Athlete of the Month

Davis Hartley by Teri Hebert

This month’s Athlete of the Month is Special Olympian Davis Hartley. Yes, you read that right! We have a true Special Olympian living in our neighborhood!

This guy loves sports! Davis plays basketball and it’s his favorite sport. His coach nicknamed him “Mr. Three-pointer” on the Special Olympics team. He also plays tennis at Canyon Creek Country Club on the Special Athletics team, he does Special Olympics volleyball and track. And he’s a swimmer for Special Olympics (and was a CCCC Barracuda for several years). As if that wasn’t enough, he was on the football team in high school.

Sharing one of his favorite sports moments Davis says, during a big game “My friend Geoffrey threw the ball in and I shot the winning basket before the clock ran out to win the game and my team won the gold medal.” Gold-medal winning moment!

Davis graduated from JJ Pearce in 2012. He also attended Prairie Creek Elementary, North Junior, and Richland College. In high school, Davis was voted Homecoming King, Mr. JJ Pearce, and class favorite. He is a high-scorer in basketball, and of course, as a Special Olympian, he has many Special Olympics medals to his name.

Outside of school and sports, Davis loves job training. He works for Subway at Richland college and has been doing a great job there for two and a half years. And his extra-curricular skills don’t stop with sports, either. He’s a bass fi sherman who travels to Canada every summer to go fi shing.

Davis has lived in Richardson all of his life. He loves dogs, especially his chocolate lab Lucy. Davis says he’s shy, but when you get to know him, he’s a funny guy.

One thing he loves most about Canyon Creek is that he knows a lot of people and he sees them everywhere he goes. He says many of his friends from back in his Prairie Creek Elementary days—as far back as kindergarten—come to celebrate his birthday each year in June. He loves to see them!

Davis, we love having you in the neighborhood. Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Canyon Creek Allstate Insurance Are you getting an annual insurance review with your agent?

Q: What will happen during my annual review?

A: An insurance review provides an opportunity to review your existing insurance coverage against your current needs to ensure your insurance remains appropriate to your life situation. It’s a good time to discuss any changes in your life and how they might affect your coverage, as well as potentially increase or reduce coverages and apply discounts.

Life Changes to Discuss with Your Agent

While preparing for your annual review, I suggest assessing any major life changes that have recently affected (or will soon affect) any of your insurance needs.

Did you have a new baby this year? Maybe you’ll want more life insurance coverage. Is Johnny about to turn 16 and start driving? Then, it’s time to start thinking about adding him to a car insurance policy. How about major additions to your home that may have impacted its value? Or, if you’re older, maybe you’ve recently inherited property you need covered?

Other life changes to consider include new recreational vehicles, such as motorcycles, boats, or jet skis, the addition of any rental units (a child renting an apartment at college is one such example), or reaching certain age milestones which might impact auto insurance premiums.

Assessing Insurance Coverage Levels

When I meet with a client, I’ll review their current insurance levels and try to paint a picture for them of the impact of their insurance coverage decisions.

In addition to reviewing your existing policies for any needed changes, the review process might also touch on new types of insurance you might fi nd useful.

There are lots of unexpected ways insurance can help you. Have you thought about the impact of identity theft? There are insurance products that provide coverage for that. Or, did you know that homeowners insurance can have some limitations on theft or fi re risk? For example, technology and jewelry losses commonly face limitations, so you may want to consider additional coverage for these.

The goal isn’t just to increase your coverage; it’s to adjust your coverage to meet your current needs.

What do you think your car is worth? If it’s an older, low-value vehicle, full comprehensive and collision may not be worth it anymore. We’re not just looking to increase coverage, but also to decrease it where needed too.

As part of this review process, your agent will not only cover major life changes as noted above, but also shifts in your overall fi nancial picture that may impact the affordability of your premium.

Looking for Potential Insurance Discounts

In addition, your agent can also help you identify discounts for which you may qualify.

There are retirement age discounts, motor club discounts and good grade discounts for young drivers.

Your insurance policies can provide important fi nancial protection and peace of mind for you and your family. That’s why an annual insurance review is so important. If you have any questions about the annual insurance review process, contact your agent, If your agent is not providing an annual review then contact me!

Do you have a New Roof?

It could save you hundreds or More on your Home Owner’s Insurance!

Is Your Home “Curb Appealing”? by Lisa Parelli

Want to add more “bang for your buck” when considering your next home project? Curb Appeal. That’s right. It’s a topic so hot that popular television shows are dedicated to it. It is the fi rst impression a prospective, interested buyer has of your home when conducting a realtor drive-by or the fi rst thing your friends and family see when coming to visit you. When someone is looking for a home, the outside dictates whether or not they even want to take a look at the inside. Or, an exterior remodeling project could be just for your own sake – you will become the talk of the neighborhood.

The goal to any exterior remodeling project is to transform your home from dull, out-of-date look to a bold, fresh new look. An aged façade, entry door, garage door can look tired due to lack of maintenance, or, more importantly, a worn-out style. Style appreciation changes regularly. What was accepted in the 60’s and 70’s is not today. One of the simplest and least expensive changes for improving curb appeal is paint. Altering colors and schemes can have a dramatic effect on appeal.

Some exterior remodeling projects trending today feature redefi ning banal entryways with gables, columns, dorms, garage doors and entry doors. You may even want to explore window and door replacements that can enhance a home’s look while improving energy effi ciency at the same time.

Even changing out a garage door can make a huge difference to that overall appearance to the home. You can take a normal steel garage door and turn it into a custom dream by adding a wood façade to give it the custom fi nished product. For homes with a garage entry on the front, this is a sure way to upgrade the exterior of your home.

Top 8 ways to improve your home’s curb appeal are:

1. Lighting – Soft exterior lighting makes your home appear more inviting and enhances your landscaping. Solar Lighting is a perfect way for lighting sidewalks and paths 2. Borders or Edging – Edging materials such as pavers, bricks and stones bring your concrete areas to life. 3. Flowers and Landscaping – Flowers and landscaping are the easiest way to add impact to your home. Flowers in front of the house, pouring out of hanging baskets or inside fl ower boxes provide a huge visual impact. Cut back trees and bushes. 4. Pay Attention to your lawn – Cover up dead spots, add soil and plant grass. 5. Install New Garage Door(s) - There are several styles of garage doors and they can enhance your home’s style. 6. Upgrade Hardware – Change outdated lock and handle on your front door, install new porch fi xtures and install decorative house numbers. 7. Replace the Mailbox 8. Paint the Front Door/Exterior – A fresh coat of paint can transform your home. You can even consider changing your front door with one that adds personality. There is a huge selection of doors which will add style to your home.

These improvements listed here won’t break the bank and can be completed fairly quickly. From simple upgrades such as changing hardware to meticulous to adding fl owers, there are several ways to boost your home’s curb appeal. The will make such a dramatic difference that you’ll beam every time you pull into your driveway.

Community News Friendly Neighborhood Parking

Keeping vehicles properly parked on our streets and in our driveways helps maintain property values and creates a safe environment for residents and emergency vehicles to easily pass through our streets. If you have a vehicle, and you like to park it, check out these friendly reminders for parking your car in the neighborhood!

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Park your own car in front of your own house, or in your own driveway. It’s friendly! But also remember that it is against city ordinance to park your car in front of a neighbor’s house for more than a few hours (or overnight). Have a big box truck, semi-truck, dump truck, or RV? Unfortunately, these vehicles are not permitted for long-term or overnight parking on our residential streets. Junked vehicles include any vehicle that has an outdated registration or is inoperable (fl at tires, wrecked, dead battery, etc). These vehicles are not permitted to be parked on residential streets. The solution? Park these vehicles in your driveway to avoid fi nes from the city, or worse, having your car towed for the city ordinance violation. And just in case it was a question, vehicles should not be parked in your yard. Cars on the grass cause a safety and Conceptual Drawing Only - Does not refl ect fi nal design constantly working to provide new opportunities that reach every citizen in our neighborhoods. One of the latest projectsin development for children of all abilities is the upcoming inclusive park enhancement to Cottonwood Park

The City of Richardson has collaborated with Richardson East Rotary Club to promote, plan, and build this new inclusive playground. Inclusive playgrounds make a fundamental statement about how a community values meaningful play experiences for people of all ages and abilities.

Cottonwood Park’s existing playground is already scheduled for replacement through the City’s 2015 G.O. Bond program. Inclusive playground elements can be added as an enhancement through grants and corporate/philanthropic support from the community.

environmental hazard. Plus . . . a car in the yard doesn’t enhance the look of our beautiful neighborhood!

For more information about specific parking ordinances, visit

Richardson Plans New Inclusive Playground! Resource from richardsonrotary.org and cor.net

Canyon Creek neighbors! We live in an amazing city that is

www.cor.net, then Community Services, then Code Enforcement.

Although inclusive playgrounds are a bigger undertaking and require more planning and funding, they are a space that everyone can share, which benefi ts the entire community. Inclusive playgrounds are becoming a core service provided by many cities locally and nationwide, and are in line with the City Council’s 2015-17 Statement of Goals, which includes a vision of Richardson being an inclusive community.

“All of Richardson’s playgrounds meet the minimum standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act for accessibility, but ‘accessible’ is not always equivalent to ‘inclusive,’” said Richardson Director of Parks and Recreation Lori Smeby. “An accessible playground allows individuals with disabilities to use parts of the park, but we are taking it a step further and creating an inclusive playground that will ensure all children, and the adults that may come with them, regardless of ability, can play together.”

The fi rst of its kind in Richardson, this playground will be a free, outdoor, safe and inclusive play environment. It will encompass sensory-rich structures designed to engage children of all ages and create a unique and meaningful community environment.

To learn more about this project visit ww.cor.net. For donations to this project, please visit www.richardsonrotary.org.