Status of Village Leaf Collection Operations

The Village’s yearly leaf collection operations are continuing, although collection has been slowed due to various factors.  As always, the Village is currently operating two leaf collection trucks with three-person crews assigned to each.  Crews begin collection around 8:00 each weekday morning and continue through 3:30 each afternoon. 
 
Collection has been impacted by weather conditions, which allowed most trees to hang onto their leaves for longer than normal, followed by windy days that took leaves down quickly.  Throughout the Village, landscape crews and residents have been working diligently to bring the quickly dropped leaves to the curb for collection.
 
Additionally, the route to the nearest Montgomery County operated leaf disposal site has been closed for Purple Line construction, and the detours are not accessible by large vehicles.  As a result, the round trip route to dump leaves has increased from 25 minutes to over an hour.  This has severely impacted how many streets can be picked up in a single day as each truck is out of the Village for a minimum of two hours a day disposing of leaves. 
 
Lastly, as we reported a few weeks ago the Village’s yard waste collection truck has been in the shop for repairs and yard waste collection has been halted so crews could focus on leaf collection.  With limited right-of-way space, many of the leaf piles have been placed on top of yard waste piles.  This further slows collection.
 
Here are some reminders for ways that residents can assist crews as we work to get through this challenging leaf collection season:

• Leaves are never permitted to be placed in the roadway.  Leaves must be placed as close to the curb as possible without putting them in the roadway gutter. Please inform your landscape crews of this requirement. Should it rain, leaves piled in the gutter will dam the water causing it to pond.
• Avoid boxing in piles of leaves between cars both for easier accessibility for the collection crews and safety for your vehicles.  The crews have been authorized not to attempt to make contact with the owners of vehicles that are blocking leaf piles until the collection is brought back on schedule.
• Residents on Bradley Lane are required to bag their leaves before placing them at the roadside. If you bag your leaves, they must be placed in paper bags. Public Works will not pick up leaves that have been bagged in plastic.
• Sticks and other sharp tree and garden debris should be left loose and placed in separate piles from leaves. Sharp debris can tear the leaf collection hoses or dull the blades, resulting in downtime for the machine to allow for repairs to the vacuum machinery that can cause delays in the schedule.
• We cannot respond to individual requests for collection.

 
Thank you for your patience as we manage through this year’s leaf collection. 

Tips to Prevent Thieves from Stealing Delivered Packages

Useful prevention measures will protect your purchases

 
It’s the season when delivered packages rain down on doorsteps throughout the Village.  Thieves know this, too, and they target neighborhoods like ours to steal packages soon after they’ve been delivered.
 
To reduce the chances that a package that you are expecting will be stolen, the Village Police Department advises you to consider the following:

• Have your shipper hold packages at their facility or store to be picked up later.  Even after a package has been shipped and is on the way to your house, you can redirect it to be held at the shipper’s distribution center using their online features. 
• Have shipments sent to your office or another address (family member; neighbor) if you won't be home when the package will be delivered. 
• Install a video doorbell.  They alert you and send live video to your smart phone or tablet whenever someone comes to your door.  Each video is saved to the cloud so that you can retrieve it later.  You can also talk to the visitor from anywhere using the intercom feature in the device. 
• At a minimum, sign up for text message updates; you will receive a message very soon after the item is dropped at your house.  With that information, you can promptly bring the package inside to reduce the likelihood of theft. 
• Call the Village Police Department (301-654-7300) immediately if you believe that a delivered package has been stolen.

  ---

FREE to Residents: Prescription Drug Neutralizing Packets

First come, first served

The Village Police Department has received 400 convenient, environmentally friendly medication deactivation zip lock-style pouches (see image below).  Just drop in up to 45 pills, 6 ounces of liquid, or 6 medication patches into a pouch, add water, and zip the pouch closed.  The entire package may then be discarded in your normal trash.
 
The pouches are free of charge to Village residents.  Simply stop in at the window in the Village Hall lobby, and our communications clerks will be happy to supply you with up to 5 pouches per household while supplies last.

.

Multiple Unlocked Cars Entered This Morning on Grafton Street

Thieves stole almost nothing after entering over a dozen unlocked cars

The officers began to look for signs of theft, and they quickly spotted several cars that appeared to have been entered by thieves (glove compartments left open, items dumped on seats, etc.).  In all, 14 cars had been entered along the 3-block length of Grafton Street from Chevy Chase Circle to Wisconsin Avenue.  All of the cars had been unlocked.
 
As of this writing, nothing was stolen from the majority of the cars that were entered.  Coins, a small tool, sunglasses and credit cards were taken from a few cars.
 
A resident reported to police that he heard a noise at about 5:00 a.m., and he saw a car exiting the Village against the ‘Do Not Enter’ sign at Grafton and Wisconsin.  Village Police will be reviewing the images on the traffic camera at that location to see if the violating vehicle might be related to these thefts.
 
Residents are urged to lock their car doors every time they park their car regardless of the hour. These thieves will likely return since they found so many unlocked cars this morning.  It was too easy for them.  We need your help to make it harder for thieves to get into your cars.  For the benefit of you and your neighbors, please lock it up!

TAKE SIMPLE STEPS THIS FALL TO MANAGE YOUR LAWN WITHOUT TOXIC PESTICIDES

A growing body of evidence in the scientific literature shows that pesticide exposure can adversely affect neurological, respiratory, immune, and endocrine systems in humans, even at low levels. Children are especially sensitive to pesticide exposure. Fortunately, there are proven safe, effective, and affordable ways to maintain attractive lawns and playing fields without the use of toxic pesticides.  Fall is the best time to start transitioning your lawn to organic. The key to a healthy lawn is healthy soil and good mowing, watering and fertilizing practices. Getting started:
1. Mow high until the season ends and then mow closely to enable you to carry out the practices that restore the lawn.
 
2. Have a soil test-- It is highly recommended that you analyze your soil. A soil test will tell how much nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and lime you need to grow healthy plants and grass.  Contact your University Extension Program.
 
3. Aerate--If your lawn is hard, compacted and full of weeds, aerate to help air, water and fertilizer to enter. Get together with your neighbors and rent a machine or make sure your contractor aerates.
 
4. Fertilize Organically--Fertilizing in the fall assures good growth and root development.  Your soil tests will tell you what you need. The goal is to use nonsynthetic products, like compost. Make compost at home or buy it. Look for organic slow release fertilizers at your nursery or on-line. Some are listed by the Organics Materials Review Institute (OMRI).
 
5. Overseed with Right Grass Seed --Talk to your local nursery about the best seed for your area. Check to see the  weed content of the grass and that there are no pesticide coatings.
 
For more information, click on the following Beyond Pesticides publication: (1) Establishing a Sustainable Lawn or  (2) Maintaining Your Organic or Natural Lawn.
 
Marilyn Bracken, PhD
Environmental and Energy Committee

Are You Prepared?

As we have experienced during various seasonal events, it is important to be prepared for local weather emergencies. In order the assist residents in their preparedness, the Village in partnership with the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) offer a number of helpful tools, plans and free alerts to assist and keep you informed.

Village Website and Blast Email System – Have you signed up for the Village’s blast email system? This is the Village's primary method of communication with residents. The Village has 2 email lists you can sign-up for:

Urgent News Alert – include messages such as criminal activity, neighborhood disruptions such as water main breaks, power outages and road closures and major weather events.

General News Alerts – include messages about Board and committee meetings, community events, changes in public services such as refuse/recycling collection schedules and upcoming road closures.

To sign-up for the blast email system visit the Village website at www.chevychasevillagemd.gov and click on the tablet icon at the top of the Village’s homepage.
 

Alert Montgomery – Alert Montgomery is the official emergency communications service for Montgomery County, MD. During major crisis, emergency or severe weather events, Montgomery County will send event updates, warnings and instructions directly to you on any of your devices. To sign-up for Alert Montgomery please visit the OEMHS website www.montgomerycountymd.gov/oemhs and click on the “Alert Montgomery” link at the top of the page.

Family and Community Preparedness Information – Emergencies can take many forms and occur with or without warning. By taking a few simple steps now, you can ensure that you, your family and your community are better prepared to handle emergencies. To assist in your family planning, please visit the Village’s emergency preparedness page, www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/emergencyprep for helpful tools and links. Another important tool the Village has created to assist you in your preparedness efforts is our House Check Program. Always request a House Check when you are leaving town and ensure that your emergency contacts are up to date with the Village office.

For additional information please visit the Village’s website at www.chevychasevillagemd.gov and click on the “Are you prepared? – Emergency Preparedness Tips” link listed in the Quick Links on the homepage.

Emergency Contact Sheet

EMERGENCY - 911
 
Chevy Chase Village Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-654-7300

Montgomery County Police 
Non Emergency/24hrs - 301-279-8000

Bethesda - Chevy Chase Rescue Squad - 301-652-0077

Chevy Chase Fire Dept
(Opposite Columbia Country Club) - 240-773-4707

Bethesda Fire Dept
(Wisconsin Ave and Bradley Blvd) - 240-773-4706

National Capital Poison Center
(George Washington University Hospital) - 800-222-1222

Utilities
 

Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)

Emergency-Live wires down, power failure - 877-737-2662

Customer Service - 202-833-7500

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Emergency - 301-206-4002

Complaints, Leaks, Information - 301-206-4001

Washington Gas

Emergency - 703-750-1400

Information & Customer Service - 703-750-1000

Comcast - 800-934-6489

Verizon - 800-837-4966

**A cut out sheet is also located on page two of the January 2017 Crier.

You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to receive general news updates from Chevy Chase Village. Did you know the Village sends out urgent news updates as well, click here to sign-up.