Neighborhood. News MORE DUMPSTER DAY RESULTS... Fantastic Job Everyone ~ Keep up the Great Work!!!

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1 Neighborhood News V O L U M E V I I I, I S S U E I V J U L Y ~ A U G U S T MORE DUMPSTER DAY RESULTS... 5/17 Irongate Area Cleanup 2 Dumpsters ~ 5.16 tons I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Neighborhood Leaders Group 2 6/14 Dale City Area Cleanup 2 Dumpsters ~ 2.59 tons Fantastic Job Everyone ~ Keep up the Great Work!!! Dates to Note 3 VA Cooperative Extension, PW News from Project Mend-A-House News from KPWB 8 News from Habitat for Humanity, PW Volunteer Prince William PWC Mosquito & Forest Pest Mgmt It s not too late to Volunteer in your Community! Upcoming Neighborhood Dumpster Day Events 6/28 Sudley Area Cleanup ~ Sudley Elementary School 9744 Copeland Drive, Manassas Contact Fay Cochran at to Volunteer 8/9 Yorkshire Area Cleanup ~ Emmanuel Baptist Church 8006 Centreville Road, Manassas

2 P A G E 2 Neighborhood Leaders Group Update Reminder!!! ~ NSD will NOT host a Neighborhood Leaders Group meeting during the month of July to accommodate for summer vacation schedules. On Wednesday, May 28th, Delegate Michael Futrell of the 2nd District joined us to encourage residents to share their ideas and highlight the legislation that he has co-sponsored in the Commonwealth. On Wednesday, June 25th, Kiliaen Anderson, Executive Director of Keep Prince William Beautiful joined us to share the latest neighborhood initiatives and encouraged attendees to join KPWB s Adopt-a-Spot program to help mitigate litter in their neighborhoods. Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 27th, in the Development Services Building, located at 5 County Complex Court, Conference Room 202, from 7p.m. -9p.m. Please join us as we welcome representatives from the law firms of MercerTrigiani & William A. Marr, Jr. The Attorneys will discuss the General Assembly s 2014 Adopted Legislation and how it may impact your community. We are always looking for new members to join the group! Let us know if there is a specific neighborhood topic of interest you d like to learn more about and we will do our best to plan a future session around your suggestions. For more information on our upcoming meetings, click here for the 2014 NLG Meeting Calendar. N E I G H B O R H O O D N E W S

3 V O L U M E V I I I, I S S U E I V P A G E 3 UPCOMING DATES TO NOTE Landfill and Yard Waste Facility Closed July 4th Prince William County Landfill and Balls Ford Road Yard Waste Composting Facility will be closed Friday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. These facilities will resume normal operation on July 5. The landfill and compost facility are open every day of the year, except New Year s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. They also close at 2 p.m. Christmas Eve. Visit for more information about Prince William County Solid Waste facilities, services and programs. To learn more about service changes and news on upcoming events, citizens are encouraged to sign up for e-notifications, the County s electronic newsletters. To subscribe, click here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HOA/COA Leadership Seminar Friday, October 24, County Complex Court Prince William, Virginia More information to follow soon...

4 P A G E 4 Nancy Berlin, Natural Resource Specialist Virginia Cooperative Extension Prince William This is a busy time of year at the Virginia Cooperative Extension - Prince William! We are answering many of your questions on vegetable gardening, right plants for the right place, perennials, identifying insects and snakes, and helping homeowners with lawn problems. We offer an Extension Horticulture Help Desk to answer you lawn, landscape, insect and wildlife questions. You can contact us at or master_gardener@pwcgov.org if you have any questions about your landscape. The Help Desk is staffed by Master Gardener Volunteers, Monday through Friday. If there is no volunteer on duty, you can leave us a message. To keep your time outside safe and fun, we offer the following tips on poisonous plants and ticks: Poison ivy, the great masquerader can be an herbaceous plant, a vine, a shrub or resemble a tree. Remember these little ditties to keep the itching away! All parts of the poison ivy plant contain the oil, Urushiol, which causes contact dermatitis. Poison ivy is a native Virginia plant, favored by wildlife. Leaves of three, let it be! While there are many plants with three leaves, this rhyme is a good starting point for identification. Berries white, run in fright! Poison ivy has berry like fruit in August through November. These berries are a favorite food for birds, which means they spread quite easily. Red leaflets in the spring, it s a dangerous thing! New growth on poison ivy can have a reddish hue, which become green as the season goes on. Hairy vine, no friend of mine! Avoid hairy vines that grow up tree trunks. Old vines can lack leaves, leaving a ragged looking vine. N E I G H B O R H O O D N E W S

5 V O L U M E V I I I, I S S U E I V P A G E 5 Ticks, another warm weather threat are abundant this year. American Dog Tick Lone Star Tick Deer Tick Deer Tick from nymph to adult Ticks pass through three feeding stages: the larva, nymph, and adult. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) can be carried by American Dog ticks (usually found west of the Blue Ridge mountains) and by Lone Star ticks and Lyme Disease can be carried by Deer ticks. Brown Dog ticks are not known to carry any diseases in Virginia. Appearance *American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) 5 mm long with short stout mouthparts, dark brown with light wavy lines on its back *Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) 5 mm long or less with long mouthparts, light reddish-brown with a central white spot on the back of most female adults *Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis) 2-3 mm long with long mouthparts, off-white or reddish when fed and has black legs *Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) 5 mm long with short mouthparts. Distinguished from the American dog tick by its dark reddish-brown color and lack of any white markings. There are more ticks in wooded areas and shrub areas than in grassy areas. Ticks and nymphs congregate in moist leaf litter and where there are deer. Tick percentages found in different habitat areas: 67.3% woods, 21.6% transition vegetation between woodland and grassland areas, 2% on the lawn; 82% of tick nymphs are within 3 meters of the lawn edge with woods, stone walls, and transition vegetation areas. It is best to remove ticks with tweezers or a tool designed to remove ticks, e.g., If a tick is attached to the skin, pull slowly without twisting or jerking to avoid leaving the mouthparts in the wound. Do not use nail polish, petroleum jelly, alcohol, hot matches or other home remedies. Wash the wound with an antiseptic after the tick is removed. Kill the tick in rubbing alcohol and keep it in a small vial for a few months in case any disease symptoms develop. To prevent or minimize tick bites consider the following suggestions.: Minimize habitat and hosts (rodents, deer, etc.) Keep grasses away from house Practice regular mowing, pruning, clearing brush Restrict/reduce groundcover especially near house Remove leaf litter Select deer resistant plantings Employ tick reducing landscaping - Invasive plants seem to harbor more pests (especially Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) most likely because it provides safe harbor for rodents who are hosts for ticks) Use landscape barriers, e.g. deer fencing, to keep hosts away from protected areas Trap rodents which carry ticks; don t leave food for rodents Spray the perimeter of your yard for ticks; see latest Home Grounds and Animals, Pest Management Guide recommendations, Tables 6-1,Recommended Insecticide and Control Use, and Table 6-3, Controlling Insects ( pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/ /section_6_nuisance_insects_of_the_house_and_yard.pdf)

6 P A G E 6 News from Our Community Partners... Neighbors Helping Neighbors for Thirty Years For 30 years, Project Mend-A-House (PMAH) has been committed to improving the living conditions for low-income residents, seniors, veterans and persons with disabilities in Prince William, Manassas City, and Manassas Park by offering no-cost and low-cost home repairs and modifications, thus allowing people to remain safely and independently in their own home. We re neighbors working with neighbors and when we all work together, everyone in the community benefits. Project Mend-A-House was founded in 1984 when a Meals on Wheels volunteer saw the deplorable home conditions of a senior client she was delivering meals to. Enlisting the help of the Prince William/Manassas Area Agency on Aging and the local business community, she organized a volunteer work day at the senior s home to address the repair needs. From there the organization evolved, attained a 501 (c) (3) non-profit status and has expanded its mission to assist low-income (those earning 50% or less of the area median income), seniors, veterans and persons with disabilities. Often Project Mend-A-House is the last resort for many homeowners. Many clients do not have the financial means to repair their homes or build a wheelchair accessible ramp to alleviate the burdens of homebound family members. Project Mend-A-House is the only program in the area that offers free home repairs and accessibility modifications. Clients come from a variety of referrals and recommendations including Social Services, the Area Agency on Aging, Disability Services Board, Property Code Enforcement, veteran s groups, senior centers, physical and occupational therapists, civic and faith-based organizations. Others are repeat clients they needed grab bars installed and now need a roof repaired or a ramp or a door widened. Some have been recommended by a neighbor or read about Project Mend-A-House in the local newspapers. These potential clients are sent an application requesting vital information including contact information, financial information, age and if applicable, disability. PMAH also requests demographic information, type of work needed, and a signature stating that the home repair is to be completed for their use and not for selling of the home. If an applicant needs assistance in filling out the application because of a disability, PMAH also offers an in-home application process. Once the application has been received, it is reviewed for eligibility. Financial information is also verified. To determine that households meet the criteria of benefiting low income guidelines, verifications of income are provided by homeowner(s) and calculated against the 2013 Prince William Area median income tables. Clients from the extremely low to low income levels or those earning less than 50% of the area median income are eligible for free services. If they do not qualify for free services PMAH can often still assist the resident and then requests a donation for services. Continued on next page... N E I G H B O R H O O D N E W S

7 V O L U M E V I I I, I S S U E I V P A G E 7 All of the labor is provided by volunteers. For many projects, civic and church groups as well as businesses volunteer to help out. Church youth groups and middle and high school students help with yard clean-up projects and painting projects. They have also been the muscle for posthole digging parties in preparation for a ramp. Volunteers do not have to have construction experience, PMAH will train them. There are many simple jobs that a volunteer can do that provide a great benefit to PMAH and its clients. There is also a need for administrative and community outreach volunteers. If you know of someone who may be interested in volunteering, an application is available on their website. Many projects do not cost anything. Some need a tightening of a pipe or a screw. Other projects require plumbing or electrical expertise or carpentry. Some are quite costly bathroom modifications and ramps cost between $1,500 and $5,000. If a project is beyond PMAH capabilities, clients are referred to PWC s Neighborhood and Housing Rehabilitation Program or to Habitat for Humanity. Throughout its 30 years of history, Project Mend-A- House volunteers have completed over 10,000 safety repairs and modifications, including building over 300 ramps and donating close to two hundred thousand hours to the community. Last year PMAH volunteers assisted over 200 area residents with 475 home repair and safety tasks and donated close to 5,000 hours of service, 77% of clients served were female, 58% were over 62 years of age and 52% of them were persons with disabilities. Projects included 8 ramps, 350 home repair tasks and 57 safety related tasks. Project Mend-A-House helps support housing values in neighborhoods and preserve the stock of affordable and accessible housing units. They help clients avoid displacement from their homes and use fall prevention tips to avoid trips to the emergency room by completing simple safety repairs and modifications like installing grab bars and securing loose flooring. PMAH s long-term objective is to continue to increase the affordable and accessible housing stock and ultimately, allow clients to Age in Place. With some minor home modifications and the generosity of donors, low-income clients can live with dignity in their own homes. Programs that are offered by Project Mend-A-House include home repair which can consist of carpentry, plumbing, electrical and handyman services; accessibility and safety projects that include building ramps, installing railings and grab bars. Fall Risk Screenings help seniors identify areas they are at risk for falls by assessing their balance, vision, blood pressure and medications. The Durable Medical Equipment Loan closet offers hospital beds, stair lifts, wheelchairs, raised toilet seats and shower/transfer benches. There is also a Medical Alert Device program that provides Emergency Dialing systems for people who are at risk for falls, and their fan care program provides fans and a/c to residents who lack cooling capabilities. For the couple who has received an Extreme Home Makeover-Project Mend-A-House Style that includes a new door, living room bay window, new hallway carpeting, complete new kitchen and renovated bathroom as well as yard cleanup projects, they are eternally gratefully for their PMAH volunteer angels. For the gentleman that had a ramp built, it has meant the difference of being home bound vs. independent. For the folks that feared taking a shower or washing because they were afraid of falling, they now have grab bars, hand-held showers, and transfer benches in their bathrooms. These stories are typical of the clients whose quality of life has been improved and dignity restored through the efforts of volunteers and community partners. Project Mend-A-House is a perfect model; it s a community driven organization that helps the most vulnerable population remain safely, comfortably and independently in their own homes. The Project Mend-A-House motto: Neighbors Working with Neighbors illustrates the opportunity for the local community (scout troops, companies, civic organizations, and church groups) to help their neighbors for the benefit of all. It s a winning partnership; the community not only provides the needed assistance, but also the work it performs keeps the neighborhood aesthetically pleasing. We re neighbors working with neighbors and when we all work together, everyone in the community benefits. If you would like to volunteer, make a donation, request services or refer someone, please contact Project Mend- A-House at or visit their website at

8 P A G E 8 More News from Our Community Partners... Are you noticing areas of trash accumulating in your neighborhood? Consider joining KPWB s Adopt-a-Spot program to help keep your community clean and litter free. Sign up here! Community Benefits According to Keep America Beautiful, the presence of litter can decrease property value by 7% and increase crime. Adopt-a-Spots help ensure that communities stay clean, remain safe, and inspire people to be environmental stewards. Data collected from cleanups is analyzed and reported to the county, state, and additional environmental data systems and is used to enforce county policy to ensure areas STAY clean. Volunteer Involvement Choose spot or KPWB can recommend a spot upon request Plan and oversee 9 cleanups a year Agree to 2-year commitment Report data: number of volunteers, hours, and amount of litter collected When a spot is adopted through the program, KPWB provides all of the materials needed to clean the spot. We will deliver the supplies to the volunteer and present a litter safety/training seminar before they get started. KPWB will continue to provide supplies as needed. After adoption is finalized, a sign is installed by the spot featuring the volunteer s name. For more information click here N E I G H B O R H O O D N E W S

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10 P A G E 10 More News from Our Community Partners Center Street, Manassas, VA Tel * Fax Donating When a Disaster Strikes Whenever a disaster hits a community, citizens and community organizations quickly reach out and want to assist. How can I help? Volunteer Prince William has put together some helpful guidelines that will make a significant difference in meeting the needs of survivors and help them get back to a sense of normalcy as quickly as possible. Financial Contributions are Top Priority Voluntary relief organizations are called upon to carry out various facets of the rescue, recovery, and rebuilding phases of a natural disaster. These organizations require financial support to purchase supplies, cover labor costs, and maintain effective and efficient operations. Financial contributions are considered a top priority because donated goods require labor and expenses of sorting, packing, transporting and distributing donated goods; voluntary relief agencies responding to the disaster can use cash to quickly meet the specific needs of the survivors; and the local economy can recover more rapidly if relief supplies are purchased directly in the impacted community. Donating Goods Volunteer Prince William works with the local governments public information offices to provide a message to the media describing the supplies that are most needed. Individuals, groups, and businesses who are not able to provide financial support are encouraged to donate supplies on the list provided by the local government. To gather the needed supplies, some individuals organize collection sites (donated goods drives) in local communities. However, as with all donated goods, Volunteer Prince William s goal is to distribute collected supplies in an efficient and effective manner to those who need them. To ensure an effective donated goods drive, please follow these guidelines: Continued on Next Page N E I G H B O R H O O D N E W S

11 V O L U M E V I I I, I S S U E I V P A G E Collect only items on the government s publicized list of needed supplies 2. Sort like items together (for example, cans of corn together in one box, cans of peaches together in one box, etc.) 3. Limit the weight of the boxes to 30 pounds 4. Tape boxes shut securely 5. Label the boxes on at least two sides 6. Include a description of the contents on the label 7. Boxes should be on pallets and shrink-wrapped, if at all possible 8. Provide a written inventory of the boxes. 9. Be prepared to provide transportation to the designated Donated Goods Warehouse and coordinate delivery with the warehouse manager 10. Do not donate clothing Although well intentioned, unsolicited donations of clothing from individuals or groups have hidden costs and create problems that impede relief efforts. For this reason, sending or delivering clothing to areas impacted by disaster is not recommended For more information about donating in times of a disaster, visit Volunteer Prince William at or call In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

12 Fight the Bite! Protect yourself from vector borne illness this summer by avoiding mosquito and tick bites. Here are some steps to take to Fight the Bite Mosquitoes Asian tiger mosquitoes are persistent, day biters that love reproducing in artificial containers Corrugated drain pipes can produce thousands of mosquitoes Birdbaths can become mosquito habitats if not emptied regularly Use repellents to avoid tick and mosquito bites Deer ticks can transmit Lyme disease The best way to protect yourself from mosquito bites is to eliminate standing water around your home. Mosquitoes require water to develop; they cannot complete their lifecycle without it. Most of our complaint calls in the summer involve the Asian tiger mosquito. This invasive, aggressive, black and white striped mosquito prefers to bite during the day, and reproduces in artificial (manmade) containers. These include, but are not limited to, birdbaths, clogged gutters, plant saucers, ornamental ponds, and tires. Corrugated drain pipes can hold a considerable amount of water. Replace old piping, even if buried, with newer, perforated versions, or cover the entrances and exits of the pipe with screening material or pantyhose. Ticks Ticks are eight legged parasites that can transmit many diseases, including Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and others. They can be very persistent biters, and are difficult to repel. Here are some tips for preventing tick bites and becoming sick from the bite of a tick: Avoid tick habitats; these include wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter. Walk in the center of hiking trails and pathways. Wear light colored clothing and long sleeves and pant-legs. Conduct a full-body tick check, using a mirror, if you have been in a potential tick habitat. Examine gear and pets. Ticks may hitch a ride back with them and bite you later on. Tumble clothing in the dryer on high heat for an hour to kill any remaining ticks. Emptying any containers you find after a thorough inspection of your property (you must be creative to find them all!) or treating anything you cannot dump with mosquito dunks may drastically cut back mosquito populations. If you find yourself still being bitten, your best course of action is to use a mosquito repellent. The CDC and FDA recommend using an EPA approved repellent. This means the repellent and its active ingredient are not expected to harm human health or the environment. Some active ingredients include: DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, and oil of lemon eucalyptus. Make sure to read repellent labels for information on how to apply individual products. Use repellents that contain between 20-30% DEET on exposed skin and clothing to repel ticks. Use permethrin containing products to kill ticks on contact. These products are NOT made for applying to skin. Use them on clothing and gear, including boots, pants, socks, and tents. Pre-treated clothing can also be purchased. Many tick-borne infections have common symptoms, including fever, chills, aches and pains, and rashes. If you experience these after being bitten, visit your doctor immediately. Remove attached ticks with a pair of tweezers. Pull up with a firm, steady pressure. Clean the wound with soap and water. Do not burn the tick, coat it with petroleum jelly, or paint it with nail polish. Prince William County Mosquito & Forest Pest Management gypsymothmosquito