Content

• “Tis the Season”
• Traveling for the holidays?
• Guest policy reminder
• Corvias Foundation scholarship and grant applications now open
• How many different reasons to celebrate this month?
• Green Corner
• Fire Safety Tips for the Holidays
• Winter Pet Care
• Garbage Disposal Maintenance
• Want to know what is happening in your neighborhood?

"Tis the Season"

This year, Corvias and Aberdeen Proving Ground will host a tree lighting ceremony and holiday celebration on Wednesday, December 3 at the Bayside Community Center. The tree lighting will take place at 5:30 p.m. and festivities will continue through 7:30 p.m. All residents are invited to attend! Santa Claus will be available for pictures, but remember to bring a camera. The celebration also includes a balloon artist, free food, crafts and activities. Contact your Community Office for details.

Traveling for the holidays?

Remember to keep the heat on! The weather may be nice when you leave, but can quickly change while you are gone. Please leave your thermostat set between 60 and 65 degrees to prevent pipes from freezing. Also, we encourage you to consider registering your home for House Watch with your Community Office. When you register your home, the Community team will make a routine check of the property and can take appropriate actions as needed.

Guest policy reminder

Please remember to contact your Community Office should any house guest stay in your home for longer than seven days. You can then register them as an official house guest.

Registered guests are welcome to visit for no longer than 30 consecutive days. Guests are not allowed to stay in the home if they have been barred from the installation.

Corvias Foundation scholarship and grant applications now open

Are you the spouse or child of an active-duty service member with plans to go to college? Go to corviasfoundation.org to learn more about available $50,000 Scholarships and $5,000 Educational Grants from Corvias Foundation. Applications available online.

How many different reasons to celebrate this month?

December is a month of many holiday celebrations crossing a variety of cultures, nationalities, and beliefs. Here’s a quick snapshot of what people celebrate, and why:

• Hannukah. This Jewish holiday begins in 2014 on Dec. 16 (at sundown) and lasts through Dec. 24. Hannukah celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Jewish victory over the Maccabees in 165 B.C. Each night, families light one candle on the menorah, observing the traditional story of how the oil for the temple’s eternal flame burned for eight days.
• Christmas. Observed on Dec. 25, this Christian holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus, probably between the years 7 and 2 B.C. The 25th may have been chosen to correspond with the winter solstice or to coincide with a Roman holiday honoring the sun during the same period. Christmas became a federal holiday in the United States in 1870.
• Kwanzaa. A seven-day celebration of African heritage and culture, Kwanzaa is observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Activist Ron Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 to emphasize African-Americans’ shared history and experience. The name Kwanzaa is derived from “matunda ya kwanza,” a Swahili phrase meaning “first fruits.”

Green Corner

The next time you reach for a paper towel, consider this - if every household in the US replaced one roll of non-recycled paper towels with a roll of 100 percent recycled paper towels, we would save 864,000 trees and 3.4 million cubic feet of landfill space.

Fire safety tips for the holidays

The National Fire Protection Association and the U.S. Fire Administration estimate holiday decorations cause almost 400 home fires each year, resulting in many losses of life as well as millions in property damage. Following a few simple tips will ensure a happy and fire-safe holiday season.

Holiday decorating:

• Be careful with holiday decorations. Choose decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.
• Keep lit candles away from decorations and other things that can burn.
• Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.
• Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections. Connect no more than three strands of mini light sets and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs. Read manufacturer’s instructions for number of LED strands to connect.
• Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged.
• Keep decorations away from windows and doors.

Holiday entertaining:

• Test your smoke alarms and tell guests about your home fire escape plan.
• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.
• Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet.
• Stay in the kitchen when cooking on the stovetop.
• Ask smokers to smoke outside. Remind smokers to keep their smoking materials with them so young children do not touch them.
• Provide large, deep ashtrays for smokers. Wet cigarette butts with water before discarding.
• And remember to blow out lit candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Turn off all light strings and decorations before leaving home or going to bed.

Winter pet care

Cold weather can be hard on pets, just like it can be hard on people. Sometimes owners forget that their pets are just as accustomed to the warm shelter of the indoors as they are. Some owners will leave their animals outside for extended periods of time, thinking that all animals are adapted to live outdoors. This can put their pets in danger of serious illness. There are things you can do to keep your animal warm and safe.

• Take your animals for a winter check-up before winter kicks in. Your veterinarian can check to make sure your pets don't have any medical problems that will make them more vulnerable to the cold.
• Keep your pets inside as much as you can when the mercury drops. If you have to take them out, stay outside with them. When you're cold enough to go inside, they probably are too. If you absolutely must leave them outside for a significant length of time, make sure they have a warm, solid shelter against the wind, thick bedding, and plenty of non-frozen water. Try leaving out a hot water bottle, wrapped in a towel so it won't burn your pet's skin.
• Animals that are not generally in good health shouldn't be exposed to winter weather for a long period of time. Very young and very old animals are vulnerable to the cold as well. Regardless of their health, though, no pets should stay outside for unlimited amounts of time in freezing cold weather. If you have any questions about how long your pet should be out this winter, ask your veterinarian.
• Pets that go outside can pick up rock salt, ice, and chemical ice melts in their foot pads. To keep your pet's pads from getting chapped and raw, wipe her feet with a washcloth when she comes inside.
• When you're outside with your pets during the winter, you can watch them for signs of discomfort with the cold. If they whine, shiver, seem anxious, slow down or stop moving, or start to look for warm places to burrow, they're saying they want to get back someplace warm.

Winter can be a beautiful time of year. If you take some precautions, you and your pet can have a fabulous time taking in the icicles, the snow banks, and the warm, glowing fire at the end of the day.

Source: American Animal Hospital Association

Garbage disposal maintenance

The garbage disposal is one of the systems in your home that gets a lot of wear and tear. Following the tips below will keep your disposal grinding away.

• Keep the drain covered when the disposal unit is not in use.
• Do not dispose of items such as bones, corncobs, hairpins, glass, string, tacks, etc. Doing so may result in a clogged drain or jammed disposal.
• Grind food waste with strong flow of cold water.
• Flush the disposal for self-cleaning by running a few minutes after grinding waste or draining dishwasher.
• Do not use lye or other chemicals for cleaning.
• Do not turn off water the while grinding.
• Do not grind fibrous food waste, i.e., cornhusks, pea pods, lettuce, celery, artichoke leaves, chicken skin.

To sharpen the blades of your disposal use ice cubes. Drop a handful of ice cubes into the disposal and grind with a strong flow of cold water. To give your kitchen a fresh scent grind some slices of lemon or orange in the disposal.

When disposal does not operate take the following steps:

• Step 1: Turn off switch and water, and allow garbage disposal unit to cool.
• Step 2: Push reset button located on bottom or side until a click is heard.
• Step 3: Turn on switch and water.
• Step 4: If garbage disposal is still operational, call the Community Management Office to report a work order.

Want to know what is happening in your neighborhood?

Your community calendar can help you stay up-to-date on trash, recycling, lawn care, resident events and community activities.

You can even sync your community calendar with a personal Google calendar by clicking on the +Google button on the bottom right-hand corner of the calendar.

Upcoming events and important dates

• Dec. 3: APG Tree Lighting and “Tis the Season”; 5:30 at the Bayside Community Center
• Dec. 9: Garrison Town Hall; 1 p.m. Post Theater
• Dec. 10: Jingle Bell 5K
• Dec. 12: U.S. Army Field Band Holiday Concert; 7 p.m.
• Dec. 13: Army vs. Navy Football Game
• Dec. 24: Community Offices open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Dec. 25: All offices closed

Every Friday in Dec: Story Time; 10:30 at the Bayside Communit