HNA News: Prevent Frozen Water Pipes and Practice Heater Safety, Berkeley Fire Fighters Newsletter; Progressive Post-Holiday Potluck 1/21

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Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-Newsletter*

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1. Prevent Frozen Water Pipes and Practice Heater Safety

2. Fabulous Post-Holiday Multi-Course Progressive Potluck, Sun., Jan. 21, 6-9 p.m.

3. Berkeley Fire Fighters E-Newsletter

See the City's press release below for tips in cold weather (item 1). You'll also want to cover vulnerable plants the next couple of nights. I also encourage you to take a look at the Berkeley Fire Fighters' new E-Newsletter and seriously consider supporting their request  that we lobby Council in support of full funding for our fire stations and emergency services.

Thanks to everyone who's helping deliver flyers about the upcoming Post-Holiday Progressive Potluck (see item 2); your help is much appreciated and allows us to reach out to people new to the neighborhood as well as those who don't have email. (And be sure to keep the flyer to guide you from house to house on the night of this fun community event.)

-Nancy Carleton, HNA Co-Chair and E-Newsletter Editor

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1. Prevent Frozen Water Pipes and Practice Heater Safety

1/11/2007

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/news/print.asp?id=19335

Berkeley, California -- The National Weather Service is forecasting record cold temperatures in the Bay Area Thursday-Sunday, with the coldest temperatures expected on Friday and Saturday.

These very cold temperatures may lead to frozen water pipes. Since water expands as it freezes, tremendous pressure is put on whatever contains it, including metal or plastic pipes. Pipes that freeze most frequently are those that are exposed to severe cold, like swimming pool supply lines, water sprinkler lines and water supply pipes in unheated interior areas like basements and crawl spaces, attics, garages or kitchen cabinets.

Here are some tips to keep your pipes from freezing:

* Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage.

* Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing.

* When the weather is very cold outside, let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe - even at a trickle - helps prevent pipes from freezing.

* Keep the thermostat set to the same temperatures during the day and night. If you will be going away during this cold weather, leave the heat on in your home, set to a temperature no lower than 55 degrees.

The following heating safety tips should be followed all winter:

* Make sure you have a working smoke detector on every level of your home.

* Floor furnaces can be very dangerous when used improperly. Keep anything that can catch on fire away from the heating grate. Never put items on top of a heater. It is dangerous to use your heater to dry clothing or other flammable material.

* Never use kerosene heaters or charcoal grills indoors.

* Never use your gas stove or oven to heat your home.

* Keep portable heaters at least 3' away from walls and combustible materials. Make sure these heaters have "tip switches," which automatically turn off if the heaters tip over.

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2. Fabulous Post-Holiday Multi-Course Progressive Potluck, Sun., Jan. 21, 6-9 p.m.

Make sure your new year's gotten off to a good start by joining your neighbors for this fabulous post-holiday feast where we progress from house to house and sample a range of delicious courses. This is our most popular community potluck event of the year, so don't miss out! Feel free to join us for all four courses, or just for one or two (substitute a dish if your name doesn't match the course you're attending). And don't forget to bring something especially tasty to start the New Year right!

6:00-6:40 Appetizers at Tory's, 3009 Wheeler

6:45-7:25 Salads at Bruce & Noriko's, 2311 Prince

7:30-8:15 Main Dishes at Susan's, 3044-A Halcyon

8:20-9:00 Desserts at John & Michelle's, 2329 Webster

Potluck suggestions:

* T-Z: Dessert *  N-S: Salad *  A-E:  Appetizer *  F-M: Main Dish

Please bring a festive dish to share, and, if so inspired, a beverage to share as well (it really helps if enough folks bring beverages too). Children welcome! More info: 644-0172

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3. Berkeley Fire Fighters E-Newsletter

Editor's Note: The Berkeley Fire Fighters Association has launched a new E-Newsletter. See below for excerpts from the first edition (without graphics):

SPECIAL ALERT - State Emergency and Health Officials Urge Preparedness in Response to Extreme Cold Forecasts

 

With meteorologists expecting a hard freeze to affect much of the State by Thursday night, State officials with the Governors Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the California Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) today urged Californians to prepare themselves, their family members, and their animals for the possible effects of the inclement weather.

 

The National Weather Service has reported to OES that temperatures will drop into the 20 and 30s Wednesday night into Thursday, followed by daytime temperatures in the mid 40s in most areas. On Friday and into the weekend, temperatures will drop further, reaching the high teens to low 20s in most areas at night, and continued daytime lows in the mid 40s.

 

Actions that can be taken to help protect against severe cold and freezing temperatures are in the attached cold weather alert released by the Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the California Health and Human Services Agency.

 

Follow this link to read the special alert and see the "Homeowner Preparation & Tips" guide....

BERKELEY FIRE ENGINES BEGIN ROTATING CLOSURES:

 

Beginning December 14th, 2006, Berkeley Fire Engines began to close on a rotating schedule in order to balance the budget for this fiscal year. This Station Closure or Brownout plan was adopted by the Berkeley City Council for the 2-year budget cycle, which ends at the end of June 2007.

 

The Berkeley Fire Fighters Association believes that the Mayor and City Council should make Full Deployment of Berkeley Fire Engines their #1 funding priority. We understand that they are faced with tough decisions when balancing the budget, and receive opposition to any cut they make. BUT, Berkeley Fire Fighters hold strong in our belief that there should be cuts and reductions to non-critical services, programs, and projects before emergency services and response capabilities are affected.

 

The Fire Department is already understaffed and running at a "bare bones" level.

 

This is evident if you look at the history of cutbacks beginning in the substantial when we had 10 Fire Stations with 10 Engines (pumpers), 3 Trucks (Hook & Ladders) all running with the standard 4 persons, equaling a emergency response force of over 180 personnel. During this time we ran less them 4,000 calls annually.

 

We now have 7 Stations with 7 Engines (pumpers), 2 Trucks (Hook & Ladders), have reduced staffing per apparatus to 3 persons, equaling a emergency response force of only 125 personnel, with a call volume that has skyrocketed to over 12,000 annually!!

 

The  Berkeley Fire Fighters Association is asking for your support. Please contact your City Councilperson by phone, e-mail or snail mail and ask them to restore FULL FUNDING 24/7/365 for the Fire Department at the mid-year budget review, scheduled for February 13th, 2007.

Subscribe to the Berkeley Fire Fighters e-Newsletter:

 

With the roll out of our new website, we are asking Berkeley residents and friends of the Berkeley Fire Fighters to spread the word! Join our distribution list for our e-Newsletter. Simply visit our website www.bffa1227.org - and look to the left column to for the "Subscribe to Newsletter" space!

 

Your information is not shared with any other organization and is kept private on our secure server. Please share this information with anyone in our community who you think might be interested.

 

You will only receive periodic alerts about significant events relating to public safety in Berkeley. You also have the option to remove yourself from the list at anytime.

 

Sincerely,

David Sprague-Livingston

President, Berkeley Fire Fighters Association

 

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The Halcyon Neighborhood Association E-Newsletter:  The HNA E-Newsletter forwards occasional crime watch notices as well as announcements about events of interest to neighbors in the Ashby/Telegraph/Woolsey/Adeline area of south Berkeley, including community-building potlucks, greening projects, disaster preparedness meetings, and work parties in Halcyon Commons Park. If you're receiving this email, either you signed up at a neighborhood event or a neighbor may have forwarded it to you. Please note that to prevent spam, HNA always uses bcc and does not share your email address with third parties. If you wish to be removed from this list, please reply to HNA Co-Chair Nancy Carleton/Halcyon Neighborhood Association <ngc2@mindspring.com>. Please feel free to pass the HNA E-Newsletter on to other neighbors you think might be interested.

HNA Listserve:  If you would like to receive messages (and participate in discussions) on the HNA Listserve, please reply to Halcyon Neighborhood Association <ngc2@mindspring.com> indicating your interest, and you will receive an invitation to join.

HNA Blog:  If you would like to view previous newsletters online (and comment via a blog format), please visit http://halcyoncourt.blogspot.com/

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