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Friday, February 29, 2008
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Primary Election early voting ends today at Municipal Annex
Early voting for the March 4 Primary Election ends at 7 p.m. today at the Lewisville Municipal Annex, 1197 W. Main Street.
Voters in Texas are not required to declare a party when they register to vote and thus may vote in either the Democrat or Republican primary, but can only vote in one of the primaries. When a voter casts a ballot in one party’s primary, they are affiliated with that party for the next two years and cannot vote in primary or run-off elections for any other party during that time. This does not affect a voter's ability to vote for candidates of either party in a general or a special election.
Lewisville residents may vote early at any of the Denton County voting locations, but on March 4 voters must cast ballots at their precinct-specific voting location. Election Day voting hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters can find their voting location on Election Day by calling 940.320.VOTE. Voters who do not know their precinct number can call 940.349.3200 or visit http://elections.dentoncounty.com.
Media contact: City Secretary Julie Heinze, 972.219.3404
Denton County Transportation Authority to hold public meetings
Denton County Transportation Authority will hold two public meetings in March, including one at the Lewisville Municipal Annex on March 4, to receive public comment on the DCTA transportation programs and plans.
“We have some great projects under way as we continue to improve transportation options for Denton County residents,” said DCTA President John Hedrick. “We want to make sure people have an opportunity to get information about the projects and ask questions.”
Among the projects to be discussed are a park-and-ride facility on Hebron Parkway, the Downtown Denton intermodal facility, and a bus operations and maintenance facility. The DCTA also will provide an update on the RailDCTA Project, the planned passenger rail service from Denton to Carrollton.
Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. Anyone who needs hearing or sight interpretive services is asked to contact the DCTA at 972.221.4600 or info@dcta.net.
Meeting dates, times and locations are:
- Monday, March 3, 6:30 p.m.
Martin Luther King Recreation Center
1300 Wilson Street, Denton
Connect Route 2
Tuesday, March 4, 6:30 p.m.
Municipal Annex / Glenmore Savage Community Room
Municipal Annex Building
1197 West Main Street, Lewisville
Connect Routes 20 and 21
More information about the DCTA is available at www.dcta.net.
Media contact: Dee Leggett, Communications & Marketing Manager, 972.221.4600
City launches new CodeRED emergency notification system
Residents and business operators are being encouraged to register for the city’s new CodeRED Emergency Notification System, which will generate automated phone calls in the event of emergencies such as crime alerts, missing persons, boil-water notices or public evacuations.
The system would be activated by city personnel in the event of an emergency requiring public involvement, and would deliver a pre-recorded message describing the emergency and actions that need to be taken. Such urgent notifications would include water main breaks, large electric utility outages, time-sensitive public health alerts, hazardous chemical spills, emergency evacuation alerts and more. The system is capable of dialing every household and business in Lewisville in less than an hour, and can reach the entire city or be targeted to specific areas within the city.
“If your phone number is not in the system, you will not be called,” said Emergency Management Coordinator Summer Wilhelm, adding that the system will only be as effective as its telephone data base.
To ensure that they are included in the CodeRED call list, residents and business operators should register their preferred phone number by visiting the city website, www.cityoflewisville.com. This is especially important for people whose home number is unlisted or who would prefer to receive emergency notification calls on a mobile or work phone. All information used for registration will be used only for the CodeRED system and will remain confidential.
For more information, please visit www.cityoflewisville or call 972.219.5012.
Media contact: Emergency Management Coordinator Summer Wilhelm, 972.219.5012
Lewisville Fire Department encourages severe weather awareness, preparation
April showers are known to bring May flowers, but in North Central Texas those same showers can bring severe weather in the form of thunderstorms, hail, strong winds, tornadoes and flash floods. The Lewisville Fire Department, as a participant in the regional KnoWhat2Do program, encourages residents to be aware of severe weather and make preparation sin advance to protect their own safety.
The KnoWhat2Do disaster preparedness program, developed through a collaboration of multiple North Central Texas cities and fire departments, is designed to increase severe weather awareness among the millions of people living in the region. It promotes three simple steps – Think. Prepare. Act. – and offers strategies for such things as avoiding flooded roads and staging home evacuation drills.
At the program’s website, www.KnoWhat2Do.com, visitors also can find shelter information, cleanup resources and emergency kit checklists. A bilingual preparedness guide gives important facts and tips that all families are encouraged to learn. Visitors also can review a wide range of severe weather scenarios and find solutions that work best for their own circumstance and location.
For more information, please visit www.KnoWhat2Do.com or call 972.219.5012.
Media contact: Emergency Management Coordinator Summer Wilhelm, 972.219.5012
Police to participate in statewide DWI enforcement program
Lewisville Police Department has received a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation to conduct increased DWI enforcement March 6-23. This statewide initiative is intended to reduce drunken driving by increasing public awareness of the problem and by taking drunken drivers off the road. Additional patrols will be conducted throughout the grant period, with a special emphasis on times and locations that previously have had a high incidence of DWI offense.
Media contact: Police Sgt. Paul Barron, 972.219.3606
Funny Bunny Festival returns on March 8
The city’s 21st annual Funny Bunny Festival will be held Saturday, March 8, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Memorial Park Recreation Center, 1950 S. Valley Parkway. Admission is $1 per person, free for children under age 3. Activities will include Easter Bunny visits, carnival games, face-painting and more.
Egg hunts will be held throughout the morning. Children ages 3 and under will be able to hunt in groups of 50 at 8:45, 9:05 and 9:25 inside the center. Older children will stage hunts on the back lawn according to the following schedule:
· 9:45 a.m., ages 4-5
· 10 a.m., ages 6-7
· 10:15 a.m., ages 8-10
The Lewisville Rotary Club will serve a pancake breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. inside the Senior Activities Center; donations will be accepted. Souvenir pictures will also be provided at a minimal cost. For more information, please call 972.219.5061.
Media contact: Recreation Specialist Monica Winters, 972.219.5061
“Peter and the Wolf” set for annual Family Popcorn Concert
Lewisville Lake Symphony and LakeCities Ballet will present their annual Family Popcorn Concert performance of “Peter and the Wolf” on Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m. at Memorial Park Recreation Center, 1950B S. Valley Parkway.
At this family-oriented event, children have the best seats with space on padded mats directly in front of the stage, while adults are welcome to use bleachers a little farther back. Regardless of the seating, popcorn is on the house.
Channel 4 helicopter traffic reporter Chip Waggoner will narrate this popular performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s cunning tale that uses music and dance to describer how Peter and his friends outwit the dangerous wolf. Adron Ming will conduct the orchestra, and Kelly Lannin will direct the dancers. After the concert, the symphony will hold an “instrument petting zoo” as a hands-on music workshop for children.
“Prokofiev took his two sons to the Moscow Children’s Music Theatre to learn about music,” Ming said. “They were bored and fidgety so he decided to write a light-hearted piece that would introduce children to the instruments and sounds of the orchestra. The result was ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and it has been a genuine favorite of kids and grownups ever since.”
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, or $25 for a family of any size. For advance purchases, visit www.lewisvillesymphony.org or call 972.874.9087.
The Lewisville Lake Symphony is one of Texas’ most respected, all-professional regional orchestras. For information, call 972.874.9087 or visit www.lewisvillesymphony.org. The symphony and LakeCities Ballet are among six local groups receiving funding from the Greater Lewisville Arts Council through the City of Lewisville grant program designed to foster cultural and fine arts in the community.
Media note: Digital photos available on request
Media contact: Marketing Chairman Ian Cleghorn, 817.490.0720
LLELA schedules Spring Bird Walk for March 8
Birders of all types are invited to welcome their feathered friends to Lewisville for spring and summer stays during a series of monthly Spring Bird Walks to be held at Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA).
Hundreds of bird species make LLELA their permanent or migratory home. Master birder Keith Lockhart will guide visitors to some of the best viewing spots, many of them not normally available to the public. Each monthly walk starts at 7:30 a.m. Walks are scheduled for March 8, April 12, May 10 and June 7.
Birders of all skill levels are welcome, ages 10 and up. There is a $2 program fee for the bird walk, in addition to the regular $3 per person gate fee to enter the preserve. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 972.219.7980.
The Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area is 2,000-acre wilderness of prairies, forests and wetlands managed as a wildlife preserve by a group of agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the University of North Texas, the City of Lewisville, Lewisville ISD and Texas A & M University. Its mission is to preserve and restore native ecosystems and to provide and promote environmental education and scientific research.
LLELA is open to the public every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for fishing, hiking, camping, bird watching, kayaking/canoeing, picnicking and other outdoor activities. For information, visit www.ias.unt.edu/llela or call 972.219.3930.
Media contact: LLELA Publicist Lisa Cole, 972.219.3930
Visual Art League offers free oil painting workshop
Artist Carmen Menza will present a free workshop and demonstration on oil painting at the month Visual Art League meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at the VAL Gallery, 701 S. Stemmons Freeway.
Menza places greater emphasis on visual sensation than realism in works featuring bold, rich colors and texture. Her goal is to use color and texture to shape something emotional on canvas. She shows her work in group and solo exhibitions and her pieces are held in private collections throughout the North Texas area and beyond.
The gallery is located in the Lewisville West Shopping Center, on the west side of Interstate 35E between Main Street and Fox Avenue. Gallery hours are 2 to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. VAL meets the first Tuesday of each month for a free presentation by a guest speaker.
Visual Arts League (VAL) is one of six local groups receiving funding from the Greater Lewisville Arts Council through the City of Lewisville grant program designed to foster cultural and fine arts in the community.
For more information, call 972.420.9393 or visit www.visualartleague.org.
Media contact: VAL Publicity Chairwoman R’Lene Winters, 972.874.3919
Citizen’s Fire Academy accepting applications
The Lewisville Citizen’s Fire Academy, the closest civilians can come to being a firefighter short of joining the department, is accepting applications for its 2008 class. The free 13-week program begins March 12 and will include instruction and training experiences in the classroom and in the field, culminating in attendance at a live burn conducted by Lewisville firefighters.
The academy, which is open to Lewisville residents age 21 and older, is designed for people who have a genuine interest in fire department operations and fire and life safety awareness. Classes meet every Wednesday night from 7 to 9 p.m., and on two Saturdays. All sessions are taught by fire department personnel.
For information on the Citizen’s Fire Academy, please call Division Chief Steve Carter at 972.219.3739.
Media contact: Division Chief Steve Carter, 972.219.3739
FLW to bring Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League to Lewisville Lake
FLW Outdoors will return to Lewisville Lake on March 8 to hold a one-day qualifying tournament in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League series. Up to 400 anglers will split a total prize purse of $45,000 in the event.
The Lewisville tournament will be the second of four one-day qualifiers held in the Texas-based “Cowboy Division” of the BFL, the nation’s most affordable, close-to-home weekend tournament circuit for bass anglers. The top 40 boaters and top 40 co-anglers in the division will qualify for a Regional Championship set for October on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, where the top six finishers in each field will advance to the $1 million no-entry-fee 2009 All-American championship presented by Chevy.
“Our company was founded on providing affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments for bass anglers,” said Charlie Evans, president and CEO of FLW Outdoors. “These anglers are the heart and soul of FLW Outdoors, and we take great pride in providing them with the best possible tournament options.”
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit www.FLWOutdoors.com or call 270.252.1000.
Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League – Cowboy Division
Feb. 16 Lake Whitney Lovers Bend Park, Hillsboro
March 8 Lewisville Lake Lewisville Lake Park, Lewisville
March 29 Lake Palestine Villages Marina, Flint
April 26 Richland Chambers Oak Cove Marina, Corsicana
Sept. 20-21 Lake Texoma Highport Marina, Denison
Oct. 23-25 Lake Ouachita Mountain Harbor Marina, Mount Ida, AR
Media contact: Parks & Leisure Services Director Bob Monaghan, 972.219.3552
LISD Community Garage Sale set for May 3
Space is now available for the annual Community Garage Sale to be held Saturday, May 3, and sponsored by the Lewisville ISD Community Ed Advisory Council. The sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the north parking lot of Lewisville High School, 1098 W. Main Street. In the event of rain, the sale will be rescheduled for Saturday, May 24.
Vendor space is available to all PTAs, booster clubs, youth groups, businesses and individuals. Cost is $20 for non-profits, $35 for individuals and businesses, and includes an 18-by-20 space but no tables or tenting. Spots are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, please call Andrea Rincon at 972.219.5026.
Media contact: Andrea Rincon, 972.219.5026
