PRESIDENT'S CORNER
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Hello Neighbors!
We’re so excited to being gearing up for the 2023 event season. We’ve largely nailed down our calendar and will be looking for volunteers in the coming weeks to help us deliver our annual door hangers. Keep an eye out for that sign up list. It lessens the work for everyone if we get lots of delivery volunteers to split the work up. It’s going to be a good year and, as always, we’ll be continuing to look for ways to offer our members the most bang for their buck!
The Easter egg hunt on April 8 th is fast approaching, and egg stuffing and candy collection is in full swing! If you have individually wrapped candy you’d like to donate, let us know and we’ll coordinate getting that from you.
On a side note- once again, we literally weathered the storm together last month, and I couldn’t be
prouder of this neighborhood. Everyone looked out for each other and stepped up in so many ways to help out those community members most in need. This is an amazing community, and the RCNA is only part of what makes it so. I’m so thankful for your support!
Hope to see you out in the neighborhood!
Christine Newman, RCNA President
RCNA EVENTS
It’s time again for the Rattan Creek Neighborhood Semi-Annual Garage Sale!
Baby/Toddler area open for ages 0-3 and older kids with sensory concerns.
Parade leaves the park, and will take around 15 min. PLEASE CLEAR THE SOCCER FIELD
Egg Hunt for ages 9 – 13 yrs
Egg Hunt for ages 4 – 8 yrs
Return empty egg shells and do allergy trade-ins
Parade decoration awards, near the soccer field
Community picnic begins on the soccer field
A WORD FROM THE JOLLYVILLE FD
Smoke Detectors
Why, How & Where
Why Are They So Important?
As we tell the kiddos at the schools, smoke detectors are an electronic nose. They detect smoke for us when we are asleep. People think that smoke will wake you up when you’re sleeping, but that’s not the case. Smoke will actually place you in a deeper sleep until you finally don’t wake up. Smoke detectors also can tell you when there’s a fire in another part of the house before you can smell the smoke.
How Do They Work?
Smoke detectors work by seeing small particles of dirt and dust in the smoke. If the detector goes off and you don’t see or smell smoke, remove the cover from the detector and clean the entire unit with a rag, vacuum or by just blowing the dust away. If that doesn’t solve the problem, you might need to replace the detector. But, as always, if you are concerned because the unit did go off and you can’t find a cause, call 911 and we’ll come and check things out for you. That’s our job!
There are two different alarm tones that smoke detectors make. One is the constant beeping noise and the other is a slight chirp every 30-60 seconds. Obviously, the first and most annoying alarm is the “smoke detected” alarm. The second little chirping noise means it’s time to change the battery. This is an important point because this is when most people remove the battery and forget to replace it. You need to replace the battery as soon as you remove the bad one. Many people who are injured or killed in house fires do not have a working smoke detector.
Where Do You Place Them?
The latest Fire Codes are now requiring new construction and rental properties to have a smoke detector in all bedrooms as well as major living areas. The bare minimum should be a detector in the hallway near the bedrooms, the major living areas and near the kitchen. Smoke rises so place them at the highest point of the room and at the top of stairs. Try not to place them too close to a bathroom door or a heater/AC vent because steam and dust can accidentally set off the detector. And remember, the more smoke detectors you have, the more protection you have. You never know where a fire will start and the quicker someone hears the alarm going off, the quicker they will call us and we can put it out.
Bottom line folks, SMOKE DETECTORS SAVE LIVES, but they have to be working to help. Test them once a month and replace the batteries as needed.
PET CORNER
by Leighann Hurley
6 Puppy Potty-Training Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Potty accidents are one of the most irritating problems people face with their puppy or dog because it’s a day in, day out thing. Sometimes it feels like you’re cleaning up messes no matter what you do.
Here are some common mistakes and what to do instead!
1) Sending your puppy to the backyard alone
Prediction is the most crucial part of potty training: unless you know when your puppy needs to toilet, it’s difficult to get him in the right place at the right time.
Sending your puppy out to toilet alone makes prediction virtually impossible because you have no way of knowing whether or not he went.
Go out with your puppy every time
2) Giving your puppy a treat inside the house
Treats for a job well-done are useful and definitely speed up the potty-training process. However, when you give the treats inside, your puppy thinks he’s getting a treat for coming indoors. Oops!
Give the treat outside, 1-2 seconds after he finishes toileting.
3) Relying on a doggy door
Doggy doors do give the puppy unlimited access to the yard, but there’s no guarantee he’ll use it when he needs to toilet. The unlimited backyard access also means he’s going to be out in the backyard alone which makes prediction and accurate reinforcement impossible (see points #1 and #2).
Be that weird person who goes out and watches their puppy toilet.
Every single time.
4) Allowing your puppy to wander the house unsupervised
If you aren’t supervising, you won’t be able to interrupt an accident or know when the accident happened (important information for accurately predicting the next toilet break — see point #1)
Reduce accidents and speed up the potty training process by keeping your eyes on your puppy. Use baby gates to make this easier and a crate when you need a break.
5) Waiting for the puppy to tell you he needs to go
If you’ve ever potty trained a toddler, you know that waiting for her to come tell you she needs to go is just asking for an accident. Same thing with puppies.
During potty training, all the toilet breaks are human-initiated.
6) Swatting your puppy, or rubbing his nose in the accidents
Punishing for accidents is just messy. Instead of teaching him to potty outside, punishment teaches your puppy to hide from you when he toilets — a MAJOR problem — or stay away from you in general.
(And don’t be fooled into thinking he knows he did wrong when he “looks guilty.” The guilty look is actually just his automatic body language response to a perceived threat.)
When accidents happen, thoroughly clean with an enzymatic cleanser like Nature’s Miracle and take him out sooner next time.
If you’re at your wits end with your puppy or adult dog’s accidents, I offer Potty Training Consultations at Koinonia Training and Boarding!
BOY SCOUTS
The Scouting movement in Rattan Creek is alive and well, even through times of COVID-19. Scouting is a great opportunity for our neighborhood youth, both male and female of almost all ages, to participate in a social activity with their peers to learn life lessons and build leadership capabilities. There are several opportunities for various ages in our neighborhood:
Cub Scout Pack 159 – Chartered on October 1, 1971, Pack 159 is one of the older and more established Cub Scout packs in the Northwest Austin area. Many of our scouts attend Pond Springs Elementary or Jollyville Elementary. We welcome scouts and families from all different backgrounds. Pack 159 is open to boys and girls in Kindergarten through 5th grade.
Online: pack159.org | Facebook: facebook.com/pack159tx
Scouts BSA Troop 259 – Troop 259 serves male youth aged from 11 to 17. Many of our Scouts attend from junior high schools such as Deerpark, Grisham, Canyon Vista, Pearson Ranch, and Cedar Valley along with high schools such as McNeil or Westwood. We meet weekly, camp monthly, and attend summer and high adventure camps annually. We are firm believers in giving back to our community through service. You will likely find our Scouts involved in local school and neighborhood activities.
Online: scout259.org | Facebook: facebook.com/scout259
HURRICANES SWIM
The Rattan Creek Hurricanes Swim Club is a family-friendly summer swim team in northwest Austin, Texas. As a member of the Northwest Swim Circuit, our mission is to provide a structured recreational activity that teaches swimmers the value of competition, sportsmanship, teamwork and individual achievement, while they make new friends and get a great workout! Our season runs from May through mid July. Practices take place after school until the school year ends, then we switch to morning practices.
Registration is now open here: Home – Rattan Creek Hurricanes Swim Club (swimtopia.com)
We were lucky enough to get copies of all the old RCNA newsletters! Every month we’ll include something that was in a past newsletter in the same month or time of year. Enjoy the history lessons!
This month we are combing the old newsletter and the cooking piece again to bring you a delicious recipe from March 2001 – perfect for St. Patricks Day!
HELPFUL LINKS TO NEIGHBORHOOD INFO
HELPFUL LINKS TO NEIGHBORHOOD INFO
HELPFUL LINKS TO NEIGHBORHOOD INFO
HELPFUL LINKS TO NEIGHBORHOOD INFO
- North Austin MUD 1: https://northaustinmud1.org/
- Rattan Creek Neighborhood Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RattanCreekNeighborhood
- Rattan Creek Neighborhood Buy Sell Trade Give: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RCNBuySellTrade
- Rattan Creek Buy Nothing: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bnplosindioshunterschaserattancreek
- Rattan Creek Tots Playgroup: https://www.facebook.com/groups/766011216785046
- Rattan Creek Pokemon Go: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1378225265618880
- Rattan Creek Women’s Book Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rcwomensbookclub