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HomeMy WebLinkAboutreporter.dec06© City of Georgetown, 2006 VOL.4 • NO.12 A Publication of the City of Georgetown December 2006 Each year at Christmastime, Blue Santa provides smiles to hundreds of Georgetown families. Last year more than 700 Georgetown children received toys from Blue Santa. “This year we hope to provide toys to more than 1,000 kids,” says Officer Jim Seals with the Georgetown Police Department, who is the Blue Santa coordinator. Applications to Blue Santa are up significantly over last year. “Monetary donations really help,” says Seals. “For those who want to donate toys, we especially need gifts for teenagers and the older kids. Gift cards are great. And we really need more volunteers to help us with collecting, sorting, and packaging toys.” For monetary donations, checks to “Blue Santa” should be sent to the Georgetown Police Department, 809 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street, Georgetown, TX, 78626. Donations are deposited in the account of the Police Activities League, a nonprofit for community programs such as Blue Santa. Donations of new, unwrapped toys to Blue Santa can be made at the Georgetown Police Department or at Fire Station 3 in Sun City, or in donation barrels at many businesses Blue Santa Brightens Holidays Donations of toys, money, and volunteer time needed The high cost of energy over the summer has depleted the Good Neighbor Fund. By adding a dollar contribution to the Good Neighbor Fund with your utility payment, you can help fellow community member who may have trouble paying their bill due to a crisis like losing a job or a medical emergency. For those who qualify, the Good Neighbor Fund pays up to half of the utility bill. A matching contribu- tion is paid by the customer or The Caring Place, a local nonprofit. “Due to increased fuel costs this year, we have experienced an increase in crisis,” says Yajaira Munoz-McKiver, interim executive director at The Caring Place. One dollar isn’t much, but when many people help out, it can make a big difference to someone in crisis. So please help the Good Neighbor Fund with your contribution. Good Neighbor Fund $1 helps those in need The Palace Theater Meet Me in St. Louis, weekends Nov. 17 to Dec. 23 Details at www.thegeorgetown- palace.org, or call (512) 869-7469. First Friday Dec. 1 Downtown shops, galleries, and restaurants open 6 to 8 p.m. Market Days Dec. 9 Arts and crafts, jewelry, stained glass, unique clothing, woodcrafts, ironworks, festive foods, antiques & collectables, and entertainment on the Square, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Downtown Happening s in Georgetown. The deadline for toy donations is December 1, but monetary donations can be made at any time. Donations of clothing or bicycles cannot be accepted by Blue Santa, but can be made at Goodwill or The Caring Place. Toy distribu- tion for Blue Santa will take place on December 16. Applications for Blue Santa should be made at The Caring Place at 2000 Railroad Avenue. The deadline is December 1. Blue Santa assists children who qualify for free or reduced fee lunch at school (or meet federal poverty guidelines), are ages 1 to 14, and live in the Georgetown City Limits. For all the details, see the Blue Santa website at www.BlueSantaGeorgetown.org. Holiday Closings and Trash Pickup City offices closed Dec. 25 & 26 and Jan. 1 No trash pickup Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 Trash pickup slides one day for remainder of week The Georgetown City Reporter is a publication of the City of Georgetown Public Information Office located in City Hall, 113 E. Eighth Street, Georgetown, Texas, 78626. For questions or comments, contact Keith Hutchinson, Public Information Officer for the City of Georgetown at (512) 930-3690, or by email at pio@georgetowntx.org. Discover the latest news about the city at www.georgetown.org New Library Opens Jan. 20 Old library closes Dec. 23 for move The holiday season could be one with more silent nights, due to a City effort to turn down the volume on unwanted noise. Georgetown’s city council approved an update of the City’s nuisance noise ordinance that took effect October 25. The ordinance provides for three enforcement alternatives. The first standard prohibits noise that is disturbing to “a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities,” and does not require a decibel reading for enforcement. Examples of such noise include barking dogs, car alarms, vehicle exhaust, engine- braking systems, stereos, or musical instruments. Noise in a residential or noise-sensitive area that can be heard beyond the property line also is prohibited during nighttime hours, which are defined as starting at 10 p.m. and ending at 7 a.m. Also prohibited is noise from a stereo in a vehicle that creates sound that can be heard at a distance of 30 or more feet from the vehicle. A second standard prohibits night- time construction noise without a permit. A third standard prohibits noise that exceeds set decibel thresholds based on the zoning of a property. Noise is measured at the property line with a decibel meter. For residential areas and streets, the thresholds are 63 decibels during the daytime and 56 decibels during nighttime. For comparison, a normal conversation or a sewing machine is about 60 decibels, a coffee grinder is 70 – 80 decibels, and a kitchen blender is about 80 decibels. Day and nighttime standards are also set for property zoned as commercial or industrial. The ordinance provides for a tempo- rary permit to allow noise that is otherwise prohibited including some construction activities, special events such as festivals or parades, or outdoor music venues located in nonresidential areas. Athletic events in a stadium or public facility, parades and City special events, and permitted fireworks displays are exempt. The Georgetown Police Department is responsible for enforcement of the noise ordinance. Violations can lead to fines of up to $2,000. For infor- mation on a temporary noise permit, contact the Inspection Services Department at (512) 930-3606. For details on the noise ordinance, see the news item on the City website at www.georgetown.org. New Rules on Noise Georgetown Reads! 2007 The book selected for Georgetown Reads! 2007 is Where Dreams Die Hard, by Carlton Stowers. Georgetown Reads! is the library’s one book/one community pro- gram, and this is the third book to be featured. Where Dreams Die Hard focuses on a season with a six-man football team in Penelope, Texas, but also provides a snapshot of life in rural America in the 21st century. Carlton Stowers will kick off the 2007 program at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6, speaking about why he wrote this book and where his research led him. On February 20 at 7 p.m., football legend Jack Pardee will talk about the significance six-man football has had in his life. Mark these events on your calendar and come to see Georgetown’s beautiful new library! You can help furnish the new library by donating to the Friends of the Georgetown Public Library ‘High 5’ campaign. The goal is to raise $55,555.55 to help pay for furniture, shelving, display cases, reading lamps, and kitchen appliances for the community rooms. Contribute any amount with a ‘5’ in it, like $5.55 or $25.55 or $55.55 or $105.55 or $1,005.55 or $1,500.55. The High 5 campaign is an effort of the Friends to contribute to the Georgetown Library Foundation Capital Campaign, which has an overall fundraising goal of $750,000 for the new library. To donate, use the form at www.georgetowntex.org or ask at the Library check-out desk. High 5 Campaign Help furnish the new library Workers are putting the finishing touches on the new library to pre- pare for opening day on January 20. “Now that the building is in the fin- ishing stages, we’re all anxious for our inauguration day when we open the doors to the public,” says Eric Lashley, director of the Georgetown Public library. “Until then, we’ll be busy as army ants moving in furni- ture and transferring the whole collection to the new building. There’s a tremendous amount of set-up to be done to get ready.” To that end, the “old” library at 808 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street will close at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 23. The library will open in the new location a half-block away at 402 W. Eighth Street at 10 a.m. on January 20. During the month that the library is being moved, no materials may be returned and the bookdrops will be locked. Library materials that are checked out after December 9 will not be due until January 20, 2007. In addition, there will be a moratorium on fines from January 20 until February 1. This is being done to encourage library users to return their materials throughout the 12-day period following the reopening of the library instead of inundating the staff with 20,000 items on January 20. A general amnesty on charges for any lost and overdue materials also will be in effect during the December 23 to February 1 period. Starting in December, library staff will begin moving books, furniture, and shelving into the new library on Eighth Street.