Student Poster Contest: Irving fifth graders in public, private or home school are invited to participate in the Irving Advisory Committee on Disabilities annual student poster contest. Entry deadline is 5 p.m. Sept. 16. Awards will be presented at the Oct. 6 City Council meeting. Posters will be on display for the public. For details on the contest, call (972) 721-2501.
Celebrating the Middle East: The Cultures of Irving series continues with a celebration of Middle Eastern culture from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 17 at the East Branch Library, 440 S. Nursery Road. The festivities will include live camels dressed in cultural tapestries anda presentation by Doug Baum of the Texas Camel Corps. Other activities include belly dancing, a puppet show of a traditional Middle Eastern tale, live music, food samples and henna body art. For more information, call (972) 721-3722.
Heritage Crossing Public Input Forum: Residents are encouraged to provide input on the vision for the Heritage Crossing development from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 20 at Irving City Hall, 825 W. Irving Blvd. Input also can be submitted at www.cityofirving.org/publicinput. Call (972) 721-2320 for details.
Redistricting Input: As the city continues with the redistricting process, residents are encouraged to provide input at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at City Hall, 825 W. Irving Blvd. Input also can be submitted online. Council members are expected to vote on a final plan Oct. 6. Read the full story.
Budget Input: The final budget hearing will be held prior to adoption at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at City Hall, 825 W. Irving Blvd. The FY 2011-12 budget and tax rate will be voted on at that time. The new budget year begins Oct. 1. Watch the budget results video.
Vial of L.I.F.E. Kits: The Irving Fire Department is offering free Vial of L.I.F.E. kits to residents age 60 and older. Kits are a place for residents to store important medical information and are available at Irving fire stations. Call (972) 721-2651 for details or www.cityofirving.org.
Online Crime Reports: The Irving Police Department is partnering with www.crimereports.com to allow residents to view crime data online. The crime-mapping website compiles information on crimes that have occurred in Irving by incident type, time and location, and marks them on a map of the city. To access the map, visit www.cityofirving.org/police and select “CrimeReports” at the bottom of the page. For more information, call (972) 721-3515.
Cool School with Ms. Maria: Children will be entertained by Ms. Maria at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Central Library, 801 W. Irving Blvd. Ms. Maria will share bilingual songs that encourage learning and having fun.
Big Read Celebration: Irving residents are invited to escape back into childhood during the city’s sixth annual Big Read. The monthlong celebration will commence with The Big Twain Thang from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 1 at West Irving Library, 4444 W. Rochelle Road. View a complete list of Big Read activities online.
Free Shredding Event: A community shredding event has been scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 7 at the drop-off recycling center located at 3000 Rock Island Road. Shredding events provide residents with an opportunity to have sensitive documents properly destroyed and also offer residents an easy way to conserve resources by recycling paper.
Grant Applications: Grant funding, between the amounts of $250 and $1,500, is available to neighborhood associations for neighborhood beautification, special events, newsletters and website development. To be considered, submit completed application by Oct. 7. Award recipients will be notified by Oct. 28. For more information, call (972) 721-2533.
Irrigation Basics: The class, Irrigation Basics, will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 15 at Valley View Municipal Complex, 333 Valley View Lane.
Participants will learn how to maintain, test and conduct minor repairs on irrigation systems. Register for Irrigation Basics online.
Communication Survey: A communication survey has been developed and posted to the city website to obtain input from residents about the communication tools used to promote city services and programs. Residents can provide input on the “City Spectrum” newsletter, Irving Community Television Network and designate what types of information they find important. The survey can be found at www.cityofirving.org/publicinput.
