Submitted by: Tammy DeWitt Le

48,000 Central Texas neighbors look to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas as their hunger safety net. 20,000 of those in need are children.   Many children in low-income families do not receive well-balanced evening meals because their caregivers work late hours or cannot afford nutritious food. Hunger is hurting our economy, our future, our health, our opportunities and our national security.

The Capital Area Food Bank nourishes hungry Central Texans by providing food and grocery products to more than 21 Central Texas counties. It reaches 300,000 clients each year through a network of 300 agencies.  In fiscal year 2010-11, Central Texas Food Rescue brought in 6.2 million pounds of food.

We have several opportunities to support area food banks in our community.  Let’s show our neighbors in need how generous Wells Branch can be!

• Horizon Realty is sponsoring a food drive during the month of November.  You may drop off your non-perishable food donation at the Wells Branch Recreation Center located at 3000 Shoreline Drive or at Northwest Elementary School located at 14014 Thermal Dr. (just off Wells Branch Pkwy). Donations will be accepted through Mon, Dec. 3^rd.
• The Pflugerville Fire Dept. Annual Food Drive will run through Dec. 15^th.  It will support local Pflugerville Food Banks.  Drop your donations off at ESD No. 2 Fire Station 2 on the corner of Shoreline Drive and Bratton Lane.  Monetary donations can be taken or mailed to 203 E. Pecan St., Pflugerville, TX 78660.
• The Wells Branch Community Library is also collecting donations through their own food drive beginning Dec. 1^st and continuing through Dec. 31^st; the library is located at 15001 Wells Port.  Check their website for hours: www.wblibrary.org.

What should I donate?

• healthy, non-perishable food
• items with intact, un-opened, consumer or commercial packaging
• items with non-breakable packaging (no glass, please)
• items that are not past their expiration date

What are the most-requested items?

• canned meats like tuna, stew and chili (pop-tops preferred)
• canned vegetables
• pasta & pasta sauce
• beans
• healthy cereals
• peanut butter

For questions, contact Tammy DeWitt Le (Horizon) at (512) 773-3214, Lt. Tim Wallace (ESD No.2) at 251-2801, or Donita Ward (WB Library) at (512) 989-3188.

Thank you for your support!

BROWN SANTA is a community service program of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, and the many sponsors and volunteers (like you) who make it happen each year.

Brown Santa started in 1981 with a few deputies helping about 25 families in the unincorporated areas of Travis County.  Brown Santa helped 1957 families in the 2011 season for a total of 19,219 men, women and children and expects to do the same for the 2012 season.

Help celebrate the joy of Christmas by donating or volunteering; browse their website for more information and donation suggestions by age and gender at www.brownsanta.org.  You can also call 24-SANTA  (247-2682), or email the volunteer coordinator at  volunteer@brownsanta.org.

Donation barrels will be available at the Wells Branch Recreation Center on Shoreline beginning November 17 for the Thanksgiving Potluck thru December 12.  Delivery will be before Luminary  Fest this year so make sure you get your donations in before then! Please share if you can to help make a special Christmas morning for each child.

The new location for 2012 Brown Santa is:   12317 Technology Blvd. Ste. 300 Austin, TX. 78729 at the corner of Technology and Mc Neil.

The WBNA would like to thank the WB MUD for a wonderful Thanksgiving Potluck again this year. They had a record turnout – over 300! Thank you to all of the neighbors who came out for this event!

Thank you MUD Directors: Chuck Walters, Donna Howe, Tom Cheshire, Janet Maxey and Bob Bauhs, MUD Staff: Shirley Ross, Jeanette Smalls, Matt Fuller (who couldn’t

be with us the day of, but planned the event), Chris Donnelly and his wife Leslie, Jennie & Christine who worked so very hard throughout the event serving, keeping the beverages flowing and finally washed EVERY SINGLE DISH (In case you don’t know Jennie & Christine, they’re the ones who physically “make it happen”), and Cande who stayed and cleaned up long after everyone was gone. Also, special thanks to Calvary Worship Center for the invitations they printed and passed out at Trunk or Treat and for the time they spent setting up and cleaning up alongside Wells Branch Community Church, and Ben Dion, who ran out for chicken nuggets when they ran low on turkey & ham. And, last but not least, Chris Carby from Branch BBQ who always takes such good care of WB!

All of us together help make Wells Branch what it is – a GREAT place to live! Thank you to each and every one of you!

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Debby Thompson

President, WBNA

By Michele Samuelson

This long election season has finally come to an end, and the votes have been counted.  Wells Branch made its voice heard and turned out a significant number of voters.  Turnout for the 2012 election was comparable to countywide and statewide totals, though for the most part, turnout here was equal to what it was in 2008.

Information was only available for the four Travis County precincts included in Wells Branch.  Because only a portion of Williamson County precinct 138 is in Wells Branch, specific turnout data was unavailable at press time.

The Travis County portion of Wells Branch consists of precincts 215, 216, 225, and 229.  The total number of registered voters in those precincts is 10,572.  The total number of ballots cast was 6070.  This means approximately 57% of registered voters in Wells Branch turned out to vote, either during early voting or on election day.

Looking at votes cast down ballot, however, a disturbing trend emerges.  Depending on the race, less than half of voters cast votes in non-partisan races such as MUD board director, Round Rock ISD trustee, and Austin Community College trustee.  This held true in all four Travis County precincts, and the lowest number of votes cast happened in the ACC races.   As an example:  Precinct 229 cast 1367 total votes this year in the presidential race, but only 403 in the race for ACC Trustee Place 9, 434 in Round Rock ISD Place 7, and 1008 in the WBMUD Director Place 4 race.  The drop-off is typical down-ballot, but is disheartening, as the lower a race is down the ballot, the more effect that position has on our day-to-day lives.

Increasing voter turnout is a crucial civic duty for our neighborhood.  We have learned that one way to have our needs addressed by our local elected officials is to show them that we are engaged, and the easiest way is by voting.  The WBNA works to inform voters of their choices in a non-partisan manner, and we encourage new ideas and your participation informing our neighbors, registering voters, and reminding each other to vote.

By Jeff Navarro, WBSA President

We are in full swing of yet another great season of soccer in Wells Branch!

• We have 3 teams that have moved up to the Division I level, the highest level for youth soccer!  This includes the Under 16 Boys Cougars team, the and the Under 11 and Under 12 WBSA-OWS Boys teams.  All three teams are competing well with the top teams in the South Texas area!  Congrats to these teams and their coaches!
• Continue reading Wells Branch Soccer Association Fall Update →

from Dianna Alsup Gielstra [dlalsup@yahoo.com]

Greetings everyone,

In light of recent postings, I wanted to send a friendly reminder regarding “Netiquette.” I use this information when I teach online in my classroom, and it has helped immensely in keeping the points on topic while being respectful to all individuals. I ask that you keep an open mind during the time spent in the our neighborhood forum when responding to myself and others. I suggest if you feel strongly about a topic, write your email, but do not send it immediately. Walk away and take another peek later to make sure that you are keeping an open mind and are responding in a respectful tone. Below is a reminder on how we can stay respectful of one another while communicating in this online environment.

Netiquette

Just as society has rules of conduct governing interactions in the face-to-face environment, the virtual community also has rules of conduct for electronic interactions. The term netiquette is used to refer to online etiquette. Recommendations include the following:

• Continue reading Netiquette for our Listserve →

by Barbara Romero

Bear had hip surgery. He didn’t follow the vet’s orders and overdid himself even though he comes from a vet’s family. Bear loves his walks and checking out the ‘hood so Tim and Laura, whom Bear owns, put him in his wagon and get him around this way. Bear is practicing his wave but since it needs a little more work, his tail is doing a great job.

I checked with Jim Hare of IESI (recycling provider) today and he confirmed that YES, we CAN recycle the corrugated plastic campaign signs but the metal frames must go in the trash.

Wells Branch MUD receives a $20 rebate for every ton of recycling.  Those funds are dedicated to purchasing trees for our park system.  Please recycle!