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 We want to thank Barry Hart for making this website available to the Heritage Hills Community Association, and to the residents of Heritage Hills!
Over the coming weeks we will be working very hard to provide the kinds of information that will be of interest to our community, so we encourage you to make this your homepage. You can keep up with what's going on in this great neighborhood of ours, and take advantage of a wealth of helpful services. We will be updating the calendar with events of interest, posting news and other information all aimed at keeping our property values high, and our neighborhood a safe and inviting place to call home for all of us.
As you know, the HHCA is an all volunteer association so from time to time we will be making you aware of volunteer efforts uderway to improve or maintain Heritage Hills, so join the fun and have a hand in shaping the future of our neighborhood!
Please enjoy this site folks and use it often. If you have friends or family who might be interested in any of the information you find submitted here, simply email the page to them! We welcome your input, so please use the “Make a Suggestion” link at the top of the site to share your thoughts with us.
Sincerely,
Cal Thompson
Former President - Heritage Hills Community Association |
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News Of Heritage HOA
Sex Offender Web site
Go to the web site below to see where registered sex offenders live in our neighborhood.
Website: Website: www4.familywatchdog.us/
A Message From Kathy Cayton - Our New President!
12-24-2008
I would like to thank HHCA for electing me as your new President! I have served previously on the Board as Secretary and Vice President under the outgoing President, Geneva Foster. I want to take this opportunity to let Geneva know that we appreciate all that she has done to keep HHCA growing and the many hours of dedication she has put in has been a great asset to Heritage Hills . Geneva has agreed to be our Newsletter Chairman and I know she will do a great job keeping us informed and remain an active part of HHCA… THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!
Bernie Van Matre is our new Vice-President and I look forward to working closely with him this year to reach our goal to increase membership in HHCA. By increasing membership we will be able to continue to improve our neighborhood. Bernie and his wife Debbie are our Neighborhood Watch Chairmen and do a great job of keeping a watchful eye on Heritage Hills and working with the Sheriff’s Office and keeping us informed of criminal activities in our area via emails. If you would like to get this information send an email to them requesting to be added to the Crime Watch list at dvanmatre@comcast.net.
Lynda Lee has agreed to continue to serve HHCA as our Secretary for another year. She has done a great job her first year and is a wonderful volunteer! Elsa Logue was our Treasurer for 2008, but is unable to continue again this year. I want to thank Elsa for serving HHCA and encourage anyone interested in this position to please give me a call as soon as possible. The more members we have participate and share in the duties helps to make all of our volunteer jobs easier!
My husband, Mike and I have lived in Heritage Hills for over 20 years and we knew then that it was the best neighborhood tucked away off of a busy Blanding Boulevard in the heart of Orange Park. We raised four children here and now our four grandchildren also are able to enjoy the friendly and safe atmosphere that Heritage Hills provides. In order to maintain that security for generations to come it takes an effort from all of us. Take pride in your neighborhood by taking care of your houses and yards as well as reporting any suspicious activity… it will help to help to keep our community safe and property values high!
I invite you to participate in HHCA by joining and sharing your ideas and concerns. Please give me a call and attend our quarterly general meetings…we have several Chairmanships available for those that would like to take a more active part…either way…WE NEED YOU!
A Letter from the President
10-31-2006
Autumn has always been a special time for me – maybe because my birthday is this month, or maybe just because I like the little nip in the air, but whatever it is this is my favorite time of the year. Anyway, with the season upon us again my thoughts began turning to what fall was like when I was a kid, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that our neighborhood in 2006 is really not so different from the way it was back then. Not all neighborhoods can say that today, and I feel really fortunate to be able to say that about ours.
One of my fondest memories is playing tag football down the street from my house in a neighbor’s front yard with a bunch of my best friends. We didn’t worry about drive by shootings or child abduction or dope dealers – we were just kids playing and having fun. Yesterday, as I watched my neighbor’s kids romping around and playing catch with their buddies from the neighborhood, it struck me that they are free to be kids and have fun like that in our neighborhood too. As a community, we watch out for each other and do our best to keep the negative aspects of life in our times away from our homes and families, and watching those kids sure brought home to me why we do that!
As we read the papers and watch the nightly news, we are bombarded with story after story of the horrendous things going on all over the country and the world, and sometimes it seems everything is falling apart with nothing we can do to stop it. Watching those kids playing ball, and saying hi to the neighbors as they go for evening walks can sure help a person see more clearly about what is really important in our lives though.
No, we can’t fix all the ills of the world, but the part of it that touches us the most is right here at home! As we pick up trash along our streets, take care of our yards, fix our fences, and paint our homes we are going a long way toward keeping our property values high. And when we help a vacationing neighbor with trash pick-up and hold their mail and newspapers for them until they return, we feel really good about doing something for a friend. When we see suspicious activity, and report it promptly to the authorities, we help keep Heritage Hills an unwelcome place for the criminal element that has invaded so much of our society. All these types of activities are essential to a healthy community. Simply put, the key to keeping our community the way we want it to be is for all of us to stay involved in being good neighbors, and the most important result of it all can be seen in the bright eyes of those kids out playing ball!
Becoming a member of the Heritage Hills Community Association is another great way to support our community, so please join us in our efforts to keep our association strong.
All the best from our family to yours!
Cal and Sharon Thompson
Coming Soon! Heritage Hills Disaster Plan!
11-13-2006
In the event of a disaster affecting our community, fast, coordinated action can be the difference between personal disasters and personal triumphs. We are pleased to announce the formation of a new volunteer committee aimed at improving our readiness for such an event here in Heritage Hills.
More to come…
New officers are sworn in at November General Meeting!
11-22-2006
HERITAGE HILL’S COMMUNITY ASOCIATION
General Membership Meeting
November 20th, 2006
Thanks to all of you who attended and participated in our general meeting - it was a great meeting, and we got lots accomplished (check out the Neighborhood Pictures section for a few photos of the meeting). Here are some of the meeting highlights:
2006 HHCA President Cal Thompson opened the meeting, expressed appreciation for those in attendance, and announced that a door prize would be awarded to someone later in the evening.
He also expressed our appreciation to the church for allowing us to use the facility for our meetings, thanking all for bringing food donation items for their food bank.
The main purpose of the meeting was to elect officers for the year 2007, so we can continue operation as the homeowners association for our community, and that was successfully accomplished during the meeting.
The treasurer’s report was read by 2006 Secretary Geneva Foster since 2006 Treasurer was unable to attend, and then Geneva read the minutes from the last meeting.
Old Business was covered by inclusion in the agenda as follows:
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• Regarding better communication:
The Community Web Site - (www.newsofheritagehills.com) As to responsibility for the site, Cal has done most of the updates for this year and will continue to assist as required in maintaining the site. Geneva has also been briefed on the updating procedures as well. For those of you who have been using the website, you may have noticed that in addition to the standard content supplied by Century 21 Realty, we now have the following sections in place with appropriate content:
-General Front Page
-Community News
-Community calendar
-What is the HHCA
-The Constitution Newsletter archives
-Neighborhood Contests
-Recipe exchange
-Community pictures - including Around the Neighborhood, HHCA Organization, National Night Out, and Yard of the Month
-Local Phone Numbers
Email notifications - Email addresses have been included in the sign in sheets, and we have used email for much of our communications within the board, as well as for meeting notifications etc..
We also have included email links on the website, and have received a number of emails from residents with subjects ranging from reporting code violations to volunteering and general info sharing.
Signs and bulletin boards - Signs have been posted at both entrances for every function. Bulletin boards idea is still in the analysis stage, and could be developed as we go forward.
Postal mail to all households in Heritage Hills – Not utilized yet due to cost, but still may be effective in the future to publish info regarding topics such as the following:
-Overview of HHCA
-Web site address
-Membership request
-Email address request
• Regarding association objectives:
Encourage growth of our property values - Our newsletters and the website have been utilized in this area along with yard of the month awards throughout the year. Code enforcement has been called upon in a few cases to ensure that properties are maintained throughout the neighborhood with good success, and this continues to be an effective tool for us when needed.
Enhance the safety and security of our neighborhood - Neighborhood watch has continued to provide the Sheriff’s department liaison, night patrols, and a very successful National Night Out. We receive regular crime watch reports via email, and note that we are still one of the most crime-free residential areas in Clay County.
Maintain physical neighborhood infrastructure – Common areas such as the entryways have continued to be a source of pride and enjoyment for our residents due to the efforts of a few of our members. With more volunteers we could do even more in this area, and will require additional support as the streets and sidewalks etc. age and require more maintenance.
Provide community social infrastructure – Our regular volunteers came through again this year with successful efforts related to Yard of the Month, community garage sales, and National Night Out. These types of projects proved to be very effective at bringing neighbors together and could be expanded further in the future.
• Regarding how we keep it working:
Funds – We are still spending more on ongoing maintenance than we receive through membership dues. Unless we can increase paid membership or take some other type of corrective action we will not have enough money to pay our current bills at some point, so this will need to be addressed further in the future.
Volunteer action – We have had some additional folks volunteer this year and it is greatly appreciated. We still need to increase our volunteer pool, and make better use of those who will help.
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The meeting continued with a presentation by officer Jack Clanton of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, with such things as tips on how to keep safe in and out of the neighborhood, including a demonstration of the safest way for a woman to carry her purse at a mall. We definitely want to thank the Sheriff’s office for participating in the meeting and for all the fine work they do to keep us from harm – we all appreciate it very much!
New HHCA board officers were elected for 2007 as follows:
• Secretary - Kathy Cayton had a prior commitment and was not able to attend but was duly elected for 2007 by vote of the membership present, with Nellie Dudley standing in for her during the installation ceremony.
• Treasurer – Sandy Conery also had a prior commitment and was not able to attend but was duly elected to serve again for 2007 by vote of the membership present, with Sarah Walker standing in for her during the installation ceremony.
• Vice President - Michael Bates was duly elected for 2007 by vote of the membership present.
• President – Geneva Foster was duly elected for 2007 by vote of the membership present.
Mike Tinsley volunteered to do the honors as to installation of the new officers, and did a great job – Thanks Mike!
We are grateful to all the new officers for their willingness to accept the responsibilities of each office and we know they will do a great job for us!
New President Geneva Foster presented outgoing President Cal Thompson with a beautiful card, and two great gifts in appreciation of his service for 2006. Cal would also like to express his thanks for the wonderful jobs done by Vice President Vaughn Burkett, Secretary Geneva Foster and Treasurer Sandy Conery during 2006 – the HHCA year could not have been nearly as successful without your dedication and hard work! We all thank every one of our volunteers for 2006 for keeping HHCA working for all of us during this year.
New President Geneva Foster set the goals and expectations for next year, distributing position descriptions for each office and committee. She also presented ideas for improving our meetings and functions in general, all aimed at making us more effective and encouraging greater participation by our community. An exciting start for the new year – Thanks Geneva!
All the HHCA participants are volunteers and on that subject, as you offer your services, it doesn’t have to be as a committee chair person. We need backups for the chair persons so the business of the association can carry on when the primary is on vacation etc. We also need folks to serve as committee members and help out with specific tasks that need to be done. We welcome your involvement in any capacity, so please join us in keeping Heritage Hills a great place to live!
Next we had a presentation from Judy Galt, one of our neighbors who is very involved in disaster preparedness, and who we have asked to head up an HHCA committee to address the subject within Heritage Hills. This is a very important topic, and one we will be putting a lot of priority on in the coming year, so we are all very excited about what Judy will bring to our neighborhood and to HHCA.
As promised – a door prize winner was determined through a random selection process and Sarah Walker presented the award to Nellie Dudley – Congratulations Nellie!
See you all at the next one!
Heritage Hills Disaster Preparedness Committee Bulletins
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Committee Overview
11-11-2006
Heritage Hills/Heritage Oaks Disaster Plan
Development November, 2006
By Judy Galt, Clay County CERT, District 18
Purpose:
Should a disaster impact our community, it will most likely have impacted much of Clay
County. In the event of a disaster, emergency response services could take several hours
to days. During a disaster, our community could become the subject of many trials such
as structural damage to homes, downed phone lines, power outage and personal injury to
name a few. With this in mind, it would be of our best interest to develop and maintain a
primary community disaster plan. This plan will identify primary goals that we should as
a community should strive to reach immediately following a major disaster. The Plan
will provide direction and suggest prospective actions directed toward achieving our
goals.
Plan:
Remember, although the immediate threat has passed, there could be dangers still
present. Downed power lines, live power sources, flooded areas, impassable roads,
dangerous hanging or propped debris all present life threatening dangers which need to
be addressed.
Residents that have sustained minor/no injuries or minor damage to their homes are asked
to remain inside until they have received an “ALL CLEAR” from the appropriate
authorities. Residents that wish to participate in recover efforts should report to the
Incident Command Center at their earliest opportunity. All residents should refrain from
using automobiles as much as possible to alleviate traffic problems. The only vehicles
that should be on the roads are that of Damage Assessment Teams, Needs Assessment
Teams, Debris Removal Crews and the County’s Emergency Response Vehicles such as
Sheriff’s Vehicles, Rescue Units, Fire Apparatus and mutual aid vehicles that may be
present to render assistance to the residents of the community.
Essential positions to be established prior to the event are: Incident Commander, Safety
Officer, Operations Officer, Logistics Officer, and a Planning Officer. Efforts will be
made through these positions to identify and prioritize goals, assign work positions,
maintain an orderly structure among the chaos, meet the needs of the people and maintain
a safe work environment.
Damage Assessment Crews and Needs Assessment Crews, with safety precautions in
mind, will collect pertinent information from within the community and report it back to
the Incident Command Center. The Incident Command Center will be responsible of
passing on the information to the Clay County Emergency Response Teams upon their
arrival. With this information available, decisions will be made regarding further
prioritization, direction and goals.
Debris Removal: It is essential in any disaster to address main access routes first and then
branch out to smaller streets.
Debris removal crews should be established before hand to open those routes as soon as
safely possible. Unfortunately, everyone with a chain saw will want to help. However,
this position should be filled with the most able-bodied responders to alleviate any
serious injuries that might occur. In identifying eligible candidates to maintain these
positions one should be familiar with the task of volunteer management. (A course is
available on www.fema.gov website.) Also, tools and equipment will be pre-identified
and located. A list of these tools and their locations should be maintained and kept with
the Emergency Response Plan.
Command Center / Medical Treatment Area: The grassy area across from Hewes St.
Residents should report to this area if they require medical attention or if they wish to
volunteer their services.
If residents need help with other issues they will be diverted to the appropriate staging
area or help station (if available).
Judy Galt
812 Oliver Ellsworth St.
276-9161
Bowl4avg@clearwire.net
The following have volunteered to serve on the Disaster Planning Committee:
Kevin Young (kevjul@bellsouth.net)
Mike Tinsley (trondoc@hotmail.com)
Mike Bates (Michael.bates@us.army.mil)
Cal and Sharon Thompson (jaxsaxman@comcast.net)
Eric Owens (eowens@thestellargroup.com)
We are looking for more volunteers so if you would like to help let one of us know.
CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. We are volunteers who have
trained with the emergency management team in Clay County to help in time of disaster.
CERT is a FEMA program that trains volunteers across the nation in the same way so
that no matter where you live or what potential disasters one may encounter if you see a
CERT volunteer you know you are getting a trained individual. CERT classes are
offered for free in Clay County. Contact Jeff Reynolds at the Emergency Management
Office in Green Cove Springs for information.
We will be getting information to you often for the next few months. Visit the websites
for Heritage Oaks and Heritage Hills to see what we are planning for our communities to
prepare for disaster and after a disaster strikes. Information will also be forthcoming in
the newsletters.
Please join your homeowner’s association. The cost is $25.00 for Heritage Hills and
$50.00 for Heritage Oaks. Considering the upkeep of the subdivisions and the costs of
what we do this is money well invested in your community and sorely needed.
Thanks to the Heritage Hills and Heritage Oaks Board of Directors for appropriating
money to have this printed and the volunteers who delivered it to all 895 homes.
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DPC Bulletin
12-26-2006
Residents of Heritage Hills and Heritage Oaks will have a couple of ways to access
information from our DPC (disaster preparedness committee) and our CERT (community
emergency response team) member. Each month new information will be put on the
website and you will be able to contact DPC members with your ideas and thoughts. Our
DPC plan will go into effect when normal emergency personnel are not available to us.
In cases of fire, tornados, etc. regular first responders will be here quickly to help those
who need it. The DPC will be used in cases of widespread county involvement when it
may be hours or days before someone can help us.
The DPC would like to be as proactive as you want us to be to prepare for emergencies.
One idea we’ve discussed is allowing homeowner’s who need help in preparing their
homes for boarding up to sign up for our help. You would furnish the plywood and
hardware and we would take a Saturday and install the hardware around your windows
and doors, pre cut the plywood to fit your openings and number/letter the plywood so that
you would know which piece went where. We’ve discussed doing this in March. We
want to know your ideas. Tell us what would help you to prepare for an emergency
before it happens. If you would like to sign up for our help with boarding up, if you
would like to volunteer to help with this project, or if you have other ideas or thoughts
contact Judy at 276-9161.
In the upcoming months we will be sharing lots of information with you as we prepare
for hurricane season and other major disasters. Look for us on the website and
newsletters.
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DPC Bulletin
2-5-2007
The night the sky fell…
“The sky is falling, the sky is falling!”. As you know this is the refrain of Chicken Little. At times those of us in CERT are accused of being Chicken Little’s.
Folks, the sky did fall in four counties north of Orlando. What we heard over and over from the folks there was that they had no warning. My first thought was “where were the weather radios?”. My weather radio went off about one o’clock with the warning that bad weather was on the way; again at two o’clock it went off with the warning that bad weather was on the way and to prepare; once again about three o’clock it went off with the warning that severe weather was imminent and to take shelter immediately in these areas. Being forewarned does not prevent the destruction that occurred in Lake County but it could have saved lives. Often we don’t think of tornados as being as widespread and destructive as the ones that touched down in Lake County but the estimates I’ve seen say the wind force was that of a category four hurricane. It costs about $40.00 for a weather radio and the investment is well worth the cost.
I’m all about being proactive to do all that we can ahead of time to be ready for disasters. Its one thing to be reactive and responsive but by doing a few simple things throughout the year we can lessen the impact of Mother Nature. Molly, my puppy, and I take a lot of walks around the neighborhood and the one thing we see over and over is leaves and debris building up at the curb drains. Don’t blow your leaves or grass clippings to the drains. If you have a build up now please take two minutes and put the debris in a yard bag. If you see a neighbor or lawn service blowing grass toward the drain go over with a yard bag and offer to help them put the clippings or leaves in the bag. Explain why you are doing this. My guess is that after the first time they will do it on their own in the future. (Either that or do it at night when you aren’t outside! Just kidding) secondly, let me know if you need help with storm panels. If you buy the plywood and hardware the disaster planning committee will come by and measure, cut, pre drill and label the plywood so that you will be ready to board up should the need arise. We need volunteers to help with this, also, depending on the number of folks who need help. My number is 276-9161. Thirdly, we all keep some type of emergency kit during hurricane season and it’s a good idea to keep that handy and up to date all year round. You may occasionally need to rotate new water or air out the blankets or clothing or just periodically check to see that your kit contains all that you think you will need. Be proactive in your own house and do what you can to be ready when a disaster strikes.
Check our website each month for more disaster planning committee news.
Judy Galt
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DPC Bulletin
3-5-2007
Hurricane Preparedness
Our bulletin for this month will provide some pre and post hurricane information to help us be better prepared for the hurricane season.
After a hurricane you can expect the following in our neighborhood and surrounding area:
• The temperature will be between 90 and 100 degrees
• The humidity will be extremely high
• Snakes will be mad and on the prowl (or slither)
• Mosquitoes will be out in force
• Many houses will be damaged, some inhabitable
• Roof shingles will be everywhere
• Pink and yellow insulation from houses will be hanging from trees and on the ground (use gloves when you start clean up of your yard)
• Limbs will be down and trees will be toppled
• Electricity will probably be off (if electricity is off at your house only the power company can legally turn it back on)
• Street gutters may have debris blocking the drain (these need to be cleared of debris as quickly as possible)
• The beaches area has colored poles that denote what areas will be destroyed by storm surge (a category 5 hurricane will destroy everything to Hodges Blvd.)
• Folks who evacuated the beaches area will only be allowed back in the area with the proper hang tag and a valid drivers license (if you don’t have these two items don’t try to go see the damage at the beach as you will not be allowed in the area)
Things you may want to consider before a hurricane hits here:
• Tornados occur at the northwest quadrant of a hurricane (if a hurricane hits Daytona, we can expect a lot of tornado action here)
• Sometime during the spring, check your gutters and down spouts one last time to make sure they are clear and water runs freely
• Know how to open and close your garage doors manually before the electricity goes out
• Try to purchase garage door poles that go on the inside of the doors to keep them from blowing open during a hurricane
• Have a weather radio that can run on batteries to get up to date information
I would like to answer any questions you may have in the next two months. Let me know what you want to know and I’ll try to answer.
Judy Galt
CERT
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