BELTON – The owners of the RV Basin Resort are planning to expand their services with luxury cottages and an improved outdoor recreation concept for 2021. kdhnews.com/news/local/heights-chamber-expects-uptick-in-tourism-tha nks-to-planned-rv-resort-and-luxury-cottages/article_f730521a-eaf8-11ea-8187 -3f4241f6d5ae.html
Gina Pence, president and CEO of the Harker Heights Chamber of Commerce, is excited about the planned project and what it means for the local area.
“This project will take Harker Heights outdoor recreation to a whole new level,” she said.
According to Pence, the concept features recreational living at its finest, including walking trails, indoor and outdoor pools, community events and grilling areas.
While the RV Basin Resort is currently open for guests who would like to use one of their RV spots, the luxury cottages are expected to be completed by fall 2021.
The locally owned and operated RV park is located at 10502 FM-2410, in Belton, just 2.5 miles from I-14 and 4 miles from 1-35.
Pence said there had not been similar projects in the past that both impacted recreation and tourism.
Although the project won’t be finished until next year, Pence is confident local families will enjoy the new recreational option.
“Currently, people are planning road trips to national parks, campgrounds, and experiencing our very own Dana Peak Park, located in Harker Heights, just to get out of the house,” Pence said. “I truly believe that families are enjoying being unplugged from their busy lives.”
With a recent uptick in RV tourism due to social distancing measures and travel bans, Pence expects similar projects in the Killeen-Fort Hood area to follow.
“I personally think that Central Texas will continue to see projects like the RV Basin Park & Luxury Cottages, providing more options for consumers to unplug and enjoy life,” she said.
The added attraction also comes in handy for the chamber’s planning process concerning the solar eclipse in 2024.
Central Texas is considered one of the prime locations to view the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
“The chamber’s tourism department will begin planning for the solar eclipse event,” Pence said.
It’s tax appraisal time again!
Homeowners, you should have received one of these in the mail this week. Before you throw it out, take a good look.
First, keep in mind this is not an actual appraisal. This is just the county’s estimated tax value for your home, which is the amount the home is taxed on. It’s not an accurate indicator of value.
Take a look at the two lines I’ve highlighted.
1) Appraised Value: This is the county’s estimated value for your home. If this value is significantly higher than the actual value of your home, you’ll want protest it. If you’re considering protesting, let me know, and I’ll send you sales information on the homes in your neighborhood that have sold recently. You can include that with your protest. Instructions on protesting are at the bottom of the tax notice. NOTE: If your letter says May 14 is the deadline to protest, that is an error. The deadline this year is actually June 13.
2) Exemptions: These are your tax exemptions which reduce your taxable amount. If this is your primary residence, you should have the homestead exemption, which will show as “HS.” If you’re disabled, you should see “DV” or “DP,” And if you’re over 65, you should see OV65. If you qualify for an exemption and it’s not listed, you need to have it added. Call the tax office at (254)939-5841 or go to <www.bellcad.org/?fbclid=IwAR3MGvxfcGzPJrm0fpAVxdqs-CoW0KQXt4w4jYcU9g 89vm6vqNOavK7TdcM> www.bellcad.org
for instructions on how to apply for exemptions. DO THIS! It’s easy, free, and can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars per year.
Please call me with any questions!
Travel ban for military personnel and families now applies to domestic as well as international travel. Domestic PCS, TDY, and travel leave are on hold until at least May 11. Article here: <www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2112213/statement -by-the-department-of-defense-on-domestic-travel-restrictions/fbclid/IwAR0tx C_3tkQSSM61oFhHoyYDOsEf5Q-QnyW2OG22kaomr63wjvB-umPbvrg/> www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2112213/statement- by-the-department-of-defense-on-domestic-travel-restrictions/fbclid/IwAR0txC _3tkQSSM61oFhHoyYDOsEf5Q-QnyW2OG22kaomr63wjvB-umPbvrg/
Travel ban for at least 60 days for soldiers and families PCSing to/from these countries: Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Article here: <www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2110343/dod-halts-trav el-to-from-covid-19-affected-countries/fbclid/IwAR2KTygsDCUepLOuojH0Obfhos0b dBR0YcqyKvxW3wEVEQGZGKqwlggFO6E/> www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2110343/dod-halts-trave l-to-from-covid-19-affected-countries/fbclid/IwAR2KTygsDCUepLOuojH0Obfhos0bd BR0YcqyKvxW3wEVEQGZGKqwlggFO6E/
Many people date documents with two digits for the year (1/3/20 versus 1/3/2020). During this year, this creates the potential for the date to be manipulated, or specifically, backdated. In this example, 1/3/20 could become 1/3/2019 by simply adding the “19”. This could change the effective date of the document.
Banking/financial institutions and the legal community are strongly suggesting that everyone use the full four digits for “2020” on any enforceable documents and contracts.
11. Coffee Beans, Grounds, and Decoction A barista may have talked you into believing that humanity runs on coffee, but your plumbing lines certainly don’t. Yes, we know it seems perfectly harmless. You might even be tempted into believing that it will give your leaky plumbing a much-needed energy kick. Funny, but just no! Notice how your coffee dregs tend to settle at the bottom? That is precisely what will happen to all those shredded beans. They will settle at the bottom of your drainage pipes, and patiently wait while your plumbing goes amok. Scary! Instead, use them where they belong – in your mean, green compost. They surely will give your plants a big kick!
10. Drugs We mean the prescribed variety here, though the more notorious ones count too. When you consume medication, there are a lot of chemical reactions that happen in your body. Now imagine if the same were to happen to the water within your plumbing lines. If you allow your expired medication to slide down the garbage disposal, rest assured that it will somehow find its way back into your life, perhaps through the drinking water. Now, this is one poisoning disaster you certainly want to avoid. The better way is to simply follow the FDA’s recommendation. Carefully remove the pills from their container, wrap securely in a plastic bag, and toss them out into your external trash can. If you are concerned about the environment, you can go one step further and hand them over to your closest pharmacy. They typically have a way to dispose of expired drugs and medicine safely.
9. Dough This includes pizza dough, bread dough, pita dough, baking dough, sourdough – almost every kind of dough. It’s glutinous, it’s super messy, and it sure can clog those drainage pipes. The same also holds true for any other kind of slime. If you must put it in the disposal, ensure that you completely dilute it using hot water, enough that it turns into a very thin liquid. Then pour it down the drain — or better still, into the compost bin.
8. Grease If you love to cook deep-fried foods, then this might apply to you. As we rinse out our woks and utensils, we tend to allow that last bit of grease to slide through the drain, right into the disposal. Now that is one huge ouch! Just as grease – and this includes all fats and oils – clogs your arteries, it can badly clog your plumbing lines too. And this is one grave situation that no fancy garbage disposal can sort out. So unless you have a plumber on call, save yourself this headache, and keep grease far away from your disposal can. Life is so much easier this way.
7. Hard Seeds, Shells, and Pits If you love those delicious mangoes, apricots, peaches, plums, lychees, or cherries, watch out for those unyielding pits. Believe us when we say that it is absolutely the pits when that hard nut obstructs an entire plumbing line. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your unassuming garbage disposal will chew it all up into oblivion. This also applies to ingredients which your own teeth refuse to chew. Corn cobs, any kind of shell and bone, and even plastic cutlery should all go into an external trash can.
6. Rice and Pasta No, we aren’t against delicious gourmet cuisine. But these are foods that naturally bloat in water. So no matter how hard your garbage disposal tries, the moment these foods come in contact with your plumbing lines, they cannot help but inflate to terrible proportions. As you can imagine, this creates a bad situation for your poor plumbing. But if you can carefully toss them into an external trash can, you are sure to save yourself an excruciating clog attack.
5. Starchy Potatoes A potato peel is never harmless. Likewise, with a banana peel or any other vegetable that bleeds gas. In your garbage disposal, they have the potential to turn into a hideous glob of sticky, stinky, drain-clogging mess. We know it is a lot easier just to let those peels slide into the kitchen drain. But the extra effort of tossing them elsewhere is more than worth it to avoid a plumbing nightmare.
4. Stickers You are probably wondering how a sticker could get into your garbage disposal. Do you see those lovely codes and labels on your fruits and veggies – “Organic” and “GMO-free” and so on? Yes, that is how they get in. The same is also true with price codes. They all seem harmless on the outside, but can cause havoc inside a drainage pipe. It only takes a couple of seconds or less. So, pull them out, toss them into the trash, and set yourself free from a potential plumbing calamity.
3. Stringy Veggies Stringy veggies are the ones that contain the most fiber in your food – celery, kale, corn husks, onions (especially their fibrous skin), chard, lettuce – you get the drift. These can tangle up your plumbing lines like no one else can! So watch out before you allow them to slip into your disposal pan. If you have a green thumb, don’t waste them by trashing them. Instead, you can toss them into a compost pit and allow them to disintegrate further. Once done, they work nicely to help grow your cherished plants.
2. Paint Paint is a hazardous waste. Like medicines, it can quickly pollute your drinking water. So pouring it down your drain is an absolute no-no. Instead, check with your community to find the best disposal method that works for you. And for extraordinary do-gooders, you can always team up with WasteWise, which is committed to safe disposal of hazardous waste. They also promise the advantage of having the “smallest carbon footprint”, so the environmental activist in you feels really good too. Nice!
1. Wood, Metal, and Glass So, you were rinsing out that pretty glass tumbler, and it unexpectedly broke and cut you. Your first priority is to stop the bleeding. So, you rush to your first aid kit and slap on a band-aid and then go about your work as the rest of the glass menacingly slides into your garbage disposal. Now your disposal needs some first aid too. That sinister glass is more than capable of causing some heavy damage to your plumbing lines. The same goes for chunks of metal. Grab a pair of rubber gloves and immediately weed out these offending items from your disposal.
Bell County Tax Appraisal Notices: Homeowners you should have received one of these in the mail this week. I’ve been getting many calls from homeowners whose proprety tax values have shot way up. Please look over your tax notice.
First, keep in mind that although the word “appraisal” is all over the notice, this is not an actual appraisal. This is just the county’s estimated tax value for your home, which is the amount the home is taxed on. It’s not an accurate indicator of value.
Take a look at the two lines I’ve highlighted.
1) Appraised Value: This is the county’s estimated value for your home. Usually this value is less than your house is actually worth. If so, you’re in a good position; the lower your appraised value is, the lower your property taxes are. If their estimated value is significantly higher than the actual value of your home, you may be able to contest it. If you are considering contesting, let me know, and I’ll send you sales information on the homes in our neighborhood that have sold recently. You can include that with your protest. Instructions on protesting are at the bottom of the tax notice.
2) Exemptions: These are your tax exemptions which reduce your taxable amount. If this is your primary residence, you should have the homestead exemption, which will show as “HS.” If you are disabled, you should see “DV” or “DP,” And if you’re over 65, you should see OV65. If you qualify for an exemption and it’s not listed, you need to have it added. Call the tax office at (254)939-5841 or go to www.bellcad.org for instructions on how to apply for exemptions. DO THIS! It’s easy, free, only takes a few minutes and can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars per year.
