AG Garage Sale and Dumpster Days once more a Big Success

By Debra Jones

Our Annual AG Garage Sale Weekend saw about 20 homes taking advantage of the opportunity in making some nice cash for their lovely “stuff”.  With this year combining our garage sale with Woodgate no doubt brought in extra shoppers. We want to thank Rich and Donna Foerster with Keller Williams who volunteered to place the newspaper ads and putting up the banners. If anyone has suggestions on how we can make the garage sale even more successful in the future, please let someone on the AG Board know.

Also, our Dumpster Days weekend went very well – full but not overflowing.  The next Dumpster Day will be October 4^th & 5^th.  We are also offering “Document Shredding” on Saturday, October 4^th from 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.  This is a safe, fast and easy way to destroy your unwanted documents and protect your identity. You may not realize it, but Identity Theft the fastest growing crime in the world. Every year, it cost individuals and corporations hundreds of billions of dollars, and affects us all by adding extra costs to everything we purchase. Professional shredding, such as that offered by the company we are using, destroys all paper, paper clips, staples, film, CD’s, checks, checkbook registers and old tax forms. There is absolutely nothing left for any would-be criminal to gather information from. Remember, no cardboard please.  As a special bonus to AG residents, there is no charge for this service this year. The truck will be located next to the dumpster. ~

A looming (and potentially very expensive) crisis for Andover Glen?

By Randy Simpson

I have previously reported how several board members (including potentially myself) will be leaving the AGHA Board this September. What that means is there is an urgent need for new members to step up to the plate. In total, there may be up to 4 or even 5 positions available. I don’t use the term “crisis” lightly in this regard, for if somehow several board positions were to go unfilled, the danger exists that the board could cease being able to fulfill it’s legal duties (and all of our legal duties as homeowner’s in Andover Glen) and a professional management company would have to be hired to carry out the tasks of paying bills, upholding covenant enforcement, and collecting annual dues. The hiring of such a company would be expensive for all of us, adding up to a large increase in our annual dues.  More importantly, the operation of our association would be given over to the rather impersonal form letters we’d all start receiving from the management company. I know this is not what I would desire, and I hope most of you would not either.

For this reason, I am making a personal and urgent plea to anyone who is interested in helping to serve their community to step forward. The time is now and your service is needed!  Please consider people like Norm Arlt, who has served 12 years on the board. Isn’t it time that a few others step up to the plate and do their part for a term or two? Please contact myself, at 303-693-0546, or any other board member for more information on the modest time requirements involved. ~

Please join your neighbors for:

An Andover Glen Family Hawaiian Block Party

Date:  Saturday, August 16^th, 2008

Time:  5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Place:  Layton Drive – between Crystal and Dillon Way

Wear your favorite Hawaiian shirt, bring your favorite finger food and your favorite drink.  We will have once again the best drink contest, karaoke contest and best Hawaiian outfit contest.

With the hectic lifestyle most of us lead, it’s much harder to get to know our neighbors the way it use to be.  This is a great chance to come and spend a few hours and meet some of your neighbors.

For more information, call Debra at 303-690-9459. ~

Special Feature Article:

How to find a good energy-efficient ceiling fan

Submitted by Donna Foerster, GRI

Keller Williams Action Realty, LLC

As the mercury starts to rise, so too does the urge to flip on the air conditioner.  For those days when it’s warm, but not quite hot enough to turn on the air conditioner, a ceiling fan is a great option - - if you buy a good one that is energy efficient.

In the last 10 years, ceiling fans have become more technologically advanced, providing cooling in the summer months and warming in the winter months and ultimately helping you save on your energy bill.

Ceiling fans don’t actually reduce the temperature, but during warm weather, they have a wind-chill effect.  So if it’s 85 degrees in your family room and you have a ceiling fan purring above, it will feel like 78 degrees.  And in the winter, fans re-circulate the heat to the living areas.

An efficient ceiling fan can reduce your energy bill up to 40 percent in the summer and 10 percent in the winter, using only as much energy as a 100-watt light bulb.

Fans can coordinate your individual home style, and most offer options in color, finish, blade design, size, accessories and lighting.  Styles include polished brass, antique brass, iron, copper, nickel, pewter, chrome, black, vibrant colors, oak, rosewood and other real wood veneers.

And as with most other appliances, you can even find energy efficient models from Energy Star, a national symbol for energy efficiency developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. ~

Ouch!!! Relieve the pain at the pump with these gas saving tips…

By Randy Simpson

The price of gas is affecting all of our lifestyles to one degree or another. Here are a few gas saving suggestions to help you keep a bit more cash in your wallet, instead of handing it over to the oil companies:

1. Avoid prolonged warming up of engine, even on cold mornings - 30 to 45 seconds is plenty of time.

2. Don't start and stop engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the gas amount equivalent to when you start the engine.

3. Eliminate jack-rabbit starts. Accelerate slowly when starting from dead stop. Don't push pedal down more than 1/4 of the total foot travel. This allows the carburetor to function at peak efficiency.

4. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Keep in mind gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to "volume of measurement".

5. Choose type and brand of gasoline carefully. Certain brands provide you with greater economy because of better quality.

6. Avoid filling gas tank to the top. Overfilling results in sloshing over and out of tank. Never fill gas tank past the first "click" of fuel nozzle, if nozzle is automatic.

7. Never exceed the legal speed limit. Primarily they are set for your traveling safety, however better gas efficiency also occurs. Traveling at 55 mph give you up to 21% better mileage when compared to former legal speed limits of 65 mph and 70 mph.

8. Traveling at fast rates in low gears can consume up to 45% more fuel than is needed.

9. Manual shift driven cars allow you to change to highest gear as soon as possible, thereby letting you save gas.

10. Keep windows closed when traveling at highway speeds. Open windows cause air drag, reducing your mileage by 10%.

11. Drive steadily. Slowing down or speeding up wastes fuel. Also avoid tailgating - the driver in front of you is unpredictable. Not only is it unsafe, but if affects your economy, if he slows down unexpectedly.

12.Think ahead when approaching hills. If you accelerate, do it before you reach the hill, not while you're on it.

13. Do not rest left foot on floor board pedals while driving. The slightest pressure puts "mechanical drag" on components, wearing them down prematurely. This "dragging" also demands additional fuel usage.

14. Avoid rough roads whenever possible. Dirt or gravel rob you of up to 30% of your gas mileage.

15. Stoplights are usually timed for your motoring advantage. By traveling steadily at the legal speed limit you boost your chances of having the "green light" all the way.

16. Regular tune up ensure best economy; check owner's manual for recommended maintenance intervals. Special attention should be given to maintaining clean air filters and fuel filters.

17. Carpool when possible! ~

Saga of “The Driveway” comes to the rightful end: Andover Glen wins!

By Randy Simpson

Many of you have been following the saga of the non-covenant compliant driveway that was installed at 14114 E. Leighton Dr. nearly two years ago. The AGHA was forced to bring a lawsuit against the owners, and we successfully won that suit. The owners of that home have long since moved out, but the court order to remove the driveway stayed with the property, and so the new owners (currently the bank) was forced to live by the terms of the court order.

You may have heard the jackhammers a few weeks back, and I am happy to report that a proper Architectural Improvement Request was submitted, and the errant portion of the extended driveway was removed, and the proper landscaping put back in.

What I take from this lesson is this: sometimes you have to go to court and fight for what you know is right (despite honest and valid reservations), and even in this day and age a little organization like AGHA can win and justice can still be served.

Congratulations to everyone who supported AGHA and our covenants during this difficult episode—we had a happy ending! ~

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. 

~William Feather

If you have an ad or notice you’d like to place in the Gazette under the Neighbor to Neighbor section, or even an informative article for the Gazette, please contact Randy Simpson at rgatess@yahoo.com