End of year reflection

January! A time to look back and a time to look forward. There's a nice article on page 6 of the January Crier  outlining our 2011 accomplishments. It was a good year. I cannot thank everyone enough for their support. The Civic Club Board works diligently and relentlessly supporting, promoting and lobbying on behalf of Westbury. Sometimes I think we are like that little boy, from the children’s story, with his finger in the dike holding back the flood. Just when we think we are safe, something else comes up, the latest being METRO wanting to discontinue the Chimney Rock cross town bus. We've got to be vigilant! Please come to the meeting to show your support.

The good news is we are not alone. Thousands of you pay your dues, hundreds of you come forward during the year to volunteer your time and talents. Every dollar, every hour donated makes a difference.

The city elections are over and we have a new city council. In December, Council Member-elect Larry Green came to Westbury with his staff (who you can meet on the “Faces in the News” page) and met with me, Cindy Chapman, Dabney Kennedy and Rita Woodward. We spent two hours going over issues and talking about what is important to us. They came with maps and we were able to talk about Westbury streets being built with Rebuild Houston funds; we talked about economic development and the deplorable shape of the commercial property in the heart of Westbury and along Hillcroft. We talked about our schools and their not receiving the HISD bond money that the schools north of Braeswood received. We talked about public safety. We talked about our parks needing upgrading and our community center. We talked about wanting ALL of Westbury to have single stream recycling. We talked about needing more from Neighborhood Protection.

We talked about preserving our assets that make Westbury such a great place to live. Sometimes we spend so much time looking at the few things that are bad, we forget how good the rest is. I've heard more than one person I respect call Westbury the JEWEL of Southwest Houston. And that is good to hear!

January is also resolution time. If you are planning to eat more healthily, the Urban Harvest fruit tree sale is January 14th. Plant a tree or two; you will not be disappointed. Visit an Urban Harvest Market or take a class at the Westbury Community Garden and learn how to grow your own. If you are planning to be greener in 2012, tear out the special feature on trash facts in the January Crier. If you are planning to become more involved, put the third Wednesday of the month on your calendar and come to a civic club meeting. If you are planning to increase your net worth, send in your Civic Club dues to protect your home's value.

          Thanks again to all of you for being good neighbors and for making Westbury such a great place to live.