Author: Dana Sheffield

Haw River Happenings

Town of Haw River
PO Box 103
Haw River , NC 27258

Haw River Fire Department asks its citizens to help
“KEEP THE WREATH GREEN”
As the holiday season approaches, the Haw River Fire Department wants to remind citizens to help do their part in preventing deadly home fires and help us “Keep the Wreath Green”. Beginning Monday, November 20th, the Haw River Fire Department will display an illuminated wreath on the front of the Haw River Town Hall. This wreath will begin the holiday season filled with green lights. For each residential fire that occurs in the Haw River Fire District through New Year’s Day, a green bulb will be replaced with a red one. Our hope is that the citizens will help us “Keep the Wreath Green” all season long. With the hectic holiday season, it is easy for families to become complacent about fire safety. With the additional use of fireplaces, decorative lighting, live Christmas trees, and the burning of candles, the risk of fire in homes increases.
To prevent these holiday fires, and to help “Keep the Wreath Green”, the Haw River Fire Department offers these holiday safety tips:
Choose holiday decorations carefully, using only those made of flame-resistant, flame-retardant, or non-combustible materials.
Keep candles away from decorations or other combustible materials and NEVER leave candles unattended.
Use only lights listed by an independent testing laboratory, such as Underwriter’s Laboratories, and pay close attention to the manufacturer’s instructions for use.
Closely inspect all holiday lighting before use to ensure all wires, bulbs and connections are in a safe condition. Discard any lights with exposed wires, broken insulation, cracked or missing bulbs, or other defects.
Avoid the use of drop cords to operate holiday lights, or any other appliance.
Turn off all holiday lights, and extinguish all candles when leaving home.
When choosing a live Christmas tree, look for signs of freshness by lightly pulling branches through your closed fist. Fresh trees should retain their needles during this test. Immediately place the tree in water and keep the tree watered while in the house. Keep a close check on the dryness of the tree and remove the tree when needles easily fall off. Don’t locate Christmas trees near heat ducts, open flames, or in front of doors or windows that might be needed as a means of escape from your home.
When preparing holiday meals, be diligent and don’t become preoccupied by guests, or other holiday distractions. While cooking, keep combustibles, children and pets away from cooking appliances.
If entertaining at your home, always check on, between and under cushions, and inside trash cans for cigarette butts that might be left smoldering.
10. Ensure there is a working smoke alarm on each level of your home and practice fire escape plans with all family members and holiday guests.
Our hope is that during the 2017 holiday season we will be successful in preventing fire and avoiding tragedy in our community. Please help us “Keep the Wreath Green!”

www.townofhawriver.com

2017
Happenings Fall 2013

October 31, 2017

Important Phone Numbers:
Town Hall 578-0784
Public Works 578-5238
Parks & Recreation 578-5600
Fire Dept. 578-1355
Police Dept. 578-4141
Emergency 911

Inside this issue:

Haw River Police / Department Events	2
Grease is the Word	3
New Staffing Hours / Fire Department	3
Parks and Recreation	3
Don’t Feed the Grease Goblin	3
Heavy Trash Schedule / Recycle Schedule	3
New Personnel / Santa’s Coming	4

Page 2

Haw River Happenings

On 10/7/2017, the Haw River Police Department hosted the 2nd Annual Haw River Trail Run for Special Olympics Alamance. The 75 runners took on Red Slide Park and ran along the banks of the river on the Haw River Trail / Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The run was spearheaded by Sergeant Faulls.
The event brought in over $4000 for Special Olympics Alamance which will be used to provide uniforms and transportation for the athletes of Special Olympics Alamance. Special Olympics Alamance serves nearly 400 adult and child athletes with developmental disabilities in Alamance County.
The police department was assisted by Haw River Fire Station 4, Faucette Fire Station 7, and members of the Mebane Police and Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. Officer Taylor represented Haw River in the Special Olympics Torch Run earlier in the season joining hundreds of others statewide.

In August, the Haw River Police Department hosted their second National Night Out. Neighbors from Henry’s Farm & Keck Road turned out to enjoy free hot dogs and drinks, music, and entertainment for their children. National Night Out is about meeting neighbors and getting to know the officers that serve their neighborhoods.
Between April 1st and Sept. 30th, the department made a combined 71 arrests, issued 327 traffic citations and worked in conjunction with E.M.S. & Fire on 121 calls for assistance.
The department, through the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program received 2 breath test units. uuunits.units .dash

Haw River Happenings

Page 3

DON’T FEED THE GREASE GOBLIN!!

DO:
Pour oil & grease in collection containers.
Remove oil & grease from utensils, equipment & food preparation areas with towels & scrapers.
Put food scraps in collection containers.
Keep grease out of wash water .
DO NOT:
Pour grease & oils down the drain.
Use hot water to rinse grease off the surfaces.
Wash fryers, griddles, pots, pans and plates with water until grease and oil have been removed.

The Secret Life of Grease:

After grease travels down the drain, it is washed into the plumbing system.
Grease sticks to the insides of the sewer causing build-up.
Eventually, it can block the entire piping
causing:
Raw sewage overflow into your home, neighborhood, yard, or street
Expensive clean-up
Potential contact with disease-causing organ- isms

How Can YOU
Prevent Stormwater
Pollution?
Don’t over water. Use drip irrigation, soaker hoses or micro-spray systems.
Use curbside yard waste recycling or take clippings to landfill for composting.
Don’t fertilize or apply chemicals near ditches, streams or water bodies.

Yard Waste Disposal

The Town’s burn season officially began on October 1st. The Town will pick up bagged yard waste such as leaves, brush clippings, and garden waste through March 30th. Tree limbs will not be picked up. Pickup will resume April 2, 2018.

Recycle Schedule Heavy Trash Pickup
Nov 14 28 7
Dec 12 26 5
Jan 9 23 2
Feb 6 20 6
Mar 6 20 6
Apr 3 17 3
May 1 15 29 1
June 5 19 5
*PLEASE HAVE ITEMS CURBSIDE THE NIGHT BEFORE*
OFF CYCLE HEAVY TRASH PICK UP INCURS A $20.00 UPCHARGE.

Parks and Recreation
The department’s CONCERT IN THE PARK series was another successful one. The bands and all the people who came out to the events had a great time. The bands love playing Haw River and the lively crowds. Thank you to all who came out to the park to enjoy the Concert in the Park Series at Haw River Municipal Park!
RECREATION FOOTBALL is wrapping up another competitive season at Municipal Park.. This year in football 8 and under, the Haw River Indian’s are playing well and the players are having fun.
RED SLIDE PARK makes a great venue for birthday party celebrations or maybe to launch your kayak down the mighty Haw River. Take advantage of viewing the leaves changing by paddling down the Haw or take a hike on the Haw River Trail. The park has a playground, disc golf driving range, and cornhole boards for active recreation. For your passive recreation needs we have added picnic tables, park benches & restrooms So head over to Red Slide Park and check out all the park has to offer. To reserve the shelter call Town Hall @ 578-0784. Red Slide Park is located at 389 Lang Street.
On 1/1/2018, the Fire Department will add night time staffing Monday through Friday. This will allow the Fire Department to reduce response times and increase the ability to provide services in a quicker manner. The Town and the Fire Department will still receive coverage from approximately 30 dedicated volunteer firefighters who provide an invaluable service to our community. For questions on the new staff schedule, contact Fire Chief Jamie Joseph.
HAW RIVER COMMUNITY PRIDE
We will be judging Christmas decorations the same as last year. We will be awarding first, second, third place and children's favorite awards as in the past. We anticipate the judging will take place on Saturday Dec. 19th. We can’t wait to see all the decorated homes!

Town of Haw River
PO Box 103
Haw River , NC 27258

#

336-578-0784
EMAIL: mswing@townofhawriver.com
VISIT: townofhawriver.com

The Town of Haw River would like to welcome two new employees to Town Hall, Mr. Mark Swing and Mr. Sean Tencer.
Mark was hired back on August 1st as the Utility Billing Clerk/Customer Service Rep. Mark formerly worked with WPCM 95.1 FM/920 AM radio station for three years, and before that he owned A Cut Above Tuxedos. Mark grew up in Lexington, North Carolina, and graduated from UNC-G. Mark & wife Sherry have made Mebane home for the last 26 years. Mark's hobbies include amateur radio and assisting with prep football.
Sean started with the Town on October 18th as the new Assistant Town Manager. Sean formerly worked for the Town of Elon for the past ten years as the Town Planner, and before that worked for the City of Greensboro as a planner for eight years. Sean is from Durham, NC, and is also a UNC-G graduate. Sean currently resides in Guilford County with his wife Shannon. Sean's hobbies include photography, camping, and spending time with his wife and dogs.

BE WATCHING FOR SANTA’S VISIT ON A HAW RIVER FIRE TRUCK!
Saturday, December 9th, 8:00 am until…
Rain date — December 16th

REMINDERS

REFLECTIVE ADDRESS SIGNS:
Reflective address signs are available from the Haw River Fire Dept. Call 578-1355 to order yours.
Prices: Large $15.00 / Small $7.50 Post $3.00
OFFICIAL PAYMENTS:
Utility and rental payments can be made by telephone at
1-800-272-9829 On-line at www.OfficialPayments.com.
Use Jurisdiction Code 3962 and your account number.
Other on-line payment services are not authorized by Town of Haw River.
2017 (2018 in December) HAW RIVER LICENSE TAGS:
Limited edition tags are available at the Town Hall for only $2.00. Come get yours today!
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:
Town Hall will be closed November 23rd & 24th, December 22nd, 25th, & 26th, and New Year’s Day 2018.
On Nov. 5th when you set your clocks back, be sure to test your smoke detectors for proper working condition.
YARD SALES:
All yard sales, whether business or residential require a Yard Sale Permit. These permits are only $2.00 and are available at the Town Hall.
There is a limit of three yard sales per address per year.

Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour on November 5th, 2017 at 2:00 am.