Friday, April 19, 2024

APEX Arts League Presents “The Four Elements” Chamber Music Concert

APEX Arts League, a volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to actively advancing the arts, artists and arts education in the apex of the Dallas /Fort Worth Metroplex, is proud to announce its chamber music concert titled ‘The Four Elements’ as the first performance to introduce the APEX Chamber Series. Comprising esteemed musicians from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Opera, Les Autres will perform the music of some of chamber music’s greatest pioneers including Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. A special arrangement of a known theme by John Williams will conclude the concert.

APEX presents smallIn recognizing that that evolution of live classical musical has been increasingly predicated on the grand concert hall experience, the APEX Chamber Series invites its patrons and their guests to learn and explore the detailed nuances, color and vibrancy of the chamber music art form in more informal venues. This inaugural concert, which APEX plans as the first of many, will take place on Sunday September 25th at 630pm, in the luminous but intimate setting of Grace Chapel at White’s Chapel UMC in Southlake. Refreshments will follow the concert. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Adults – $15; Seniors, Students & Apex Members – $10.

Learn more about APEX Arts League: http://apex-arts.org/

Measures to Maintain Water Quality Underway

You may have noticed the flushing of fire hydrants across the City over the last several weeks and wondered to yourself “what’s going on?”or “why is the City doing that?” In short, the purpose of the flushing is to maintain the quality of water during the winter months or periods of low consumption by ensuring that the water doesn’t stagnate or collect potentially harmful elements.

We aren’t alone in doing this. The City of Fort Worth recently sent out information regarding the flushing of their system as a preventative measure to maintain drinking water quality. In addition, a number of their 29 water customer cities (of which Southlake is one) are undertaking similar measures.

All in all, it’s a necessary practice to ensure the integrity of the City’s drinking water and, because of that, the City will continue to flush the hydrants as needed.

For questions and comments, please contact the Public Works Department Water Division at 817-748-8079 or utilize the Public Works “Contact the Director” form located here.

 

 

Emerald Belles Earn Top Prizes in National Dance Championship

EbellesThe Emerald Belles competed at MA Nationals March 20-21 at the Fort Worth Convention Center and were awarded 6th place overall. The Belles entered in three dance categories and won 1st place in High Kick, 1st place in Lyrical, and 2nd place in Jazz.

The Officers were awarded 1st place in Jazz, 1st place in Contemporary, and 1st place in Lyrical. They were named in Officer Winner’s Circle for being in the top 5 highest scoring officer groups.Ebelles(4)

Several Belles competed in solos, duets, and ensembles. In the 11/12 Solo Division Addie Perkins won 6th place, Laurel Kavanagh 13th place, and Jessica Bowman 14th place. In the 9/10 Solo Division Erica Darrah placed 9th.

Claire Berutti and Peyton Faltys entered a duet and were awarded 5th place. Shivani Chandra, Lauren Dooley, Lauren Teeuws, Ryleigh Malloy, Catherine Brannon, Madisyn Daniel, Claire McCoy, Bethany Sauls, Kelly Alspaw, and Ashley Greene entered a high kick routine in the large ensemble division and won 1st place.Ebelles(2)

Congratulations to all the Emerald Belles and to Director Melissa Page and Assistant Director Kathryn Dobrow.

To view several of the award-winning performances, click on a link below:

National Champion Award-Winning Team Kick

National Champion Award-Winning Team Lyrical

National Champion Award-Winning Officer Lyrical

National Champion Award-Winning Officer Contemporary

National Champion Award-Winner Officer JazzEbelles(1)

For more information about the Emerald Belles, click here. To read more about MA Dance and the competitions offered, visit their website.

Twice-A-Week Landscape Watering is Now Permanent in Southlake

lawn-sprinklerOn April 15, 2014 the Southlake City Council voted to approve the 2014 Water Conservation Plan, which makes twice per week landscape watering permanent in Southlake.

State law requires that cities larger than 3,300 adopt a Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan and submit them to the Texas Water Development Board every five years. At the request of the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD), the City of Fort Worth has added a maximum of twice per week landscape watering to their water conservation plan and requires wholesale customer cities, including Southlake, to adopt the same measures.

Public Works Director Bob Price notes, “Chapter 288 of the Texas Administrative Code requires that as a wholesale water customer of the City of Fort Worth we share the conservation measures imposed by their plan and that our plan meets or exceeds the measures of their plan.”

Under the 2014 Water Conservation Plan, residential addresses ending in an even number (0, 2, 4, 6, or 8) can water on Wednesdays and Saturdays, residential addresses ending in an odd number (1, 3, 5, 7, or 9) can water on Thursdays and Sundays. Non-residential locations such as apartment complexes, businesses and parks may water on Tuesdays and Fridays. No watering is permitted on Mondays.

Other measures under the 2014 Water Conservation Plan prohibit the following:

  • Allowing substantial amounts of water to fall on impervious areas instead of landscape. For example, a constant stream of water overflows from the lawn or landscape onto a street or other drainage area.
  • Operating an irrigation system or watering device during any form of precipitation.

Measures from the 2009 Water Conservation Plan require new irrigation systems have rain and freeze sensors, that they not be operated with broken heads allowing waste, and that they not be operated between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. remain in effect in the 2014 Plan.

Watering by hand-held hose, drip irrigation, tree bubbler, or soaker hose is allowed at any time although residents are encouraged to limit such watering to a maximum of two hours per day.

“Currently, the City remains under Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan, which sets several guidelines for water use when levels fall below a specified threshold,” Price says. “However under the 2014 Water Conservation Plan, even if the lake levels rise from their current level of roughly 70% to full capacity, the twice per week watering will remain in effect.”

The City of Southlake has been under Stage 1 Drought Contingency since June of 2013 and remains under Stage 1 due to continuing drought conditions (see map below).

Measures under Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan include the following:

  • Vehicle washing is limited to the use of hand-held buckets and a hose with a positive shutoff valve. Vehicles may be washed at any time at a carwash.
  • Encouraging no hosing of buildings, windows, or other structures for any purpose other than fire protection.
  • Encouraging no hosing of paved areas, such as sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, etc.
  • Encouraging hotels, restaurants and bars to serve water only upon request.
  • Establishing new turf is discouraged, and a variance is required to do so.

For more details about Southlake’s 2014 Water Conservation Plan, Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan and water restrictions, please visit CityofSouthlake.com/WaterConservation.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

Fort Worth Water Dept: Taste & Odor of Drinking Water Greatly Improved

The taste and odor issues in Fort Worth’s water supply are showing substantial improvement following ozone treatment.

The high geosmin levels in the raw water blend, which were responsible for the earthy taste and odor, have come down substantially since late-January where they peaked at 864 nanograms per liter (ng/L). As of February 10, the raw water blend was 104 ng/L with the level of geosmin in the finished water delivered to customer taps down to 10 ng/L.

As the taste and odor of the water continues to improve, the Fort Worth Water Department offers continued assurance the water has always been safe for drinking, cooking, bathing and all other purposes.

Fort Worth Water Dept: Taste & Odor Issues Persist

The taste and odor issues in Fort Worth’s water supply persist, and the Fort Worth Water Department is doing all it can to try and alleviate the issue. The department has increased the dosing of ozone and has begun blending the water from Lake Benbrook with water from Cedar Creek Lake. Ozone is used to disinfect the drinking water, and it can help with resolving taste and odor issues, but not in all cases.

The naturally-occurring organic compound responsible for the earthy taste and odor is geosmin. Geosmin is produced by bacteria in soil and algae found in surface water. Cold temperatures kill off the algae in surface water, and the dead algae release the geosmin.

This week’s test results unfortunately indicate the geosmin count in Lake Benbrook has almost doubled from two weeks ago. It is now greater than 1,000 nanograms per liter (or parts per trillion). Tarrant Regional Water District indicates this is the highest levels seen in several years.

The Water Department assures customers the water is safe for drinking, cooking, bathing and all other purposes, even though it has an earthy smell and taste.

The issue became noticeable the week of January 6, 2014 when TRWD switched the water supply for the Rolling Hills and Westside water treatment plants to Lake Benbrook because of construction and maintenance on the pipeline from Richland-Chambers Reservoir. That pipeline is scheduled to be out of service through most of February.

Customers may improve the taste of their drinking water by:

·       refrigerating the water in an open container; or

·       adding a slice of lemon or lime.

The wholesale customers that regularly purchase water include Bethesda Water Supply Corp., Burleson, Crowley, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dalworthington Gardens, Edgecliff Village, Everman, Forest Hill, Grand Prairie, Haltom City, Haslet, Hurst, Keller, Kennedale, Lake Worth, Northlake, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills,  Roanoke, Saginaw, Southlake, Trophy Club Municipal Utility District, Westlake, Westover Hills, Westworth Village and White Settlement.

Customers could see water rate increase in February 2014

In September 2013, the Fort Worth City Council voted to approve the retail water rates which take effect January 1, 2014.  This is important to Southlake residents and businesses as Southlake purchases water from the City of Fort Worth.

There are a number of factors that influence the development of a water rate structure, including the cost to purchase raw water.  The City of Fort Worth purchases raw water from the Tarrant Regional Water District which provides water throughout Tarrant County.  Because population growth and water demand have made it necessary to build additional infrastructure to carry the water to local areas, TRWD increased Fort Worth’s cost of raw water by $9.3 million.

Because our systems are connected, when Fort Worth customers experiences a rate increase, Southlake customers will as well.  Southlake customers will see this pass-through increase on the bill they receive in February, 2014, with approximately a 12% increase for the first 40,000 gallons consumed and a 16% increase for consumption in excess of 40,000 gallons.

Please visit the www.CityofSouthlake.com/UtilityBilling webpages for more detailed information and links to the Fort Worth and TRWD sites.

Cowtown Marathon to Include Elementary Team from Carroll ISD

The annual Fort Worth Cowtown Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22 at 9:30 a.m.  The event includes a Cowtown 10K or Kid’s 5K run. Last year, approximately 5,000 students from 80+ schools ran this annual run. Rockenbaugh Elementary Assistant Principal Janet Blackwell and Carroll Elementary P.E. Teacher Tracy Gentry are forming a Carroll team to participate in the Kid’s 5K and the 10K run.  All runners who cross the finish line on race day will be “winners,” having accomplished for themselves improved physical fitness, self-esteem and pride in achievement of their goal. 

Participants will receive a pedometer, a medallion for each student team finisher and a certificate of completion.  All student runners receive a special T-shirt that is appropriate for school wear, post-race refreshments and an invitation to the Cowtown Health and Fitness Expo. 

Please register by going to the following website: https://secure.marathonguide.com/register/cowtownmarathon/schoolteamregistration.cfm? and clicking on your school.  Choose the race for you. All runners must register and pay online.  Runners 17 and under are $15 and/or $18 for runners 18 and over.  Adults MUST register and pay the fee for this race in order to run with their children. All participates must register online by January 17, 2014.  Please note:  ALL registrations received after January 17, 2014 will be entered as an individual at the registration price of $25.

The question always comes up:  What is the difference between the Kid’s 5K and the Adult 5K?   The Adult 5K is geared towards adults that are interested in a timed event.  This race starts at 8:30 AM.  No age division awards will be given for anyone under 18 participating in this race.  The Kid’s 5K, although it is timed, is for adults and children wishing to run together in a less competitive race.  Adults MUST register and pay the fee for this race in order to run with their children.  No age division awards will be given for anyone over 17 years of age participating in this race.  Please note the Kid’s 5K has a start time of 9:30 a.m.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: 

  • Parents will be responsible for transportation TO & FROM the event.
  • Parents need to stay on site in case of an emergency.
  • Please wear a Dragon T-shirt or sweatshirt in order to locate our Dragon Team.
  • The race will start at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. We will meet at 8:15 a.m.  The Race starts at 9:30 a.m.

*More details about our meeting place will be coming in February.

Please contact Janet Blackwell at Janet.Blackwell2@southlakecarroll.edu  or Tracy Gentry at Tracy.Gentry@southlakecarroll.edu for more information.