October 25, 2014

Halloween Safety Tips

Here are some Halloween safety tips passed along by our Fort Worth Fire Department (click on the image to view larger):


Have a safe and fun Halloween!

An Invitation to Help Shape the Future of our City Parks

The following is an invitation from Richard Zavala, Director of the City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department:

The City of Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department is in the process of preparing the 2015 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan.  The Plan will serve as a guide for the planning and development of the Fort Worth park system for the next five to ten years.  Moreover, the Plan will provide strategic direction to ensure that the existing park system is preserved and protected and the future park system is effectively planned and efficiently developed.  Most importantly, the Master Plan enables the Parks and Community Services Department to set priorities in a holistic, proactive and prudent manner to ensure the sustainability of City's present and future park system.

The City of Fort Worth has experienced tremendous growth since the current 2004 Master Plan was adopted, and it is important that the 2015 Master Plan reflect the needs and interests of the city's diverse and growing population in order to serve our citizens in the coming years.

You are invited to attend a city-wide public meeting on Saturday, November 1, 2014.  The meeting will be held in the Lecture Hall at the Deborah Moncrief Garden Center at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.  The purpose of the meeting is to inform the public and gain input to assist in the development the 2015 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan.  View the letter from Director Zavala at this link.

If you cannot attend this event, please visit: http://fortworthtexas.gov/pacs/masterplans/, where you can provide input and complete a short questionnaire.  For more information about the meeting or to speak to someone about the Master Plan process, please contact Joel McElhany, Capital Projects/Infrastructure Manager at (817) 392-5745.

Public Meeting on the 2015 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan
Saturday, November 1, 10am
Lecture Hall at the Deborah Moncrief Garden Center, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard

October 22, 2014

Reminders: ONA Meeting, Halloweenie Roast

ONA Fall General Membership Meeting
Thursday, October 23, 7pm
Calvary Christian Academy

Join us tomorrow night (10/23) for ONA's fall general membership meeting!

Mary Gugliuzza of the City of Fort Worth Water Department will present a program on the growing importance of water, the need to conserve, and what the future holds for our water needs

Please bring your favorite fall goodies to share with everyone at the Fall Social after the meeting!


Annual ONA Halloweenie Roast and Costume Contest
Saturday, October 25, 2-4pm
Oakhurst Park

Bring the kids and your dogs to this annual extravaganza—costume contest, games, hot dogs, and a LOT of fun for the whole family!!

If you want to volunteer or can drop off candy, hot dogs, buns and juice boxes, please call event coordinator Glenda Shelton at 817.975.4643 or e-mail her at glendahartsell@att.net.

See you Saturday!!

October 12, 2014

ONA's Online Home

A Fresh Start
In the fall of 2012, I volunteered to overhaul our Oakhurst Neighborhood Association website, www.oakhurstfw.org. The old site contained valuable content, but it was built on an old platform, and it was beginning to show its age. Using Google Blogger, I created the website you see today. Blogger is entirely free and enables many rich features to make the site more interactive. And with some help from Libby Willis, I was able to migrate all of our old site's content onto the new one.

We're Getting Noticed!
The new site has been popular. Here are some statistics that might surprise you (as of today):
  • Our site has had nearly 20,000 page views since we went online;
  • There were 1,189 page views last month;
  • With 1,140 visits, our most popular page is the Gallery of Homes;
  • With 218 visits, our most popular post was Amon Carter-Riverside High School: History at a Glance, published on 1/6/13;
  • We have published 120 posts to date, including this one;
  • Most visitors (81%) are here in the U.S.; the second most popular location is Germany (3%);
  • Most visitors use Windows PCs (60%) and Internet Explorer (32%);
  • But 12% of them access our site from an iPhone;
  • More users find our site through Google than through all other sources combined; and
  • The most popular search phrase is "Oakhurst Neighborhood Fort Worth".
How to Use Our Website
As mentioned above, our new ONA website offers some features that make it easier for you to keep up with the latest news and events. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of it:
  • On the homepage, you will find Follow ONA on Twitter and Follow ONA by Email at the bottom left. If you connect your Twitter account or submit your email address, you’ll be notified when we publish new posts to the site.
  • You will also notice a scrolling bar listing current events near the top of the homepage. Click anywhere on that scrolling text to jump to our Current Events page for more details.
  • The Search bar on the left side of all pages will quickly find any keywords anywhere on the site.
  • You can share any post on any page via Gmail, Facebook, Pinterest, and more using the small buttons found at the bottom of each post.
  • The Visit Oakhurst page features an interactive Google Map that makes it easy for you to direct visitors to our neighborhood.
  • Contact information for city departments, elected officials, schools, and much more is found on the City Services and Links of Interest pages.
  • You can join ONA or renew your membership on the Join ONA page, including making any optional contributions to various committees. Transactions are handled securely through PayPal.
  • The Contact Us page contains a web form that will directly notify me of any requests. Please feel free to submit any of your neighborhood questions or website feedback using that form, and I will forward to the appropriate officers for assistance.
Thank you for visiting our website, and happy browsing!
Aaron Vorwerk
ONA Webmaster, Morning Glory Ave Street Representative

October 9, 2014

October Oak Leaflet Now Online!

Check out this month's issue of The Oak Leaflet online!  This issue includes details on our upcoming ONA Fall General Membership meeting, Police & Firefighter Appreciation Dinner, and other October events; our neighbor Sally Browning's EcoScape award; Kathryn's President's Column; and more.


Visit our Newsletter Archive to view or download your copy.

October 8, 2014

City of Fort Worth Storm Pickup

The City is making collection of tree and yard debris a priority after damage caused by an Oct. 2 storm.  For the next three weeks, the city will not charge extra to collect large piles of tree limbs felled during the storm.  Limbs should be cut to no more than eight feet long and four inches in diameter and placed at the curb for pickup on residents' normal collection days and/or bulk collection week.

Residents with limbs stacked larger than 10 cubic yards (roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle car), are asked to notify the call center at 817.392.1234.  This will allow the city to identify collection needs and assign additional equipment if needed.

As always, keep tree and yard waste separate from other bulky trash so that yard trimmings can be chipped into mulch and re-used.

To learn more, visit http://fortworthtexas.gov/solidwaste/yardtrimmings.  Please share with your neighbors, friends and family members.

Madelyn Gibbs
Neighborhood Education Coordinator
City Manager’s Office
818 Missouri
817.392.8890
madelyn.gibbs@fortworthtexas.gov

October 2, 2014

City of Fort Worth Statement on Ebola Virus Situation

The City of Fort Worth’s Office of Emergency Management is monitoring the situation that has recently been reported concerning the first human case of ebola virus disease in Dallas County. The Tarrant County Public Health Department is taking the lead locally in this case.

"We are closely monitoring the Ebola case in Dallas. There are no cases or known contacts in Tarrant County at this time," said TCPH Health Director Vinny Taneja. "We feel confident that residents in our community are safe."

"Our team will continue to seek out the most updated information so we can to ensure the health and safety of everyone in Tarrant County. We intend to relay that information to the public through our website at www.tarrantcounty.com," Taneja said. "We are prepared for any changes in the situation." TCPH has compiled a bulletin of useful information on ebola. You can find more information HERE.

Madelyn Gibbs
Neighborhood Education Coordinator
City Manager’s Office
818 Missouri
817-392-8890
madelyn.gibbs@fortworthtexas.gov