From Our Mayor
Jay F. Feibelman
With the demolition of the old City Hall on Schoenthal Road in April, a slice of history in Garden Ridge came to an end. Purchased in 1988, the former private residence served the city admirably for 18 years with its police station and administrative functions. Growth finally caught up, and the city basically outgrew the facility. Efforts were expended to save the structure, but it was beyond economic repair. The plat on which it stood is being returned to its basic natural state, and probably will remain so until the 5.23 acres of land is sold or redeveloped sometime in the future.

The city has come a long way in the last 10 years and the complex we now occupy can be looked upon with pride! It was sorely needed and I look with pride at the foresight of the city leadership to make it happen. We are a pro-active city!

Thank you for your support to the Mayor’s office and the City Council. Without such support, it doesn’t happen.

Welcome to Garden Ridge
New Residents:
Those listed and families:

Ana Lizama
Guillermo G. Marin

Note: Newcomers are identified by water service records. Consequently, not all names in the household will appear. Those not appearing are also welcomed! The City of Garden Ridge requires that all dogs and cats be registered. Call 651-6831 for information.

New Business in Area
Carmen’s Specialties, Bubble Tĕ, Cevicheria, and Gifts is now open at 18816 FM 2252 in Over Yonder next to Paw Prints. Carmen’s offers wonderful bubble teas, French Press coffee expressos Monday through Thursday from 11:30 am to 7:00 pm and Friday and Saturday 11:30 am to 8:00 pm. Food service is provided on Saturdays and their international cuisines include Cuban, Peruvian, ahd Hawaiian dishes among others. All foods are made fresh. Expanded food service is being planned. Sundays are available for private parties.
Grand Opening scheduled on May 9th from Noon to 5 pm. Free samples, savings and giveaways. Bring this Grapevine for a chance to win giftcards for Carmen’s Specialties.

New Business in Area
South Texas Performance is located at 18415A 5th Street in Bracken. They offer major and minor auto repair services including oil changes. Call 210-888-2038

QUICK NOTES
Stage 1 drought conditions are in force. Water only once a week based on the last digit of your address. Other restrictions apply. Questions, call City Hall 651-6831. Watch your local media for updates. Set your sprinkler systems accordingly. Manual control is preferred during drought conditions.
Last day for early voting — City election May 5. Election — May 9.
The most critical period for Oak Wilt is Feb 1 to June 1. Paint all wounds ASAP!

GR Womens Club
HEB Central Market Cooking Class
Thursday, May 7 at 11:30am
Expand your knowledge of whole grains and their many uses as these healthy ingredients are incorporated in this exciting menu:
Sparkling Pomegranate Lemonade
Roasted Tomato/Vegetable Soup
Bulgar Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Apricot Grilled Duck Breasts
Baked Barley with Shiitake Mushrooms & Caramelized Onions
Fruit Cobbler or Tart
GR Women’s Club Members: $30
Non-members: $35
Questions? Please call Tina @ 651-4151
Class Size is limited to 30 students. Your payment is your class reservation, so book now!
Mail Check payable to GRWC to:
Tina Schuman
7814 Star Circle
San Antonio, TX 7826

Bracken VFD Firefighters’ Annual Festival
RESCHEDULED TO 12 SEPT 09 BECAUSE OF A-H1N1 VIRUS
The annual Bracken VFD Firefighters’ Festival, the fire department’s primary fundraiser, will be held at the Garden Ridge Community Center on Saturday, May 2, 2009. This new venue will provide better parking, more room, air conditioning, and protection from rain we so desperately need.
Bracken’s famous Kartoffel Puffers (German Potato Pancakes) will be served for the 41st year. Other food and drinks will include applesauce, sausage, hotdogs, sauerkraut, various desserts, homemade ice cream, water, tea sodas, beer and wine.
This year’s festival will feature a live auction, a silent auction, and a raffle of great items donated by area businesses and individuals, while a jump castle and inflatable slide will entertain energetic children.
Schedule Of Events:
10 AM — 8 PM Meals served, Address signs sold
10 AM — 9 PM Silent Auction, Raffle Ticket Sales, Moon Bounce, Slide
6 PM — 9 PM Live Auction
9 PM Raffle Drawing and Silent Auction winners announced
Although BVFD is partially supported by tax revenue, fund raising is critical to provide the best fire rescue and medical first response service possible. Mark you calendar to come enjoy great food and company while supporting your local fire department!

Forest Waters Club Luau
Grab your ukulele, get out your grass skirt and get ready to hula at the Forest Waters Club Luau on May 31st starting at 4pm. This is open to everyone including non members. For further details, contact the club at 651-6505.

GRWC Cookbook
The Garden Ridge Women’s Club is now taking pre-orders for our beautiful new Cookbook, Amazing Grazing. More than just a 450 recipe cookbook, it is a fact-filled, fun mini-bio of our club, including some city history, and original photographs of our area. At a mere $20 per book, it will make a perfect gift for you, your friends, and your family. Order volumes! Send your check for $20 for each book, made payable to GRWC to:
GRWC Cookbook
9435 Gardenia Bend Drive
Garden Ridge, TX 78266
We will have these available to distribute in June, but pre-sales help with our planning. Don’t miss out on these treasured recipes and more: Bracken VFD’s Kartoffel Puffers; the Lions Club Borracho Beans; Dody Olesen’s French Cream Mold; or the mighty Bracken Burger!
Questions?
Please call Kay Bower (650-8881) or Peggy Campbell (651-6065).

Library Footnotes
By Lynne Dean
BONZO CRUNCH is coming back! He will be arriving in the library on Tuesday, June 9th at 2:30 PM. Bring your young ones for a fun time!
ATTENTION YOUNG READERS: The new Bluebonnet books and the new Lone Star books are ready for checkout. Many thanks to the Women’s Club and the Lion’s Club for their continued generous support.
ATTENTION TEENS: We have just purchased the DVD “Twilight”, but we would like your suggestions for other DVDs that we could buy.
We have a lot of VHS tapes available for purchase in our sale room. We are offering 8 videos for $5.00.
Come browse our selection of gently used newer books for $1.00 each.

Update Contact Information
We strongly encourage you to maintain current contact information in the city’s telephone notification system — Connect-CTY. This system is used by the city to communicate important, urgent, and emergency information to our citizens and businesses. To enroll or update your contact information click the logo above or click:
Connect-CTY Sign Up Now also located on the home page and provide the requested information. All information is confidential and only you can access it.
On our April 13th notification shows that only 893 of 1091 contacts were successful. Over 100 could not be delivered due to bad telephone numbers. This system has been quite successful in getting information to citizens when necessary. If you haven’t received notifications recently, please update your information now..

Important Numbers

City Hall 210-651-6632
Lost Pet 210-651-6831
Police Department 210-651-6441

Significant Dates
May 10 - Mother’s Day

MAY 16 - ARMED FORCES DAY

May 25 - Memorial Day
Remember with great gratitude and
honor all members of our Armed Forces
Especially those who fought &
died serving America!

Last day for early voting - May 5th -
City Election May 9th
Voting on Election Day, May 9th, will be conducted from 7am to 7pm in the Garden Ridge City Council Chambers.

BRUSH DISPOSAL
Bexar Waste, our waste collector, will be providing roll-offs for brush disposal six times per year for the convenience of Garden Ridge residents only. The disposal site will be located off Municipal Parkway on the following scheduled dates: May 9 - 17

Garden Ridge Lion's Club
For membership and information, contact
Dick Vogt 651-5894

QUARRY HAPPENINGS
On April 13, 2009 the Quarry Commission held its monthly meeting. The Commission reviewed and analyzed the blasting data from March 2009. There were five blasts in March. Blasting was conducted on the Blank property northwest of the main pit and in the “new pit” which is in the main pit, but deeper. None of the blast data in March was significant, but the Commission received 5 complaints about the blast on March 3, one complaint about the blast on March 17, and one complaint about the blast on March 27. From the blaster’s and Quarry’s perspective, there was nothing abnormal or distinctive about the 3 Mar and 17 Mar blasts, other than the complaints about the severity of the blasts. The 27 Mar blast, though less severe than the 3 Mar blast, was unusual. The blast was originally planned for 26 Mar, but the detonation was delayed because of thunderstorms. The delay allowed water to seep into the blast charges and affect the planned shot. As a result of the unusual situation, the Commission is going to investigate, along with the City Administrator and Quarry, options to prevent a similar situation from occurring again.
More information about the Quarry Commission meetings is available at the City Municipal Building or on the Quarry Commission’s home page. The Quarry Commission welcomes citizen comments. If you wish to complain about a blast or have comments for the Quarry Commission, contact City Hall at 651-6632 or visit the Citizens’ Blast Report page. Citizens who are interested in having quarry blasts monitored at their residence should contact a member of the Quarry Commission. Citizens are invited to attend the next Quarry Commission meeting on May 11, 2009
at 7 pm.

7 Steps to a Happier Pet
The Humane Society of the United States, in battling to end animal neglect, cruelty and abuse, encourages you to take the following actions to support animals.
Make sure your pet wears an ID tag to let him be returned if lost. Enroll you new puppy or dog in behavioral training classes and visit www.petsforlife.org.
Animal behavioral problems can be health related. Get a complete physical at a veterinarian at least once a year.
Prepare for disasters. Make sure you have a plan that includes your pet.
Plan for your pet’s future in case something happens to you, see www.hsus.org/petsinwills.
Learn how to avoid dog bites, and how to prevent your dog from biting by going to www.nodogbites.org.
Have a heart, be smart and have your pet spayed or neutered.

Coming Events
Go to the Calendar.

Significant City Council
Go to Council Actions.

Grapevine Deadline
Grapevine Deadline. Submissions for the June GRAPEVINE need to be turned in by May 15th..