Volume 2, Issue 1
Southwood Scene
Note from our In-Coming
President
Hi Neighbors,
I'd like to start by saying thanks to everyone for making
me President of the Southwood Neighborhood Association
(SNA). I love where I live and look forward to working with
you to make Southwood an even better place to live. I'd
like to also thank all of the past and current officers for set-
ting such an impressive (and intimidating!) precedent for
what can be accomplished when neighbors work together.
I have two goals that I plan to personally focus on while
president. The first is to make sure more people are aware
that the SNA exists and what its goals are. I know that in
our big neighborhood there are lots of great people who
would be willing to help out if they only knew that the SNA
exists! All of the people that currently do come to meet-
ings, events, and participate on the list serve are proof of
this. The second goal is to reach out to all of the people
who know about the SNA but are not sure how they can
help. I want to make sure they know all of the opportunities,
big and small, to
contribute. We
have a lot of tal-
ented people in
our neighbor-
hood and I can't
wait to see what
they can do.
Lastly, I'd like to
thank Helen
Rockenbaugh for
stepping forward
to become our
new Vice President as well as brand new officer! I'm look-
ing forward to a great year in Southwood!
Josh Maxwell, President
Southwood Neighborhood Association
Southwood Scene 1
December 2010
Letter from Southwood’s
Past President
Dear Friends,
Thank you for giving
me the honor to serve as
your Southwood Neighbor-
hood Association President
these past two years. I LOVE
living in our neighborhood. I
feel so fortunate to have
found it when I was searching
for my first and most proba-
bly, my only home, as I can‟t
imagine ever moving from
here. Our „hood has contin-
ued to become the kind of place that I was hoping it would
be when I moved here. Thanks to all of you, we have ac-
complished a lot in the past few years. One of the things I
am most proud of is that we very successfully encouraged
the City Council to expand the McMansion Ordinance.
This could not have been done without the shared respon-
sibilities of attending the lively and usually entertaining
Planning and Zoning Commission, emailing our City Coun-
cil, attending neighboring neighborhood meetings, attend-
ing information meetings, talking to the press and attend-
ing and lending support at the Council meeting when they
voted unanimously in our favor. We all learned a tremen-
dous amount about how our wonderful city of Austin
works. (I mean that seriously, but you are welcome to take
it facetiously!) We also FINALLY got our newsletter going!
If anyone wins the lotto any time soon, we‟d love a dona-
tion for mailing out the newsletter to every single house-
hold (Over 1000!) in Southwood at least once a year.
We have slowly, but surely, gotten more
neighbors involved in various activities such as coming to
the meetings, volunteering for and attending the South-
wood Thing, writing for the Southwood Scene Newsletter,
getting down and dirty at It‟s My Park Days, forming Par-
ent/Family Groups and Neighborhood Watch groups and
finally, just being dang good neighbors and friends.
Sincerely,
Missy Bledsoe
  Vinson has no parking on both east and west
Neighborhood Lanes sides.
Re-Configured  South of the bridge, parking was removed on
Michael Cosper the west side of Emerald Forest from the bridge
COA Neighborhood Contact for Salem Walk south to Stassney.
Association of Neighbors
 Parking was removed on the east side of Emer-
Emerald Forest was recently resurfaced.
ald Forest from Pine Meadow south to Stass-
This triggered the City of Austin policy that looks
ney.
at bike lane configuration and parking modifica-
tions to eliminate parked cars in the bike lane.
A traffic study has been done to determine
if a four-way stop should be put in at the intersec-
After mail notification and a meeting with
tion of Emerald Forest and Radam Circle along
the stakeholders the city decided:
with a right-turn-only lane southbound at Emerald
Forest and Stassney. No decisions have been
 To remove on-street parking on the east side
made at this time.
of Emerald Forest from Aberdeen south to
the bridge over Williamson Creek.

Southwood Scene 2
Free Tax Assistance near
Southwood Neighborhood
Joan Owens, Secretary Southwood
Neighborhood Association
Did you know that near our Southwood
Neighborhood boundaries that there are two con-
venient locations for free tax assistance? Both
provide no-cost tax preparation by certified volun-
teer tax preparers, as well as free electronic tax
filing to those qualified.

New to our neighborhood is the Founda- Foundation Communities

tions Communities Community Financial Center at
2600 W. Stassney Lane. In addition to Tax
Preparation that begins in January, they also pro-
vide year-round financial coaching, home buyer
education, self-employed/small business help, and
information on a “Cash for College” program.
AARP, the nation‟s largest membership
organization for people 50+, has provided tax
preparation at the South Austin Senior Activity
Center, 3911 Manchaca Road for years. Although
they cater to those 50 years old and older, AARP
Tax-Aide program is there serving low-to-middle
income taxpayers of all ages.
2600 W. Stassney Lane at Westgate
(512) 447-2026
You may be eligible for free tax preparation if you
are:
 An individual who makes $25,000 a year or less.
 A family (2-4 people) making a total of $50,000 a
year or less.
 For larger families, the income limit goes up
$5,000 for each individual (a family of 5 can
make up to $55,000, a family of 6 can make up to
$60,000, etc.).
 You are qualified to use tax forms which volun-
teers are certified to prepare.

http://www.foundcom.org/get-financially-stable/
community-financial-center/

Have an idea?
We are looking for contributors for Southwood
Scene. Please email
SouthwoodOfficers@gmail.com to
volunteer and help grow our
neighborhood newsletter!

Southwood Scene 3
 Calendar of Events
December 2010
1st - Hanukkah starts at sundown
4th-5th - UT Fall Graduation
5th - Zilker Tree Lighting
10th (6-10pm) - Urban Farmer's Market Extrava-
ganza at 5109 Manchaca
12th - Sunrise Community Church Youth Pro-
gram Christmas
18th (6:30pm) - Woodlawn Baptist Church Sin-
gles Christmas Party
20th-31st AISD Schools closed
25th - Christmas, all area churches have pro-
grams as well as Christmas eve programs
31st - First Night Austin
Southwood Scene 4
what’s happening in and around Southwood
January 2011
17th - MLK Day (schools, banks, etc. closed)
18th - Classes begin at UT for Spring semester
20th - (7PM) Southwood Neighborhood Associa-
tion Meeting, ACC South Austin Campus (note
this is the 3rd Thursday of January)
24th - (11AM-2PM) Austin Job Fair at Embassy
Suites
February 2011
5th - Carnival Brasiliero
20th - Austin Marathon (Livestrong)
*General SNA meetings fall on the second Thursday of odd-
numbered months. If you’d like to include an event for the
neighborhood on this calendar in a future issue, please email
SouthwoodOfficers@gmail.com.
October Park Work Day
Thanks to everyone who got down and dirty to help
clean up and improve the butterfly garden!

Before: lots of weeds.

Custom Remodeling
& Handy Man Service
The hard-working crew: Sara Dunn, Dawn Leach, Lupe Sosa, Nicole
30+ Years Experience
Sanford and Jennifer Thomas (not pictured: Josh Maxwell)

Ray Withers
(512) 970-4104
Kyle Withers
(512) 810-7434

5018 Lansing Drive

Austin, Texas 78745
RayWithers1@aol.com

After: weeds pulled, new plants put in,

mulched—beautiful!

Southwood Scene 5
Urban Farmer's Market:
A Market in our Neighborhood
by Miriam McKinney, Southwood Neighbor
I had driven past the handmade signs for
weeks. "Urban Farmer's Market, 5109 Manchaca,
Saturdays 10AM-3PM". I had even driven by the
house where I saw a few card tables set up and I
figured it to be this new farmer's market. A few
weeks later, I didn't see the signs and I thought that
the market hadn't made it.
I was wrong. It turns out that they had simply
closed as not to conflict with Halloween. The next
week, the signs were back up and I was determined
to go and investigate this new Farmer's Market that
is in Southwood Neighborhood. I have frequented
the Farmer's Markets in Sunset Valley and the one
at Barton Creek Mall in the past and was curious
what this market would have to offer.
something a bit different. One of the woman, who
makes and sells natural lotions, soaps and hair ton-
ics was also offering some homemade cranberry
muffins since she decided that she, "felt like baking
this morning." I got a lesson on why it's easier and
better to raise quails than chickens. I was taught
how to "trim" my lettuce garden (if I had one or
wanted to purchase my own small one on this day),
I learned that a BBQ sauce can still taste great even
if it is a combination of Missouri and Texas flavors. I
found jars of pickled okra, which I love, and pickled
watermelon, which I'd never seen. There were arti-
sans who had made beautiful magnets and hand
knitted hats. And, of course, there was fresh pro-
duce. I chatted with a few of the patrons, too. Some
were from our neighborhood and others traveled to
South Austin to shop at all of our Farmer's Markets.
Everyone was warm and friendly, just what you‟d
expect from our neighbors.

I drove south on Manchaca just past Jones

Rd and saw the tables and tents up in the yard of a Where in Southwood?
residence. I pulled on to the next street and parked.
As I approached I realized that the offerings at this
market were much more than I had seen from the
road. I immediately met Robin Reid who owns the
house at 5109 Manchaca. She explained, "One day
I just realized that I couldn't eat all the food that was
growing in my garden." And that's how the Urban
Farmer's Market started. She placed some ads in
Craigslist offering up free booth space for interested
local merchants with natural, homemade or home-
grown goods. She hopes to expand to use more of
her lot and possibly some space just to one side of
her. On this particular Saturday, there were seven
booths set up by noon and it seemed a few more
were on the way. Robin has a vision of hosting fifty
booths one day. Do you know where this picture was taken in the
Southwood neighborhood? Email your answer to
Each person I talked to had a story about
what had brought them to be selling their goods at
SouthwoodOfficers@gmail.com and a winner will be
this Farmer's Market. They were each equally en- drawn from the correct answers submitted. The win-
thusiastic about explaining what they had brought ner will receive a Southwood Neighborhood t-shirt!
on this day, suggesting that next time it could be
Answers must be emailed by February 1, 2011.

Southwood Scene 6
 Meet Your Neighbor
Carol on Birchwood Ct.
How long have you lived in Southwood?
I have lived in my home in Southwood 31 years
What do you like best about Southwood?
I like the size of our lots, that NOW I know many of my neighbors share my
concern for the environment, belonging to SNA, the SNA Yahoo and the
things I have learned through the emails sent out by all.
What's your best tip to be a good neighbor?
To me, being a good neighbor is sharing what you have with each other,
praying for the neighborhood and accepting the differences without conflict
What one thing about Southwood would you like to see improved?
Carol, Southwood Neighbor
Because of health for both my husband and I we are at doctors‟ offices or
South Austin hospital often. I agree with Angie on S. 2 nd about James Casey
and St Elmo needing more visibility. I hate cutting down the brush/trees but it needs to be done. Not sure who owns
the lot on the eastside but maybe a nice garden with low bushes at the corner.

Recently in Southwood...

o rk z
P ro-W
Specializing in Remodels
Bathroom * Kitchen

Granite Counter Tops * Room Additions

Decks * Enclosures * Metal Roofs

Jorge Perez
512.563.5976
jorge.proworkz@gmail.com

National Night Out on Hank Ave.

Southwood Scene 7
PURPOSE AND MISSION OF THE SOUTHWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD SOUTHWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2010-2011
The purpose of Southwood Neighborhood Association is to seek Josh Maxwell – President
to preserve and improve the quality of life in the neighborhood and
Helen Rockenbaugh – First Vice President
to provide support in all matters of neighborhood concern. The
Mission Statement of the Southwood Neighborhood Association is Missy Bledsoe– Second Vice President
to promote a sense of community, and to encourage active
Dawn Leach – Treasurer
participation and pride in our neighborhood.
Joan Owens – Secretary

ABOUT SOUTHWOOD SCENE Park Beautification Chair: Nicole Sanford

Southwood Scene is an online newsletter for the Southwood
Neighborhood Association. Copies are printed by neighbors and
passed out at the Southwood Neighborhood Association meet-
ings. For those neighbors without internet access, we encourage
you to print a copy of the newsletter and take it to them. We
welcome everyone to contribute to the newsletter. To find out
about the next Southwood Scene meeting, please email
SouthwoodOfficers@gmail.com.
Safety and Crime Prevention Chair: Jill Prikryl
Newsletter Chair: Julie Maxwell
Southwood Parents Network Chair: Jennifer Thomas
Cap Metro Committee Chair: David Foster
CONTACT US!
SouthwoodOfficers@gmail.com
http://www.main.org/southwood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SouthwoodNeighbors/

Southwood Neighborhood
Boundaries

Southwood Scene 8