December 2015 Vuecrest

Winter has arrived and though we may be safe and warm inside, let's not

December 2015 Vuecrest View Newsletter Vuecrest Officers for 2016 Jonathan Kagle has been elected President Marc Lapsley has been elected Vice President Eric Passmore has been appointed Treasurer Nyla Wang has been appointed Secretary. Call for Meeting Hosts, Again! We snagged a volunteer from our announcement last month, but we will need more! The Vuecrest Board members are really nice folks and this is an opportunity to see your neighborhood leaders in action. Meetings are always the first Thursday of every month beginning at 7 pm and lasting 2 - 3 hours.no need to feed them, they come after dinner. If you would like to sign on or receive more information, contact secretary@vuecrest.net <mailto:secretary@vuecrest.net> . Bellevue Police Department Sector Captain Program Captain Carl Kleinknecht, ckleinknecht@bellevuewa.gov <mailto:ckleinknecht@bellevuewa.gov> , is the captain for Northwest Bellevue which includes Vuecrest. This is a new program designed to bring trust as well as a personalized and direct link from citizens to law enforcement. Captain Kleinknecht is willing to attend neighborhood meetings and events. The goals are to: "1) Reduce crime; 2) Reduce the fear of crime; and 3) Enhance the quality of life for those who call Bellevue their home." Let's not hesitate to take advantage of this wonderful resource. Board of Directors Meeting for January 7, 2016 The meeting will be at 7 pm at the home of David and Mara Pitkethly. 9821 Hilltop Road. All are welcome to join us. T'is the Season . for Stolen Packages Vandals tend to follow UPS/Fed Ex/US Mail trucks and swipe your treasures before they have a chance to nestle under your tree. There are precautions you can take to foil the bandits: 1) Request senders to require a signature on delivery and insure packages. Do the same for packages that you send. 2) If you have tracking numbers you can go online and anticipate delivery times so that you will be at home. The delivery address can be changed to a safe location, such as an office or neighbor. You may also be able to go online and change delivery time/date. 3) Ask a neighbor to keep an eye out for you and perhaps collect your package if they will be home before you. 4) File a police report if you know a package was stolen. Critter Alert! There have been coyote sightings in our neighborhood. Keep your kitty cats and other small animals protected.either in your house or an enclosed yard. Lost and Found A wallet, probably belonging to a teenager, was found and turned in to our President, Jonathan Kagle. It is made of colorful cloth and on the front is a patch with lettering. Identify the color and the letters and you can have it back! New Property Management The board is always looking for better ways to serve our community. Over the past few years we have used a property management company to manage our business affairs. We found large property management companies were not a good fit for our community. They had frequent staff changes and were often slow to respond. The board decided not to use a property management company, and instead utilize the wide variety of free online services to manage our accounts and documents. We are always eager to hear from the community. Please email any questions or feedback to <mailto:treasurer@vuecrest.net> treasurer@vuecrest.net. Tid-bits Winter has arrived and though we may be safe and warm inside, let's not forget our feathered friends who rely on us for their daily fare. In the first several days of setting up our bird feeder we have already been visited by yellow crown sparrows, those ubiquitous blue jays and chickadees as well as several spotted towhees. They seem to understand the "sharing" process quite well, as several wait patiently in the bushes nearby for the one on the feeder to secure his mouthful, before the next one in line will have his turn. Good lesson for all of us! Shop Amazon and make a donation to the Bellevue Schools at NO cost to you!!!! Make your purchases on Amazon and 8% of your purchase will be automatically forwarded to The Bellevue School Foundation. What does this foundation do? They bridge the gap between basic state funding and all the "extra's" that make our school district terrific! (Think: training for teachers, curriculum materials etc. Read more on their website!) Ready to shop? Just access thru the portal: www.bellevueschoolsfoundation.org <http://www.bellevueschoolsfoundation.org> , and you'll see an Amazon.com link with a "shop now" button. Click and you instantly become a donor! (Now, how easy was that??!) Christmas is on a Friday, so that means our garbage/recycle pick up will be one day later, on Saturday. Same holds true for New Year's Day. Don't forget about Snowflake Lane! Yes, we hear it thru our windows but why not rekindle the holiday magic of your youth and walk on down and see the show! It starts every evening at 7 P.M. and will continue until Christmas Eve (after which it turns into Celebration Lane from Dec. 26-31). And while you're out and about, visit the newly iced skating rink in the Downtown Park. LOTS of specials are offered: Free skate on Monday, Free lesson on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and stroller skates on Thursdays. Visit www.BellevueDowntown.com <http://www.BellevueDowntown.com> for details or call: 425-453-1223. What??? You want MORE FUN???! Garden d'Lights at our own Bellevue Botanical Garden is open nightly from 4:30 -9 PM and features thousands of lights that transform the garden. Let the gentle wafting of classical music fill your senses as you stroll this winter wonderland. All for a mere $5 and kids under 10 free. But wait! There's more! Enjoy The Nutcracker performance by the International Ballet Theater group on Dec. 11-13 & 18-23 (www.brownpapertickets.com <http://www.brownpapertickets.com> ) at the Meydenbauer Theater. Not to be forgotten: Magical Strings, A Celtic Yuletide on Monday, December 14 (You'll see me there!) Wishing all Vuecresters great joy during these holidays as well as good health and happiness in the coming year. And so say we all!