McAllen's First "Off Leash" Dog Park Set To Open Feb. 13

The City of McAllen Parks and Recreation Department is holding a Ribbon Cutting ceremony for the recently constructed McAllen Dog Park located at 5th Street and Tamarack on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.

“After months of anticipation, we are happy to introduce McAllen’s first Dog Park to the community,” said Sally Gavlik, Director of the McAllen Parks and Recreation Department.  “The new park will provide a safe, convenient location for people to take their dogs for socializing and exercise, and it will provide a great way to educate the public about responsible pet practices.”

Approximately three years ago half the land for this project was donated by the Shell Exploration and Production Company to extend the City’s existing park.

The land where the Dog Park now stands was originally a storm water detention pond dug in the 1960’s to accommodate localized flooding.

“The Dog Park will still serve its purpose as a Storm Water Detention Facility preventing the flooding of homes in the immediate area.  During heavy rain storms, water will drain into the park with water subsiding within a few hours.  The neat part is, dog lovers will still be able to use the trail surrounding the park during these times,” said Sally Gavlik.

McAllen’s first fenced “off leash” Dog Park has separate areas for small and large dogs, as well as a trail surrounding the park for dogs that may need the restraint of a leash.

The renovated park features a new parking lot, shade structure, signage kiosk, landscaping, area lighting, fencing and a walking trail. 

For more information regarding the McAllen Dog Park Ribbon Cutting ceremony please contact the McAllen Parks and Recreation Department at (956) 681-3333.

Hidalgo County Health Department To Host H1N1 Clinic

The Hidalgo County Health & Human Services Department is  hosting a countywide H1N1 Vaccination Clinic Saturday, February 6, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m, at the McAllen Convention Center.

• There will be NO CHARGE. 
• Receiving the flu vaccine is VOLUNTARY. 
• Minor children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. 
• Vaccines will be administered on a first come-first serve basis. 

Students that are 9 years old and under will need to get a second dose of the vaccine a month later in order to be better protected against the H1N1 flu.

If the person has any of the following, they should NOT get the vaccination at this clinic, and should check with their doctor if they want to get the H1N1 flu vaccine:

• Moderately to severely ill right now (colds or allergies are fine)
• Previous serious reactions to vaccinations
• Guillain-Barre syndrome (illness with sudden muscle weakness and some loss of senses in the fingers and toes)
• Serious allergy to eggs

For more information, contact the Hidaglo County Health and Human Services Department at (956) 318-2426.



McAllen Libraries Offering Free Tax Forms

McAllen Memorial Library is pleased to offer an assortment of tax forms free of charge to the public, except in special cases. Basic forms such as the 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, and the Earned Income Credit (EIC) and corresponding instruction booklets are available at all three library locations. The Main Library receives a larger assortment of tax forms than its two branch libraries. All forms that have so far been received are available on a first come, first served basis; feel free to take the forms you need on the open shelves next to the photocopy machine in the reference area of the Main Library. Contact the reference desk of your preferred library location to inquire about what tax forms are available. If you are not able to locate the form you need, you may locate and print one out by going to www.irs.gov, or you may stop by the Reference Desk at any McAllen Library location and request that particular form to be printed out for you. The cost of printing out a form is $0.10 per page. Although library staff will do their very best to help you locate the form you request, they are neither trained nor authorized to give tax advice. For more information, please go the library’s web site at www.mcallen.net, or call the Reference Desk at 956-688-3300.

McAllen Hosts 4th Annual Urban Forestry Conference

The City of McAllen is hosting the 4th Annual RGV Urban Forestry Conference Thursday, January 21, at the new McAllen Convention Center.

Among the featured speakers are Dr. Bernard Parresol, Dr. Ed Barnard and world renowned forest researcher Dr. Ariel Lugo.

"The 4th Annual RGV Urban Forestry Conference promises to be an educational and exciting day of presentations and exhibitions," organizers said.

"Our slate of local, state and international speakers will address topics that range from tree trimming, keeping your trees healthy from insects and disease, to selecting the appropriate species for the landscape. The exhibitors room will offer products and ideas to help solve these issues you might have."

Schedule of Events

• 8:00 to 8:30 Registration
• 8:30 to 8:45 Welcome by McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez and Public Works Director Carlos Sanchez
• 8:45 to 9:00 Conference Overview/Session Moderator, Chris Lash, Keep McAllen Beautiful
• 9:00 to 10:00 Palm Tree and Broadleaf Trimming, Matt Weaver, Texas Forest Service and Brad Bentsen, Superintendent of Parks, City of McAllen
• 10:00 to 11:00 Tree Diseases in the Urban Forest, Dr. Ed Barnard, Pathologist, Florida Division of Forestry
• 11:00 to 12:00 Bugs in the Urban Forest, Dr. Raul Villanueva, Asst. Professor, Texas A&M Agrilife
• 12:00 to 1:00 Urban Forestry in the 21st Century, Keynote Speaker, Dr. Ariel Lugo, International Institute of Tropical Forestry (Session Moderator: Mark Kroeze, Forester, City of McAllen)
• 1:00 to 2:00 Tree Selection for the Urban Forest, Dr. Carlos Ricart, Asst. Professor, University of Puerto Rico
• 2:00 to 3:00 Urban Tree Inventory Biometrics Statistical Perspectives, Dr. Bernard Parresol, USDA Forest Service
• 3:00 to 4:00 Constraints and Opportunities for Urban Forestry in Sarasota Florida, Ms. Demitra McBride, Forestry Manager, Sarasota County Florida
• 4:00 to 4:30 Economy and Urban Forestry, Mr. Salomon Torres, District Director, Office of Ruben Hinojosa, US Congressman; Closing Remarks, Mike Perez, McAllen City Manager

For more information contact:

• Salvador, Alemany, Regional Urban Forester, Texas Forest Service, (956) 969-5654
• Mark Kroeze, City Forester, City of McAllen, (956) 681-4050
• Ed Krupel, City Forester, City of Edinburg, (956) 388-8202
• Roy Reyes, City Forester, City of Brownsville, (956) 548-6137

District 5 Commissioner Ingram To Host Neighborhood Clean-up

Keep McAllen Beautiful, Inc., and Commissioner John Ingram have scheduled a neighborhood clean-up for Saturday, January 16, and encourage residents to participate.  The area of the clean-up is from Business 83 to Pecan and from Bicentennial to 23rd.

Here are the roll-off bin locations: 

• 2508 N. 19th 1/2             
• 2209 Whitewing
• 2201 Camellia                   
• 2000 Daffodil                                              
• 2119 Fern                          
• 2104 Iris
• 1800 W. Japonica            
• 2101 Kerria

For more information, contact Chris Lash with Keep McAllen Beautiful at (956) 688-3241.