From Our Mayor
Jay F. Feibelman
With the current world situation, the war on terror, our troops in harms way, etc., November 11th, Veterans Day takes on a regenerated meaning. This year on Veterans Day, make a conscious effort to pause and reflect on the meaning and significance of the day.

The observance was originally designated Armistice Day, the date which signified the end of WW I. Documents were signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It was subsequently changed to Veterans Day to honor all who serve.

Honor all who are serving and have served to preserve the freedoms we enjoy. Please display the flag!

Welcome to Garden Ridge
New Residents:
Those listed and families:

Ricardo & Janet Benavide
Richard D & Yvonne Davis
Jose & Vivian Dodd
Melissa Fuller
Reba Harris
Robert & Carol McGrath
Merita McToy
Aubrey & Linda Morganfield
Joseph & Haley Murguia
Raymond & Pamela Pitzen
Miguel & Andreana Rincon
David Robles
Edmund & Bobi Rzeszotarski

Note: Newcomers are identified by water service records. Consequently, not all names in the household will appear. Those not appearing are also welcomed! The City of Garden Ridge requires that all dogs and cats be registered. Call 651-6831 for information.

Garden Ridge Lions Club
THANK YOU !
On behalf of the Garden Ridge Lions’ Club, I thank everyone in the community who helped make our annual Fish Fry, BBQ, and Auction a great success. Because of your generous participation, we will be able to continue many important services to our community. The Lions in our club could not achieve our civic and humanitarian goals without the support of our entire community.
Last year we were able to provide Christmas groceries and gifts to many needy families, scholarships to local high school graduates and Texas Lions Camp counselors. We are major contributors to the Texas Lions Camp for Disabled Children in Kerrville, and Lions Club International, which is the leader in providing blindness prevention services, leader dogs for the blind, diabetes prevention and research and many other services. We also support other local organizations such as the Bracken Fire Department, Boy Scouts, Garden Ridge Library, Texas Boys and Girls State and many others.
Thanks to all of you who donated and volunteered to work before, during and after the Fish Fry, BBQ, and Auction. We could not pull off an event of this magnitude without everyone’s help.
For membership information, contact
Dick Vogt at 651-5894.

The planning process has already begun for next year’s event which is scheduled to be held the first Saturday in October at the Garden Ridge Community Center.
See Ya There!

Dick Holloway
President
Garden Ridge Lions Club

IN MEMORY
Two of our long time citizens passed away recently. Jerry Bailey and John Lustila, both Air Forces retirees and both at one time worked for the city in inspections. They were both patriots and will be sorely missed.

Nov 11th Veterans’ Day
Remember with great gratitude and honor all members of our Armed Forces especially those who fought & died
serving America!

Library Footnotes
by Linda Crosland
“He who thanks but with the lips thanks but in part The full, the true Thanksgiving comes from the heart”
We’re getting ready for a great day at the Library! Parents, mark your calendars for a fun-filled morning at the library with Santa’s visit, Story Time, games and picture-taking on December 5. (See “Santa Comes to Garden Ridge”)
We have some excellent new book additions. One which will touch your heart is 14 Cows for America. Although written for children, every person will enjoy this true story of a poor Kenyan village’s concern for America after 9-11 and their amazing generosity in trying to help heal America’s pain. Another is Life List, the story of a woman told she only had a year to live, but who went on to spend years bird watching and logging in more bird sightings than any other person at that time. Young adults who read The Hunger Games will enjoy the second book, Catching Fire. /Francine Rivers fans will enjoy the new 3-book Mark of the Lion series. There are almost 14,000 books to choose from in our library. Come check out a few hundred!

Don’t Forget the
Library’s Winter Hours
Starting November 2:
Monday - Thursday 10 am - 6 pm
Friday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm

Open Letter from CPS
Dear Residents of Garden Ridge,
This letter is in response to recent concerns received regarding frequent power outages affecting the residents of the City of Garden Ridge. Your electric service is provided from the Green Mountain (F0) substation located at 19365 Marbach Lane. DPS Energy has determined that the majority of interruptions have been caused by animals, weather, and equipment failure.
In April 2008, CPS Energy had the number four substation power transformer fail. Substation power transformers are multi-million dollar pieces of equipment that are custom built for CPS Energy. The lead time to receive substation power transformers from the manufacturer is at least 12 months. Despite the loss of the transformer, CPS Energy has sufficient capacity reserved on the number two substation power transformer to serve all residents of the City of Garden Ridge. In June 2009, CPS replaced the number four substation power transformer.
Our first step in improving the reliability to the Garden Ridge area is to initiate a full visual and infrared inspection of the aerial conductors that will be conducted by one of our experienced Quality Control Inspectors. Any maintenance opportunities will be sent to our construction centers for immediate attention. A complete engineering review of the distribution circuit will also be part of our action plan. Any enhancements that will improve service reliability will be applied within a six month time frame.
CPS Energy asks that the City of Garden Ridge exercise some patience as we work to improve the reliability of power service to the area. Once again we regret any inconvenience these outages may have caused you, and we will continue to work hard to minimize future power interruptions. Please contact me at 210-353-3317 if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Jose H. Escamilla, Manager
Reliability & Power Quality

WILDLIFE
Remember that having wildlife around your house has many benefits. They help clean up our roadways and neighborhoods by scavenging for food. They control populations of both insects and rodents and observing them in their natural habitats provides us with a limitless supply of entertainment, education and enjoyment free of charge! So whenever possible, give animals a break. Tolerance, respect and patience are ultimately the most useful tools in successfully solving conflicts with wildlife. Always, always be cautious when dealing with or confronting these animals but let’s also remember they were here first!

Important Numbers

City Hall 210-651-6632
Lost Pet 210-651-6831
Police Department 210-651-6441

Comal Elementary
Fall Festival and Market
Saturday, November 7, 2009
12:00 - 4:00 pm on the Playground
6729 FM 482
New Braunfels, Texas 78132

Wristbands: Presale $8.00,
Day of Event $10.00
Tickets: Package of 10 - $5.00
Come Join the Fun!
We will have games, inflatable bounce houses, tractor train ride, hair and face painting, prizes, bake sale, cake walk, great food by Ariana’s and a mini craft show.

For more information, contact Trish Hencshel at phencshel@hotmail.com or
210-379-4091.

Book News
Garden Ridge resident Bob Doerr will become our community’s newest published author in December when he will have two mystery/thrillers simultaneously published. Bob is a retired Air Force Colonel and has been a resident of Garden Ridge since 2002. The books are titled Dead Men Can Kill and Cold Winter’s Kill and are both set in New Mexico. They will be available through Amazon and the major book stores. He plans to talk about his writing and do a book signing at our Library in December so stay tuned. Congratulations Bob and we will remember - books make good Christmas gifts!

Santa comes to Garden Ridge
Dec 5th 10:30am to 2pm
Parents, mark your calendars for another fun “happening” at the Library.  On December 5th, we will be receiving a visit from Santa Claus!  Come at 10:30 am for Story Time and games while we wait for Jolly Old Saint Nick to arrive on his fire truck. During his visit, children may make holiday decorations and enjoy cookies and punch.
Have your child’s picture taken with Santa, sponsored by the Garden Ridge Women’s Club.  The photos will be inserted into a festive holiday card and will be available to purchase for $5.00 each. Santa will be available until 2:00 pm. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to create a fun holiday memory with your child and take home a keepsake photo as well! For more information, contact Linda Crosland at the Library (651-6570) or Gloria Porter of the Garden Ridge Women’s Club (651-3842).

Quarry Happenings
On Oct 12, 2009, the Quarry Commission held its monthly meeting. The Commission reviewed and analyzed blasting data from September 2009. There were five blasts for September. The data for September indicated low effects from the blasts. The Commission, however, received two complaints from citizens: one about the blast on Sept 15 and one about the blast on Sept 30. Additionally, one of the Commissioners noted the blast effects on Sept 23 seemed higher than normal. As the weather was cloudy to overcast on those three days and the wind was blowing to the south on two of the days, the effects of the blasts were most likely carried toward the housing areas by the wind and “funneled” by the low clouds. The Commission suggested the Quarry change, if possible, scheduled blasts to days when clouds are not overcast and low and the wind is not blowing to the south. If you wish to complain about a blast or have comments for the Quarry Commission, contact City Hall at 651-6632 or visit the city’s home page, where you will find the Citizens’ Blast Report.If you are interested in learning more about the Quarry’s operations and would like to tour the Quarry, please contact City Hall.at 651-6632 or visit the Quarry home page, or the citizen’s blast reports.
Citizens who are willing and interested in having quarry blasts monitored at their residence should contact a member of the Quarry Commission or call City Hall 210-651-6632. Citizens are invited to attend the next Quarry Commission meeting on November 9, 2009 at 7 pm.

Coming Events
Go to the Calendar.

Significant City Council
Go to Council Actions.

Grapevine Deadline
Grapevine Deadline. Submissions for the December GRAPEVINE need to be turned in no later than November 15th.