Join us March 13 for our CL general meeting

Agenda

• Announcement of Carolanne Farm Neighborhood Park poll results
• Virginia Beach Parks and Recs to hear plan for CAFNP - offer brief timeline
• Volunteers wanted for the CAFNP Steering Committee
• Butterfly Society Rep., Ruth Burch to present on native plants and butterfly gardening
• YARD OF THE MONTH
• Seed sharing initiative

DREDGING of Lynnhaven River (western branch)

February 28, 2008

Subject: Public Information Workshop for Western Branch Lynnhaven RiverMaintenance Dredging (CIP 8-005)

A public information workshop has been scheduled to discuss proposed maintenance dredging for the Western Branch Lynnhaven River. The workshop is scheduled for Wednesday March 19, 2008 at the Bayside Middle School auditorium located at 965 Newtown Road from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 pm. Representatives from the City of Virginia Beach and our design engineers will be available to provide information and receive comments on the project. All interested citizens are invited to attend.

The proposed project includes mechanical dredging of the main channel of the Western Branch Lynnhaven River. Material would be barged to a transfer station near the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp Facility and then trucked to the Whitehurst Disposal Pit located off of Oceana Boulevard. The project is expected to begin construction in late 2008 and last for at least six months. If you have any questions regarding the proposed dredging or if you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to discuss the project, please contact me at 385-8005 or dadams@vbgov.com.

Sincerely,
Daniel F. Adams, P.E.Project Manager

AARP Kemapville Chapter 4212

AARP Chapter 4212 meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Kempsville Recreation Center in room 117 at 10:00 A.M.

We would like to invite all those in the area (55& over) to visit us at your leisure.

We have a short business meeting, followed by refreshments and then an informative program, usually featuring a speaker with information or ideas which are of interest to the senior community.

So, if you are free on the second Wednesday mornings, come out and visit with us. If you like whom you meet and what you hear , we would love to have you among our members.

For further information you may call Sonya Lowry at 497-1138.

Sincerely,
Sonya Lowry, Sec. AARP Kempsville Chapter 4212

Project Lifesaver wants your vote

PROJECT LIFESAVER® INTERNATIONAL CHIEF
NOMINATED FOR AMERICA’S MOST WANTED ALL STAR RECOGNITION
March 4, 2008

Gene Saunders, founder and CEO for Project Lifesaver International and Chief for the Virginia 43rd Search and Rescue, has been nominated for the America’s Most Wanted All Star Recognition for his contributions to the community and nation.

Like many others during his career in law enforcement, he faced finding, coordinating, or in some cases discovering the whereabouts of missing persons who were identified to have a wandering condition. Realizing that searches didn’t always end with a positive outcome, he set out to find a means that would not only help to locate the missing faster, but a method that would help to save taxpayers money too.

In 1999, he founded the program known nationally as Project Lifesaver International to help locate citizens identified to have conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Autism and other conditions that could lead them to wander away from the safety of their own home.

People who are enrolled in the Project Lifesaver Program wear a personalized wristband that emits a tracking signal. When caregivers notify the local Project Lifesaver agency that the person is missing, a search and rescue team responds to the wanderer’s area and starts searching with a mobile locater tracking system.

Project Lifesaver is a non-profit (501 (c) (3) organization that assist public safety agencies and other organizations in starting the program, providing training, equipment and grant opportunities, Funding is a result of private and corporate donations and grants. Most important is that all of the funds go back into the program to improve equipment, training and services.

Today his vision has spread nationwide to over 653 public safety agencies in 42 states and into Canada. Thanks to this vision and determination, there are thousands of clients on the program. To date, Project Lifesaver has had 1,659 national searches with a 100% recovery rate and no fatalities. The average find time of a client on this program is less than thirty-minutes.

This program is not only a lifesaver, it gives piece of mind to families facing the challenges of protecting their loved ones who cannot or may no longer have the capability to do so themselves.

Before Project Lifesaver, searches across the country were averaging 9 hours and costing taxpayers approximately $1,500 per hour. Many searches actually took days, with hundreds of responders, resulting in much higher costs and many with tragic endings. One search in Chesapeake in 1979 cost the city $342,000 and was unsuccessful. The basic cost to start this program in an agency is less than $8,000, finding someone alive is priceless.

He is a retiree of the Chesapeake Police Department (Police Captain) where he received numerous awards and recognition for his outstanding work and remains the Chief of the Virginia 43rd Search and Rescue that is a part of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office.

Please visit www.amw.com and go to the All Star icon on the left where you may cast your vote for the hero of your choice. Or put in the name Gene Saunders; if you wish to recognize his dedication for a lifetime of helping others.

THERE IS HELP FOR THOSE IN NEED

In Need Of Home Repairs?

The City of Virginia Beach Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation offers assistance to income qualified owner-occupants with repairs to their home. Funds are available to residents of Virginia Beach whose household’s total gross annual income does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the area median income, adjusted for family size, as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Funds are provided in the form of a no-interest deferred loan, to be secured by a Deed of Trust for the cost of the repairs. No payments are made as long as the property remains owner-occupied by the applicant, and no interest is accumulating because no interest is being charged. Funds get paid back to the City of Virginia Beach at the time of the owner(s) death, or upon the owner(s) vacating, selling or transferring the deeded property (property must remain the primary residence of the applicants).
Eligible repairs include the correction of all code violations, energy improvements (i.e. new roof, windows & doors, and heating and cooling system), vinyl siding, and if there is a disabled person in the household, handicapped accessible improvements.
For more information about this home repair program, please call the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation at 385-5750.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands is a program sponsored by Virginia Beach Clean Community Commission that provides one time assistance to residents who are elderly or disabled and of modest financial means. The project is soliciting nominations for consideration for this summer's session. Projects are completed by volunteers and use donated materials to clean up exteriors of properties. The projects are also an excellent opportunity for civic leagues to participate in an event to help a neighbor. For more information or to obtain a nomination form, check out the web site at www.vbgov.com/vbclean or by calling 385.4104.