Sitting: Red Cross Certified, thoughtful and loves kids. Call Sophia,
303-693-9356.
Dog Walking: If you need your dog walked or bathed, or just played with, I am an
excellent pet handler. I have worked in a veterinary clinic and love pets!
Anjali Melton, 303-693-5183.
House Cleaning: Brandy and Morgan will do housework & odd jobs. 303-248-6213.
Firewood Removal: If you’ve got some old firewood that you can’t use or don’t
want around anymore, call Norm Arlt at 303-766-7344, and he’ll haul it away for
free
To place an add in this section, contact Randy Simpson at 303-693-0546, or
rgatess@yahoo.com
Andover Glen website: www.neighborhoodlink.com/aurora/andoverglen
Homeowners Association Board Members
President: Barbara Harrington 693-0868
Vice President: Dave Kline 720-870-6697
Secretary: Randy Simpson 693-0546
Treasurer: Jan Guerra 766-0464
Preservation: Ron Adams 248-6213
Grounds: Norm Arlt 766-7344
Social: Curt Krall 400-9652
Welcoming: Cindy Wagner 693-8729
Neighborhood Watch: Bob Meyer 690-6927