MASON HILL NEWSLETTER
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FEBRUARY, 2004 Vol 5. No. 3
UPCOMING EVENTS. Please note the following dates on your calendar:
Monday, March 8, 2004 – Mason Hill Wine and Cheese. Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church Chapel (main building). 7:30 PM. Come and meet your neighbors, especially new neighbors, at this once a year event!
Wednesday, April 28, 2004. General Membership Meeting. Semi-annual business meeting of the Association. Make your views known. 7:30 PM. Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church.
Saturday, May 1, 2004. Mason Hill Community Yard Sale. Free space to Association members. More information later. Contact: Brent Cottrell, 703-660-6974.
MT. VERNON COUNCIL OF CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS. The council is composed of the 70 or so civic association in the Mt. Vernon area. Six standing committees play an important role in making recommendations, based on citizen experience, to elected officials. The officials (such as Supervisor, Planning Commissioner, and School Board Member) usually try to follow the recommendations and resolutions of the committees. Below are the committees and recent issues they have addressed:
1. Consumer Affairs – Power and gas companies, auto sales, home improvement contractors, etc.
2. Education - Public schools: curriculum, SOLs, IB, full-day kindergarten, after-school care, etc.
3. Environment and Recreation – Lorton Arts Center, Little Hunting Creek Watershed, water monitoring of Paul Spring Branch, etc.
4. Health and Human Services – Mt. Vernon Hospital, social services, drug prevention, etc.
5. Planning and Zoning –Land use issues, density of new communities, sidewalks, etc.
6. Public Safety – Mt. Vernon animal shelter/control, fire and police, hazardous materials, banned weapons, etc.
7. Transportation – Aircraft noise, public roads, VDOT, etc.
The committees usually meet once a month during the first week of the month. If you are interested in one of the above topics and would be willing to serve as Mason Hill’s representative or alternate, contact Judy Branting, JBranting@AOL.com, 703-765-6690.
VICE-PRESIDENT FOR SAFETY. Lisa Kirst has been appointed by the Executive Board to fill this vacancy. The duties include roads, traffic, power, light, police, and fire. Lisa lives on Windmill Lane and can be reached at 703-765-6432.
RECOMMENDED MERCHANTS LIST. The Mason Hill Citizens Association will distribute a list of merchants recommended by residents. The list will be circulated with the newsletter and additions will appear in subsequent newsletters. If you have had a positive experience with a merchant or contractor, please forward the name, address (if known), and phone number to Judy Branting, JBranting@AOL.com, 1909 Mason Hill Drive, or call 703-765-6690. Even one suggestion will help neighbors and reward good businesses. Samples of services often sought are painters, wallpapers, concrete work, carpenters, electricians, lawn, carpet cleaners, electronic repair, dry cleaners, snow removal, fence installers, auto repair, etc.
BABYSITTERS, PET SITTERS, AND SNOW REMOVAL. If you are a teenager or adult who would like to advertise for such work in the neighborhood, please send your name, address, and phone number to Judy Branting at the addresses or phone above. With sufficient names, the list will be distributed annually in a newsletter.
COMMUNITY EMAIL ALERTS. If you have not received this newsletter by email by now, please send your email address to JBranting@AOL.com. Email from the Association will be sent only a few times a year under blind copy and will include the newsletter and emergency situations.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. Now that we have been told how necessary it is for us to consume at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, many people like to avoid or minimize the use of pesticides that often are used in our commercial foods. In the fruit and vegetable arena, pesticides are most heavily used in apples, cherries, carrots, celery, lettuce, pears, and strawberries. These should be washed carefully, perhaps peeled, and outer leaves discarded. Handy and non-toxic fruit and vegetable washes are available Healthway, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, MOMs (MY Organic Market on Mt. Vernon Avenue) and Cash Grocer among others. These stores, as well as increasingly the supermarkets, are also sources for organic produce. A new Whole Foods Market (Fresh Fields to old timers) is slated to open on Duke Street in Old Town in October, 2004.
MHCA BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE: Please call Brent (or Peg) Cottrell at (703) 660-6974 to find out how to present and be involved with all of the ideas you have had about how the front entrance way to our community could be better presented, or any other ideas you might have had about community common areas.