Enjoy Your Upcoming Three Day Weekend

Posted on May 20, 2013 by admin

Sales, crafts, a taste of life on the farm, and, of course, a parade are all on tap for this coming holiday weekend.  Here’s a partial list of activities from Fort Wayne Newspaper’s website: http://events.fortwayne.com/celina_oh/events/memorial+day .

Come on, one of the great things about living at Willow Creek Crossing Apartments, is that you don’t have to spend three day holiday weekends working on your house or lawn.  Of course, if all you want to do is cook out and hang around the pool, that’s’ OK too.

Most of all, we hope you have a fun and safe Memorial Holiday Weekend.

 

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Come Celebrate! Pools Open This Weekend

Posted on May 17, 2013 by admin

GET THE POOL CODES AND YOUR ID CARDS…

 

Barring some unforeseen predicament or bad weather, we plan to open the Lakeridge Drive Pool on Memorial Day Weekend.  (The Mill Run Pool will open at a later date, to be announced.)  You will need to have a Willow Creek Crossing Identification Card and the code to the locks on the gates in order to swim.  Don’t be stuck outside the gate when you are ready for a dip!

 

Our office staff will be available on Saturday for you to get your Pool Rules Addendum with the new codes to the combination locks on the pool gates.  We will also be making identification cards for those residents who don’t have one and answering questions you may have about using our pools.  On this day only, we will make new identification cards free of charge if you lost yours.

 

(Residents listed on your lease application as dependents who are at least 14 years of age may be issued an ID to use the pool; however, they must be accompanied to our office with a resident named on the lease agreement who can prove their eligibility.)

 

Remember, you must have your Willow Creek Crossing Identification Card with you when you come to the pool, so don’t miss out on this opportunity!

 

GET YOUR GOLF PASSES AND TENNIS COURT KEYS!

 

On Saturday, we will make your golf passes, provide you with tennis court keys and all the information you need to take advantage of your Willow Creek Crossing Amenities!

 

*Note that keys and lease addendums will only be issued to lease holders.

 

SEE YOU ON SATURDAY!

 

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Be Careful! It’s finally Spring in Fort Wayne

Posted on April 29, 2013 by admin

Spring weather, though long overdue, is finally happening here at Willow Creek Crossing Apartments. While spring brings out the flowers, it also brings out the walkers and bikers. Kids could be playing or crossing the streets anywhere at Willow Creek Crossing, and since it’s staying light out longer, at almost any time.  Please slow down and take extra care to watch for kids and adults in parking areas, and crossing streets.

Parents, please caution your children to watch for traffic, especially in the evening when residents are coming home from work.  Teach your children how to safely cross at marked crosswalks, and don’t let them play in parking areas, where it may be hard for drivers to see them.

Let’s all have a safe and happy spring and summer.

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Protecting Your Internet WiFi Security in an Apartment

Posted on April 3, 2013 by admin

You just moved into a new Willow Creek Crossing apartment, and you flip open your laptop to check email before you remember you don’t have any internet service yet.  So, out of curiosity, you click on the network icon and up pops a list of ten or twenty (or more) WiFi networks with useable signals in your apartment.  Huh???

Well, remember, apartments are close together, and if every apartment has its own WiFi router, you’re bound to be able to pick up the signals from next door, upstairs, downstairs, etc.

Of course, if you can pick up theirs, they will be able to pick up yours.

If you try to click on any of these available networks to see if you can connect to the internet through them, you will probably find that most are “secured” and you will see either the initials WEP or WPA next to their names.  In order to borrow their internet, you will need a password.

This security system is usually set up by the internet provider, such as Frontier or Comcast in our area.  If you set up your own apartment WiFi, you have to manually set up this security.  Given a choice, don’t use WEP security.  It’s been around awhile, and isn’t considered secure any long.  Use WPA or better yet, WPA-2 (also called 802.11i standard.)

OK, so you’re a generous person, and you don’t care if someone uses your internet for free?   Consider that if they are using it to download streaming videos, this will slow down your own internet service.  But worse yet, if they are downloading or uploading something illegal, this can be traced back to the person who owns the internet service, which is you.  People who do illegal things on the internet look for opportunities where they can use someone else’s internet service to do their dirty work, so they will go undetected.  You, on the other hand, will have a lot of explaining to do, and will have not way to prove it was your neighbor who was really guilty.

There are other horrible things that people can do to your computer if you leave your network unprotected.  The important thing is, take a few minutes and make sure you are properly set up and using your WPA or WPA-2 security.  If you are secured  now with WEP, change over to WPA or WPA-2 (also called 802.11i standard.) Sure, you’ll have another password to deal with, but that’s just life in the digital age.  You lock your apartment door, and take a key with you when you go out, right?

For more information about internet security in apartments or homes, click here.

 

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Enjoy Taste of Waynedale and help a Good Cause

Posted on March 15, 2013 by admin

The 5th Annual “Taste of Waynedale”  will be on Tuesday, March 19th from 4:30-7:00 p.m., at Kingston Residence at 7515 Winchester Road. The proceeds from this event will go to Community Harvest Food Bank and Fort Wayne Trails~Waynedale Initiative. Tickets are $15.00 each if paid in advance, $20 the day of the event. Please RSVP to 747-1523, cgarrison@kingstonhealthcare, or stop by between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday to pick up your tickets.

Currently, over 25 local restaurants and businesses will offer samples of a variety of food or drink; perhaps a house specialty, a seasonal dish or a new menu item. Vendors will also provide coupons and literature about their eatery. Area restaurants who currently plan to participate include Azar’s Big Boy, Bandido’s, Belmont Beverage, Captain Ron’s Corral, Casa Ristorante Italiano, China Palace, Dairy Queen, Ellison Bakery, Gimme Diner/Mike’s Donuts, GFS Marketplace, Hall’s Original Drive In, Hill’s Market, Honey Baked Ham, Kingston Residence, Nine Mile Restaurant, Olive Twist, Penguin Point, Phoenix Dragon, Pizza Hut, PopCotton Flavored Popcorn, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Spyro’s, The Stand, Subway, Taste Diz Bar-b-que & Soulfood, Waynedale Bakery and Waynedale Cafe.

Other businesses that are providing support to the event include The Waynedale News, JW Signs and Hair Affair who are also selling tickets.

Kingston Residence is an Assisted Living Community offering apartment style living with full time nursing support.

 

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Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Fort Wayne

Posted on March 13, 2013 by admin

While many of the area’s adult establishments have big plans for St Patrick’s Day, there are family fun things to do as well.  For Example,  On Saturday, it’s the Get Green Fest 2013 which  takes place in downtown.

Put on your kilts and walk or run through the streets of downtown! (Kilts are optional.) This all ages 5K race starts and ends at the Calhoun Street cul-de-sac. Last year, nearly 1,000 people participated.

After the 5K, it’s the Parade to River Greening on the old Wells Street bridge at 10:30 am. Follow the bagpipers,  Lucky the Leprechaun, , and the FWFD Museum’s 1942 fire truck in a short walking parade to the annual river greening! Starting at the Calhoun cul-de-sac, attendees head toward Main, then walk up Ewing to Superior. The parade wraps up on the old Wells Street Bridge just in time for the river greening to begin.

At 11am, head to the Old Wells Street Bridge for the River Greening and help our Fort Wayne Firefighters turn the St. Mary’s River green using eco-friendly vegetable dye. Kids love to hold the nozzle and take part in this great annual event.

There’s more. Check out this website for full details: http://fortwaynegetgreen.com/main/

At least one downtown Irish pub will let the whole family celebrate together.  J.K. O’Donnells will offer an all-ages tent offering Irish food and music.  Admission is $5 for anyone over 12, but free for those under 12.  Entertainment will be provided by Belfast troubadour Rod Cordner, the Wander Indiana String Collective and Woodstove Flapjacks Stringband of Lafayette.

Flaps opens at 5 p.m.

Of Course, Fort Wayne is home to the shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade in existence, the world famous 300 or so yard long parade at Deer Park Pub on Leesburgh Road.

You can join the parade for free, feel free to wear any costume, drive any vehicle or play any musical instrument you prefer as long as it’s safe and family-friendly.

According to the Journal Gazette, The parade starts at 5:30 p.m., but doughnuts and coffee will be available at the lodge starting at 8 a.m, and a new event, a strongman keg toss, begins at 4:45 p.m.

Owner, Tom Henry says traditional tunes will be provided by folk music specialist Joyce Fry and members of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.  Wooden Nickel manager Tim Hogan has put together a master mix of Irish songs to be played throughout the festivities.

And don’t forget O’Sullivans, and O’Reilley’s pubs.  For that matter, on St. Patricks day, almost any bar is likely to put an O in front of it’s name and offer some green beer, and Irish Whiskey, so you really can’t go wrong.

And one more thing St. Patrick, being the good saint he is would probably tell you, party responsibly.

 

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Having and Mantaining a Good Credit Score

Posted on March 11, 2013 by admin

Many years ago, my young bride and I went to rent an apartment.  The landlord told us, “You look like a nice young couple,” and that was all we needed to be in order to sign a lease and move in.  Today, renting an apartment is a little more complicated, and a credit score check is often part of the process.  Landlords know that a renter with a good credit score is more likely to pay their rent on time, than one with a lower score

When my son was young, I knew some day he’d be going to college and moving out and starting his own life.  So, as dutiful parents, we began planning for his future.  We did obvious things, like start a college savings account for him. But we did something else, too. We helped him establish a credit history, and taught him how to build a good credit score.

If you’re over thirty, or even over 25, you probably have a credit score, whether or realize it or not.  But what about young people just starting out in life.  Not too many teen agers are making monthly payments on credit cards or utilities.  But they can, and should be doing this in order to help establish a credit rating for themselves.

For example, when my son was a teenager, we put his cell phone in his name.  I paid the monthly bill, but cell phone companies report to the major credit bureaus, and that’s how a credit history is created.  Another thing a parent can do is to help a teen procure a credit card, say with a limit of $500.  In order for this to be actually in the teen’s name, you may have to secure the card by putting $500 in a savings account with the issuing bank.  Have the teen use the card for small personal purchases, and make sure at least the minimum payment is made every month.

When my son went to college and lived in an apartment community, again, we put the lease in his name, even though we paid his rent.  I co-signed on one vehicle he financed. After that, he was able to buy a car entirely with his own credit history.

So, the first goal is to establish credit.  You do this step by step.  If you can get a bank credit card, even with a small credit limit, and you use it and pay it off on time, the bank will start to raise your credit limit, and this is good for your credit score.

The exact method the big three credit reporting companies actually figure your credit score is not shared with the public, but some things are known.  The biggest one is just paying your bills on time.  But that’s not enough.  Having credit cards helps, but running your balance up to your credit limit seems to hurt your credit score.  Opening too many credit accounts also seems to hurt your score.  Even closing out a credit card can lower your score because it reduces the amount of potential credit you have.

While there is no quick fix to raising your credit score, doing these three things will help you over the long haul:

  1. Pay your bills on time
  2. Don’t keep your credit card balances too close to your credit limits
  3. Don’t apply for a lot of credit.  Every time you do, your credit score will drop a little.

 

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Second Arrest Made in Apartment Break In

Posted on February 20, 2013 by admin

A second man has been arrested in a string of apartment burglaries that started last fall.

Corey L. Harris, 21,  of the 1000 block of McKinnie Avenue, hasn’t been charged with committing the break ins, but rather with selling items taken during those crimes.

A second man, Devonte M. Hamlet, 20, of the 3500 block of Smith Street, was arrested a few weeks ago and charged with two break ins.

The arrests follow a period of several weeks where little or no crime has been reported at Fort Wayne area apartments.   Police urge residence to continue their vigilance.  If you see any suspicious activity, please report this immediately to the Fort Wayne Police.  If you notice any lights out in the parking lots or hallways, please report those right away to the Willow Creek Crossing management office.

Police are reportedly still looking for at least three others suspects related to the recent break ins.

 

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This Valentine’s Day, Fall in Love with Your Apartment (Again)

Posted on February 5, 2013 by admin

Valentine’s Day ushers in the season of love. How about rekindling some romance with your living space. Here are five ideas that can help you love your apartment.

1. invest in some house plants that can add color and fragrance to your apartment. They also add some responsibility to remember to water them, and to have someone look after them when you go on vacation. While not quite the same, artificial plant arrangements can also add warmth and color to your living space.

2. If you don’t want to add a real flower or plant, how about a painting or lithograph of one, or of anything else that you find stimulating or relaxing. Nice art work in your apartment can transform your apartment, Turn off your TV for awhile and just enjoy looking at the art on your walls. As you know, the artwork itself isn’t very expensive. It’s the frames that cost money. Visit thrift stores and garage sales to find low cost but interesting frames.

3. Again, if you don’t want to add plants and flowers, you can plug in a great scent. In fact today there are so many scents available, you can switch fragrances every week or so. Another good idea is the pay attention to the anti-scents, like that pile of laundry, the garbage or the cat box. A fresh clean fragrance can help you fall in love all over again with your living space.

4. Add lighting. Lighting can be decorative, of course, but it can also give your old place a completely new look. Bright lighting, especially during the darker winter times, can simply make your outlook on things brighter as well. Proper lighting has another design effect. If makes your rooms look larger. And who doesn’t love larger rooms?

5. Now that you’ve added the fragrance and beauty of fresh flowers, the color and look of fine art on your walls, and brightened up your life with more lighting, it’s time to sit back and enjoy your apartment. Valentines Day falls on a Monday this year, and hopefully, you’ll be out celebrating with your own Valentine. But the weekend before Valentines Day would be a great time to cocoon in your apartment, and read a good book. Anyone have any suggestion?

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Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner in your Apartment

Posted on November 9, 2012 by admin

Your apartment probably provides you with enough room for comfortable day to day living.  But, is it big enough for you to invite the entire family over for Thanksgiving Dinner?  Absolutely!  As long you you do a little advance planning.

1.  Make it a buffet.  The most obvious problem is the size of your dining room table.  Spacious enough for four, but what about eight or more?  With a buffet, people can load up on food at your table, then find a comfortable spot elsewhere to enjoy eating it.  You can also set up or create serving tables to allow some family members to still sit at the main table.

2.  Make it a Pot Luck buffet. Even in a house, your kitchen and stove sizes are limited, so if you don’t have enough room to make all the dishes, ask guests to prepare and bring with them some of the side dishes.  This is especially good if you happen to know that one of your guests makes, for example, a terrific potato dish, while another guest knows how to do fantastic things with cranberries (as if that’s possible.)  You then have plenty of room to spread out and concentrate on the main course.

3.  Create more room.  If you do the buffet, do some planning ahead of time to re-deploy your furnishings to make things more comfortable for your guests.  Moving furniture back toward the walls can create a lot more space in your living room.  Do this before everyone show up.  Don’t be afraid to mix and match seating, but try to avoid metal folding chairs if you can.

4.  Plan an activity.  One way to get all of those guests out of the apartment while you’re preparing the meal is to literally, get them out of the apartment.   Send them off on a walk, or set up a touch football game.  This year, more department stores will be open on Thanksgiving than ever before, so send people shopping.  Even Glenbrook Mall is open 10am to 9pm, though Jefferson Pointe is closed.

5.  Plan an After dinner activity.  If you’re apartment won’t hold all the gang comfortably, take the party outside.  Go for a walk, or go to a sports bar where everyone can sit and even enjoy the Lions-Packers football game Thursday afternoon.

The main thing is,  plan ahead.  Start getting ready a day or two ahead of time, and enlist the help of your guests, especially any houseguests you have for the holiday.   With a little preparation and flexibility, any space can be big enough for a great family feast like Thanksgiving.

And while we’re at it, Willow Creek Crossing Apartments is thankful for the hundreds of people who made Willow Creek their home this year.  You will all be in our thoughts and prayers this Thanksgiving holiday.

 

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