2007 Pool Party Results

Thanks to all our wonderful sponsors for donating prizes!

Hy-Vee
Down The Hatch
Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Amigos
Lazlo’s Brewery & Grill
SAM’s Club
Cracker Barrel
QP Ace Hardware
Subway
Walgreens

And congratulations to all our winners too!  Here are some pictures from the event:

2006 Holiday Lighting Contest Results

Holiday lighting displays were judged on December 19th-21st.  There were great decorations everywhere and we have several prizes from local businesses to share.  Thanks also to everybody who took the time to light up our neighborhood so well, even if you aren't one of the lucky winners this year.

Here are the winners and their prizes:
(names are based on assessor records, please e-mail any corrections to webmaster@lincolnhighlands.org)

December 2006 Parks & Rec Update

Jim Portis brought an example of of a device that can be used to stock bags for use by folks walking their dogs in the parks.  Parks & Rec will post the devices on the trails and stock them with bags initially.  After that it is up to folks that use the trails to keep the bags stocked.

He also addressed requests for lighting along the trails.  Unfortunately, this is cost prohibitive and the city cannot afford to light all its trails.  The city has done some projects where private funds were used to create lights and the city maintains them thereafter, but the cost of doing this for our trails is prohibitive.

The stretch of sidewalk from NW 1st and Highlands Blvd to the fire station was brought up.  The city is likely to finish that sidewalk next construction season.  There was also concern that the recycling site needs more lighting.

December 2006 Technology Park / Verizon Update

Verizon Wireless will be locating a customer product support here.  The initial employment plan is for 800 people.  A 112,800 square foot facility is being built with about 780 parking spaces.  The building will be roughly the same height as the rest of the technology park and there are no antennas and such allowed to stick up on the roof.  The look of the building will be similar to others in the park.  Grading of the site is expected to begin as early as January.  The building is expected to be operational by October of 2007.

The facility will perform technical support for their products (no outbound calls).  They plan to have staff work from 6:00am to 11:00pm with staggered work shifts.  They will have a gymnasium and cafeteria so they do not expect a lot of coming and going during the work day.

The city planning personnel have worked hard to understand the comings & goings that are anticipated for the new facility.  They have incorporated this expected traffic into the current traffic patterns for the area and re-evaluated the need for traffic lights at the intersections along Highlands Blvd.  With 85% of the new traffic expected to come from the southeast, the intersection at NW 1st and Highlands Blvd is the greatest area of concern, but it still does not reach a level where a light is needed.

December 2006 Kawasaki Development Update

They are looking to install a test track for Kawasaki and other equipment on the south side of their property.  This is not a commercial race track that will generate a lot of noise or be a nuisance.  They have done some test runs of all terrain vehicles in the area and for the times allowed (6:00am to 10:00pm, weekdays) and they were well under the noise levels allowed by city ordinance.  They don't expect to have vehicles on the track very often and only one or two at a time.

There have been some suggestions to plant trees between the track and NW 12th.  They have not done so yet as the land in that area is still being farmed.

The project will go in two phases.  In 2007 a straight track, mud pit and some inclines will be installed.  A full track will come later in 2008.  It is expected that the track will be inside security fencing to prevent unauthorized use.

2006 Annual Egg Hunt Pictures

We had a great turnout and there was fun for all at the annual egg hunt.    Congratulations to Zach Zeicheck and Brandon Barnes on winning the egg toss.  Click on the pictures below to see bigger versions of each:

Special thanks go to the residents of Lancaster Manor for spending their activity time assembling and putting candy into eggs for the event.

Crime Prevention Tips

Captain John Sundermeier brought statistics to the 12/7/05 for the last 3 months Highlands crime activity.    They consisted mostly of larceny from autos and burglaries to homes that were left unlocked.  He said we could easily reduce such crime by 50% by just following these two suggestions:
    1) Lock your house (especially shutting the garage door)
    2) Don't leave tempting items in view in your vehicles
You can get current crime activity for the whole city by visiting the LPD Crime Listing by Area page, here.

Call in suspicious activity or especially crimes in progress.  He said that the department is very likely to have multiple officers out to investigate such situations.  Something as simple as coming home late at night and seeing individuals walking down the street and looking in car windows is worth calling in.  Even if they can't pin a crime on them that night, it is helpful to document individuals that are engaging in suspicious activity.

Middle School Crisis

Many Highlanders were involved in 2003 when parents of Fredstrom students were informed our kids could no longer go to Goodrich.  Chaos ensued and several board meetings later, a 3-year solution was created as the North Star Middle School.  Were are fast approaching the end of that time period and the board is finally beginning to show signs of working out where our students will go next.  Click here to for more information on this hot topic, including links to other related sites.

Highlands Village Access Bridge

There was a March 29th meeting to explore the possibility of connecting the bike path to the Highlands Village Shops.  Representatives from Village businesses, Highlands Neighborhood Association, Brester Construction, Commercial Investment Properties, and Parks & Rec were there.

Highlands Townhomes Development

The developer has e-mailed two new plans showing 92 units and 94 units.  Click here to read the letter from the Developer's representative and see other details.

NW 1st Townhomes Development

Another, smaller townhomes development is being proposed for NW 1st and Barons Road.  There are also a pair of medical / office buildings on the site.  You can get more details and see the plan here.

Highlands Area Recycling Center

We received an updated plan at the 3/29/05 meeting.  You can see more details on this project on our Recycling Center page here.  Please send your thoughts to board@lincolnhighlands.com.

Questions or comments?
Contact us at webmaster@lincolnhighlands.com