Friday, January 29, 2010

Free Pancake Breakfast Feb. 13th

Mark your calendar now for the free community pancake breakfast put on by Helena United Methodist Church - that's right, it's free!  It will be held at the church on Highway 58 on Saturday, February 13th, beginning at 7 am  and is open to the whole community.  So if you love pancakes and want a free breakfast, come on by for a great start to your day.

-Brian-

Thursday, January 28, 2010

RecycleBank Activation Codes Arrive


Today's postal delivery brought a small foldover card from RecycleBank containing the activation code for my RecycleBank account.  Starting with the next pickup on February 10th, the recycle bins will be weighted and the amounts credited to your account if you have signed up for the rewards program.  Just activating your account gets you 40 points to start with.

If you are not currently recycling, I think you will be amazed at how much comes in with paper and cans and newspapers and plastics that can be recycled.  That means a lot of stuff NOT going into a landfill, so we all benefit - along with future generations.  Being good stewards of the planet is just the right thing to do.  Reduce - Reuse - Recycle !

-Brian-

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Voting Location Changes

For voters in Woodvale, our voting location will change for the next election to be held on the first Tuesday in June.  The new location is the recently opened Helena community center (see pictures of opening in post below) just off Alabama 261.  Our previous polling place was Helena United Methodist Church.  The Shelby County Commission voted at their meeting last night to make the change since the new community center offers more space.  This will help especially in major elections with added parking and plenty of space for voters.

I'm fairly confident that voters will be notified of this change before the next election.

-Brian-

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Helena Civic Center Open House

This afternoon was the open house for the new civic center for Helena at the park just off 261/Helena Road/Valleydale Road.  I captured a few pictures of the event.


Mayor and City Council along with city officials cut the ribbon
opening the new civic center.


Entrance to the new civic center which opened January 24, 2010.


Meeting rooms, basketball court, full kitchen, walking track, class rooms, a wonderful facility
for people in Helena to use.

Congratulations to Mayor Penhale and the Helena City Council on bringing this fabulous facility to our wonderful community.  You can also read about the open house in a story by the Shelby County Reporter which can be found here.

-Brian-

Friday, January 22, 2010

Doughnut Sale January 23rd



Don't forget the big doughnut sale tomorrow, Saturday, January 23rd, in Helena.  The sale will take place at Winn Dixie, Walgreen, and CVS in support of the family of the Pelham Police Officer who was killed in the life of Duty.  The sale is sponsored by the Helena Police Department and they will be out there until they sell all the doughnuts.


Each dozen will be sold for $5.00 and I have heard that they have 500 dozen to sell.


So as you head out on any Saturday errands, stop by one of the sales locations and help a good cause and get some great doughnuts.  I understand that the police have arrested all the calories from these doughnuts, so you have no diet worries.


-Brian-


Friday, January 15, 2010

Let the Recycling Begin!

January 13th was a momentous day for Helena and Woodvale - our recycling program was begun!  Here are several pictures of the event.



Allied Waste truck making the rounds through Woodvale.


Truck stopping to grab a 95-gallon recycling bin.



The bin goes UP and the stuff goes IN the truck!

A quick drive through the neighborhood revealed two house in Augusta Pointe and four in Woodvale who are  participating in the recycling program.  I know the program costs something, but this really is the right thing to do to reduce what we put into landfills and at the same time promote materials that can be reused.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

-Brian-


Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Quick Helena Notes

You should be seeing the Helena Newsletter in your mailbox today or tomorrow.  I saw one at City Hall Monday, and Dearing Downs' sewer lines will be receiving plastic linings this month.  Also, the grand opening of the Sports Complex facility has been set for January 24th, 2 to 5 pm.


While we don't have a newspaper in Helena, our full-color newsletter is like a magazine for Helena.  I always read it from cover to cover when it arrives.  The latest issue is a full 32 pages with lots of stories and lots of ads from local businesses.  Remember to Shop Helena when you can so we keep our tax dollars in our town!


-Brian-

Monday, January 4, 2010

Dog Licenses / Recycling News

Dog Licenses

If you plan on stopping by City Hall for your dog license, you can hold off for about two weeks.  I went by this afternoon to make sure my dog was legal, but I found out the new tags have not yet arrived.  In an attempt to be a little more economical with the $1 license fee, the city is going to numbered tags without a year stamp.  This will allow you to have the one tag and get a renewal each year.  I'm told that Helena has the lowest dog license fee in the area.

Tags should be in around January 20th.

Recycling Update

While at City Hall for the license, I asked how the recycling signup is going.  No exact numbers were available but the information they had was that about 300 households have signed up.  I sure hope more folks will get in on this so we can reduce the stress on landfills.  There is information about the program on the City of Helena web site which can be found in the links list to the left.

-Brian-

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Cold Weather Hanging Tough

Central Alabama is currently in the grip of a significant cold spell that everyone needs to take seriously.  In addition to the cold air, there is a threat for snow from Thursday afternoon, January 7, Friday morning, January 8.  Snow forecasting is notoriously tough in the Southeast US simply because the recipe for wintery weather is so precise.  However, the cold air in place now is not expected to change substantially over the next week resulting in the right scenario for a winter weather event toward the end of the week.

If you have exposed pipes, be sure to wrap them well.  Pets normally left outside should be properly cared for in the frigid weather.  Bundle kids up well when they head outside to play.  And if you have elderly friends or relatives, it's a good idea to check on them to be sure their heat is operating properly.  Cold can be a killer.

-Brian-