What’s Happening in Copper Canyon – April 2013
By Sue Tejml
Mayor of Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon’s Andre Nicholas & Double Oak’s Dr. Gary Goodman:
These town residents are new Candidates for the Board of Bartonville
Water Supply Corporation
Karen Campbell and “JJ” win Arabian Horse Association Awards
Tunnel connecting Trails on Corps of Engineers Land:
New York Subway Graffiti or “Don’t Mess with Texas” tradition
Council Member Dan Christy requests Public Input from Orchid Hill area residents on the Speed Limits for Orchid Hill Lane and the “S” Curve
Copper Canyon hosts Public Information Event on West Nile Virus.
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Copper Canyon’s Andre Nicholas & Double Oak’s Dr. Gary Goodman:
These town residents are new Candidates for the Board of Bartonville
Water Supply Corporation
NOTE: All candidates for the Board run “at large” and are not nominated or appointed by individual towns or individual subdivisions -like Canyon Oaks Subdivision in the unincorporated parts of Denton County. Each Board Member is elected for a 3 year term, and there are no limits to the number of terms served.The seven Board Members are volunteers and not paid for their services.
There are four candidates for two Board positions available in this election. Two incumbent Board Members are running for re-election (Michael Paulson of Copper Canyon has served 15 years on the board. Susan Crawford of Double Oak has served 3 years.) Incumbent Board Member biographies are at the BWSC office. And there are two new candidates described below (Andre Nicholas of Copper Canyon and Dr. Gary Goodman of DoubleOak).
Copper Canyon: Andre Nicholas
Andre Nicholas and family have lived in Copper Canyon for 12 years.
Andre is very involved with his family, church, and community - serving as a dedicated and reliable volunteer who can always be counted on to get the job done timely and within budget. As a result, he is often elected to leadership roles, which he fulfills with vision and respect for the viewpoints of all individuals.
Andre and wife Patti Nicholas have a daughter, 2 grandsons, and 3 sons - 2 of which are still active in high school sports. Andre is President of the Football Booster club of Marcus High School and Vice President of the Baseball Booster Club of Marcus High School. He is also President of the Church Board of Our Lady of Lebanon Catholic Church. In Copper Canyon, Andre is serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission and on the FM 407 Economic Development Task Force.
For 16 years, Andre has managed and developed both residential and commercial construction projects. In that capacity, he is very familiar with the requirement of adequate and reliable water sources for both homes and businesses. And he is acutely aware of the necessity of adequate “fire flow” to protect those structures from being damaged or even demolished by an uncontrolled burn. And, adequate “fire flow” also lowers ISO ratings, which in turn lowers the cost of hazard insurance for both homeowners and business managers. Andre is currently a Senior Vice President with NE Construction,LLP, which is headquartered in Lewisville but builds all over Texas and in 17 other states.
Double Oak: Dr. Gary Goodman
Dr. Gary Goodmanhas lived in Double Oak for 12 years. He has served on the Board of Adjustment for 5 years and regularly attends Town Hall meetings. Dr. Goodman retired from Motorola, Inc. in 2007, after more than 24 years working in the field ofwireless voice and data systems, and wired call processing. Since then he has been an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Science Department of The University of North Texas. (Education: M.S. Electrical Engineering, Oklahoma State University; PhD, Computer Science, Stanford University)
For his nomination, Dr. Goodman wrote: “Water is a precious resource for our communities and must be conserved and preserved. I will work to assure that Bartonville Water Supply Corporation remains strong and continues to have sustainable growth. For this I will draw from my experience in project management and cellular systems. Since moving to Double Oak, I have continued to be impressed with not only the quality of our water, but with the governance of the water board.”
Bartonville Water Members vote by:
(1)Hand delivering or mailing the Ballot they received in the mail to BWSC, 911 E. Jeter Road, Bartonville, TX 76226-9401– said ballot must arrive before Noon Wednesday April 17th or
(2)Vote in Person by attending the Thursday April 18th Annual Meeting
7:30 p.m. at Crossroads Bible Church (Southwest corner of FM 407 and Chinn Chapel Road)If you vote at the Annual Meeting, you will receive a different ballot. So, be sure you know your Member Account Number.
There will also be 8 drawings for a total of 100,000 gallons of water. Credit for the specific amount of water drawn will be applied to your water bill. To be eligible for the drawing, you must have returned your Ballot/Proxy by the April 17, 2013 noon deadline or be present at the annual meeting.
Replacement Ballots are Available
Most ballots were received in the members’ mail on Saturday March 16th. Unfortunately, many Bartonville Water members do not realize this is their ballot and discard it. For voting assistance or a replacement ballot, call (817) 430-3541 during business hours Monday-Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm or email: .
On your ballot you must put the date, your Member Account Number, your printed name, your signature, and a check beside two of the four candidates’ names. This allows the Independent Election Auditor to verify that a member only votes once. (The Board Election is not by secret ballot.) This year’s Independent Election Auditor is Kevin Mercer, the General Manager of Lantana and a board member of Upper Trinity Regional Water District.
Bartonville Water Supply Corporation has about 2,145 water connections. *The most water members, in descending order, are in the towns of:
Double Oak ….. (950 members) – 2 Current Board Members & years served:
David Moore, 8 yrs -Moved to Flower Mound
year ago, not eligible for re-election in 2014
Susan Crawford,3 yrs - up for re-election
Dr. Gary Goodman – new candidate
Copper Canyon. (485 members) – 2 Current Board Members & years served:
Michael Paulson, 15 years - up for re-election
Robert Stegmaier, 2 years (Originally Board
appointed; elected 2012)
Andre Nicholas – new candidate
Bartonville…… (340 members) - (Large part of Bartonville is in Argyle Water)
1 Current Board Member & years served:
Patrick McDonald, 6yrs
Canyon Oaks…(149 members) - 2 Board Members & years served:
Larry Kaufman, 18?yrs (on & off board)
Dean White, 2yrs
Lloyd Hanson, former longtime Board
Member & now salaried Controller
County areas … (100 members) - other Denton County unincorporated areas.
Other ………… (100-more than one water connection for some members.)
*Estimates of connections per Town or area are from Jim Leggieri, General Manager of Bartonville Water Supply Corporation for the last 28 years. Since I forgot to call and verify the exact numbers before the BWSC office closed for Good Friday, Jim kindly tried to provide them from memory while driving on his holiday vacation. The number of members per area may be slightly off. (The
years beside the current Board Member’s name are the years served on the Board.)
Karen Campbell and “JJ” win Arabian Horse Association Awards
In this issue of the Gazette is Karen’s story in her own words of how her Arabian mount “JJ” won the Arabian Horse Association’s Legion of Honor and Legion of Merit awards at the Cowtown Classic Arabian Horse Show in Fort Worth in March. Karen and “Grasshopper” (his barn name) are showing in Dressage and in the Under Saddle divisions.
Tunnel connecting Trails on Corps of Engineers Land:
New York Subway Graffiti or “Don’t Mess with Texas” tradition
Long time Copper Canyon resident and trail rider George Campbell was appalled at the vulgar graffiti displayed in the FM 2499 tunnel connecting the eastern and western equestrian/pedestrian trails on Corps of Engineers land. Our Town has long had a stewardship of those precious wooded trails, and Copper Canyon residents pride themselves on preserving the pristine natural beauty for all to enjoy. Campbell asked the Council to consider a solution for the vulgar display at the April 8th Council Meeting. He declined to bring photos of some of the graffiti, as it was so obscene and so graphic.
George said: Certainly these graffiti are “things we do not want associated with the great outdoors – especially Copper Canyon. Folks from all over the area are starting to come to the trails – families, runners, hikers, equestrians, bird watchers, etc. One area down by the lake is a popular spot for fires. But one false move can set the woods ablaze, which would put the homes on the east end of Orchid Hill Lane at high risk.” Broken glass and trash from party participants are a problem, as is the general dumping of debris. What a shame to take a beautiful area – and trash it! (Police Chief Ed O’Bara said Highland Village has painted its tunnel walls with an aerosol resistant paint and installed a camera system as a deterrent to graffiti.)
Trail Clean-Up Day is Saturday April 20th 9 a.m. at FM 2499 Parking Lot
Long time Copper Canyon Trail Chairman Deb Valenciais organizing a Clean-Up Dayfor 9 a.m. Saturday, April 20th. (Rain day is Saturday April 27th.) All volunteers are welcome! Meet at the FM 2499 trail head parking lot east of FM 2499 and north of Orchid Hill Lane.Special thanks to Marketing Manager Jeri Harwell and Republic Services for always volunteering to place a gratis dumpster conveniently near the clean-up site! Volunteers are encouraged to wear gloves and bring loppers and chain saws. Deb will provide trash bags – and coffee, water and doughnuts - for everyone.
Will Travis, Denton County Sheriff and longtime Copper Canyon resident and volunteer on the Trail Committee, will provide non-violent supervised county jail inmate crews to help with the removal of the incredible amounts of litter and trash on the trails. Thank you very much, Sheriff Travis!
In 2009 the Town Council asked Residents to recommend a 20 or 30 MPH Speed Limit on Orchid Hill’s “S” Curve
The Town Council held a workshop in August 2009 to determine the design of the Orchid Hill Lane “S” curve and its speed limit. Fifteen town residents spoke for keeping the curve design in its same format, rather than taking footage from adjoining land owners. This avoided negotiating and paying for additional adjacent ROW and also avoided any necessity for an eminent domain procedure.
Safety at the “S” curve was also a predominant concern of both the Council and residents of Orchid Hill Lane and adjoining streets. The curve had previously been the site of one “head on” accident that had resulted in the Care flight of one injured vehicle occupant. Town engineers had improved the forward visibility of drivers coming down Orchid Hill and heading east into the blind curve. Thanks to longtimeresident Evelyna Harberson, lower tree limbs on her adjacent land had been voluntarily pruned on the south side of the northern curve and this greatly improved the line of sight for all drivers. Town engineers had also provided an extra lane of paving on the north side of that blind curve, so that if a west bound driver encountered a head-on vehicle, he had extra space to his right to avoid a collision.
The fifteen Town residents who spoke that night recommended limiting the speed to 20 MPH around the “S” curve. In September of that year the Council voted for a 20 MPH speed limit on the curve, though it was engineering-designed to be safe at a 35 MPH vehicle speed.
Town Residents and Commuters Object to Slow Speed at the “S” Curve
Now, three and a half years later, drivers are apparently comfortable with the “S” curve and there have been no additional vehicle or pedestrian accidents there. Our Denton County Commissioner Andy Eads has received quite a few complaints from commuters concerning the low speed limit on the “S” curve and on Orchid Hill in general. More germane is what Copper Canyon residents want. I have lived on Orchid Hill for twenty plus years. And my fellow, long time, neighbors have very “gently” suggested an increased speed limit would be welcome on Orchid Hill. So, as a temporary experiment, I authorized the removal of the 20MPH speed limit signs on the “S”curve for a couple of months. This resulted in Orchid Hill being a consistent 30 MPH speed limit its entire length.
Council Member Dan Christy requests Public Input from Orchid Hill area residents on the Speed Limits for Orchid Hill Lane and the “S” Curve
Residents on Orchid Hill Lane and adjacent streets have been sent a postcard asking them to come to the April 8th Council Meeting and tell the Council their preferences for speed limits. Our Deputy Sheriff David Berry has completed the first traffic studies on Orchid Hill and the “S” curve for a morning weekday rush hour, which is predominantly traffic heading east to FM 2499 en route to work or school. (It is difficult to get accurate speed limits of vehicles on the “S” curve, because the radar often only reflects off of part of the moving vehicle.) The traffic study results will be available to Council in their April 5th Council packets, and available to anyone who wants to look at the packets online at the Town web site
If you are unable to come to the Monday night 7 p.m. April 8th Council Meeting, please register your recommendation by emailing the Town Administrator Donna Welsh at or calling Town Hall (940) 241-2677 Extension 3, or mailing your recommendation to 400 Woodland Drive, Copper Canyon, TX 75077 or come by in person and sign a preference sheet. Please give your name and address and your recommendation for speed on Orchid Hill Lane in general and for the “S” Curve in particular. Please make your recommendations for 20, 25, 30, 35, or 40 MPH for each area. Commuters are welcome to sign a separate sheet, but the Council will primarily be looking for guidance from Town residents – and especially those that live on or adjacent to Orchid Hill Lane.
FYI: Chinn Chapel Road’s speed limit is 35 MPH and Copper Canyon Road, when rebuilt, will be 40 MPH.
Copper Canyon hosts Public Information Event on West Nile Virus.
Due to the unprecedented severity of the West Nile Virus outbreak in North Texas last year, individuals and towns are already planning their strategic defenses to the disease bearing mosquitoes. Dallas and Tarrant County will begin their mosquito testing a month early this year, beginning April 1st. Many North Texas towns rely on the test results of those two major counties to be our “canary in the coal mine” and forewarn us if a serious West Nile Virus outbreak is imminent in our area.
On March 21st Copper Canyon hosted a public information meeting on West Nile Virus Response Plans for Towns, subdivisions, and individuals. Our sincere thanks to Crossroads Bible Church for once again making their facilities available gratis for a public education meeting. And many thanks to Denton County Commissioner Andy Eads and Sheriff Will Travis for making time to participate in the information session.
Municipal Mosquito.com is the Presenter
MunicipalMosquito.com is the largest private mosquito contractor in North Texas, north of Houston and Harris County. MunicipalMosquito.com is operated by Entex Pest Solutions of North Texas. In its regular pest control operations, Entex uses only natural organic products. However, effective mosquito control products are usually not organic. Vector Entomologist Patrick Prather clarified four questions from the audience.
(1) Ground fogging is directed up into the air at a 45 to 55 degree angle in wooded areas, because active mosquitoes are best killed in flight. Mosquitoes feed on birds that roost in the trees, but the birds do not roost in the tops of 35’ to 45’ tall trees. The mosquitoes are most vulnerable at dusk when they fly from 10’ to 25’ up into the trees in search of a blood meal and at dawn when they fly down again. Also, in the summer, the heat from the ground helps the insecticide fog to rise effectively.
(2) Mosquito control is most effective when it prevents sites for breeding. Do not overlook gutters and downspouts that may harbor just enough stagnant water for several larvae to mature.
(3) Do not under apply larvicide dunks. The Summit brand of dunk, provided last year by Denton County and this year by Copper Canyon, is only effective for up to a 100 square feet of surface water (for example, a 10’ x 10’ area or 5’ x 20’ area),regardless of depth. Highly polluted water with a high organic content may require up to four times the normal dosage of dunks. Reapply the dunks before their active ingredient has dissipated too much to be reliably effective as a killing agent. Dunks may last up to one month or less.
(4)To prevent birds from pecking a floating dunk apart and then carrying off the pieces, tie fishing twine through the hole in the center of the dunk. (The dunks often are shaped like a doughnut with a small hole in the center.) Attach a rock or weight to the end of the line, so that the dunk is held 3-6 inches below the surface of the water. The birds will not usually peck that far below the surface of the water to pulverize the dunk.
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