Christmas Tree Recycling Begins Jan 12

The collection of Christmas trees for recycling will take place over a two-week period, beginning Monday January 12, 2009. To ensure collection of Christmas trees, residents must have the trees out at the curb no later than Sunday, January 18.

Set out the naked tree--no decorations, tinsel, or bags--for curbside pickup.

Residents who want to drop off Christmas trees themselves, may do so starting Friday, December 26, 2008. Residents may drop off their Christmas trees (no decorations, bags, tree stands, etc.) at:

* Western Acceptance Facility, off of the 4500 block of Hollins Ferry Road, in Halethorpe. Monday - Saturday, 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Happy Holidays (all of them)!

Oella HOA website updates

We've made some important updates to the HOA website, including the contact information for the property manager. Please check it out!

Oella on i-neighbors

The site www.i-neighbors.org has an Oella listing. It's an online community where anyone with a login can post photos, announcements, local business reviews, polls, etc. One interesting feature is that it you can send free faxes to local government. It's sort of like a more advanced version of the Yahoo group, but it is unmoderated from what I can tell. If you click on the link above and type in our zip code, you can find the group.

Oella Christmas Party Saturday Dec 13

12:30 to 3:00 at the Westchester Center. Puppet show, clown, etc...sponsored by GOCA. Stop by on your way to or from the Banneker event.

A special event at the Benjamin Banneker Museum

There will be a special event at the Benjamin Banneker Museum on Saturday, December 13, 2008 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. The event is a Special Exhibit and Wine and Cheese Reception for "Correspondence and Artifacts of the George Ellicott Family- 1799-1900"

The event on the 13th will feature,
"The Ellicotts", a talk by Guy Hager and a book-signing of his newly released The Gwynns Falls.

"Music of the 1700s", a performance by David and Ginger Hildebrand of the Colonial Music Institute.

A Holiday Bazaar offering unique gifts.

The event is presented by the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks and the Friends of the Banneker Historical Park. Admission is free, but donations will be welcome. For more information call the Museum at (410) 887-1081.

Reminder: Annual Meeting of Members Mon. Dec 8 7:00pm

...at the Westchester Center. If you can't make it, please send your proxy form with someone who will attend. Hope to see you there!

Planetary conjunction over Oella

Celestial oddities in the Oella sky captured for our viewing pleasure by Geoff Baker. Some historians think that a similar conjunction between Jupiter and Venus in 2 B.C. may be the source of the "star of Bethlehem" in the Christian nativity story. Click on the link for more information.

New blog feature: Follow this Blog

The "follow this blog" feature has been added for your convenience. As you can see, we also now have a soothing blue background. If there are other features that you'd like to have added, please let me know!

Hunters in Patapsco Park

A resident reported running into two hunters in Patapsco State park this weekend. Please be careful in the park.

**Update: the hunters may actually be allowed in part of the park with a license as part of a managed hunt. It looks like the area is restricted to the side across the river from the mill race trail. If you suspect a violation of the rules, contact the Natural Resources Police at 410-356-7060 M-F 8-4:40 or 1-800-825-PARK 24hrs a day. DNR advises that you do not attempt to approach or apprehend violators. Please provide a description, vehicle tag number, time of day, location, etc. if you call. See comments and link above.**