Contents

• Keeping resolutions on track
• How to turn a picky eater into a healthy one
• Don’t let frozen pipes ruin your day
• Household trash or bulk trash, we will take care of it
• Deadlines for Scholarship Applications
• Why is storm water runoff a problem?
• Green corner
• Want to know what is happening in your community
• Upcoming Events

Keeping resolutions on track

Setting a New Year’s resolution January 1 is easy, but sticking with it for the next 364 days can be tough.  Service members and their families have a resource to help keep those resolutions going in 2017.

Military One Source, a one stop shop of information, resources and tools, provides assistance to help the military and family members in any aspect of life. The most popular areas include work-life balance, a healthier lifestyle and relationship improvement.

In addition to the information available Military One Source offers free and confidential non-medical counseling.  For your convenience, counseling is available in person, online or by telephone. Counselors address everyday stressors, relationship concerns, deployment and reintegration, financial management and many other issues.

To learn more about the services offered by Military One Source go to: www.militaryonesource.mil or call (800) 342-9647.

How to turn a picky eater into a healthy one

Do you have a picky eater in your family?  Don’t miss these tips for how you can convince your favorite picky eater to try new, healthy foods:

• Don’t make it a big deal! Instead, place the plate in front of your picky eater and let them explore the food for themselves.
• Make it fun! Draw smiley-faces on the healthy foods, or serve them in exciting cookie-cutter shapes. Offer peanut butter or yogurt as dip for fruit, and pair ranch dressing with steamed vegetables.
• Make it familiar! Mix the healthy food with other food they enjoy. For instance, add vegetables to pizza. Bake muffins with fruit or vegetables.
• Explain the why! Explain why healthy foods are important, but in a way the picky eater will understand and appreciate. For example, a doughnut will not supply them with the energy they need to climb a jungle gym or keep up with their friends in the pool.
• Join in the fun! Eat the healthy food with the picky eater. If you show them that eating a fresh salad or fish can be enjoyable, they may be more apt to try it.

For more great picky eater tips and ideas, visit choosemyplate.gov or letsmove.gov.

Don’t let frozen pipes ruin your day!

Water has a unique property -- it expands as it freezes. This expansion puts tremendous pressure on whatever is containing it, including metal or plastic pipes. No matter the "strength" of a container, expanding water can cause pipes to break. Pipes that freeze most frequently are those that are exposed to severe cold, like outdoor hoses, swimming pool supply lines, water sprinkler lines and water supply pipes in unheated interior areas like basements and crawl spaces, attics, garages or kitchen cabinets. Also, pipes that run against exterior walls that have little or no insulation are also subject to freezing.

Preventing Frozen Pipes

Before the onset of cold weather, prevent freezing of these water supply lines and pipes by following these recommendations:

• Remove, drain and store hoses used outdoors.
• Close inside valves supplying outdoor faucets. Then, open the outside faucet to allow water to drain. Keep the outside valve open so that any water remaining in the pipe can expand without causing the pipe to break.
• Check around the home for other areas where water supply lines are located and are in unheated areas. Look in the basement, crawl space, attic, garage and under kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Both hot and cold water pipes in these areas should be insulated. A hot water supply line can freeze just as a cold water supply line can freeze if the water is not running through the pipe and the water temperature in the pipe is cold.
• Call your Neighborhood Office if you have pipes that need to be insulated.

During Cold Weather, Take Preventive Action

• Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage.
• Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals up out of the reach of children.
• When the weather is very cold outside, let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe—even at a trickle—helps prevent pipes from freezing because the temperature of the water running through it is above freezing.
• Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night.
• If you will be going away during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home, set to a temperature no lower than 55ºF.

For more information, please contact your Community Office.

Household trash or bulk trash, we will take care of it

Corvias offers convenient, curbside trash pick-up every week.  In addition to curbside collection of household refuse, residents can also place bulk trash items at the curb on collection day.  Please place your trash bin curbside before 6 a.m. the day your scheduled pickup. Containers must be promptly returned to storage locations the same day. Household and bulk trash pickups are every Tuesday.

Additionally, when resident moves out of their home, we ask that you do not leave excess trash or rubbish. Bulk trash may not be left curbside at any time except for Tuesdays. For more information about disposing of bulk trash items, please contact your Corvias Community Office.

As many of you have experienced, Southwest Oklahoma is known for its windy days. In order to prevent trash from flying out of the bins and dirtying up the streets, Corvias encourages residents to bag the trash inside the container. Corvias also asks if you see trash lying around your neighborhood to be a good steward and pick it up. We appreciate your attention in keeping your community beautiful.

Deadlines for Scholarship Applications

Spread the word! Deadlines for the Corvias Foundation scholarships for children and spouses of active-duty service members are coming up soon. Applications for high school seniors are due February 9 and applications for spouses are due May 4. Applications are available online at corviasfoundation.org.

Why is storm water runoff a problem?

We want to help keep Fort Sill and Oklahoma looking beautiful. Starting small, with storm water runoff for example, is an easy way to make a difference. Polluted storm water runoff can have many adverse effects on plants, fish, animals, and people.

• Sediment can cloud the water and make it difficult or impossible for aquatic plants to grow.
• Sediment also can destroy aquatic habitats.
• Bacteria and other pathogens can wash into swimming areas and create health hazards, often making beach closures necessary.
• Debris—plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles, and cigarette butts—washed into water bodies can choke, suffocate, or disable aquatic life like ducks, fish, turtles, and birds.
• Household hazardous wastes like insecticides, pesticides, paint, solvents, used motor oil, and other auto fluids can poison aquatic life. Land animals and people can become sick or die from eating diseased fish and shellfish or ingesting polluted water.
• Properly disposing of debris and waste is simple and can make a difference in our environment. For information about disposing of household hazardous waste call the Environmental Quality Division at 580-442-3266.

Green Corner

Still using plastic grocery bags at the Commissary? Consider bringing your own reusable bags. It takes a 15-year-old tree to produce 700 grocery bags.

Want to know what is happening in your community

Your community calendar can help you stay up-to-date on trash, recycling, lawn care, resident events and community activities.

You can even sync your community calendar with a personal Google calendar by clicking on the +Google button on the bottom right-hand corner of the calendar.

Follow us on Facebook!

Upcoming Events

January 2^nd – New Year’s Day Observed – All Corvias Offices Closed

January 16^th – Martin Luther King Day – All Corvias Offices Closed