Ann Cordes

Temperatures are climbing, but the Waco Water Park has found a way to keep us cool. Bring the family to a Dive-In movie.

The Waco Water Park will show The Goonies on July 6th and Stuart Little on July 20th. Other movies will be shown on the first and third Monday through August. Twilight admission rate to the park apply. Gates open at 8:30. For a complete list of movies to to www.Waco-texas.com.

The City of Waco www.wacowater.com, has released a report on the quality of our local water and ways to conserve. . We get our water from Lake Waco, which is fed by the Bosque River. The city recently purchased land at Bull Hide Creek to built a new state of the art water treatment plant.

Our water quality is rated Superior by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

It is the hottest, dryest time of the year. It has been in the triple digits here in Texas for about 2 weeks now, and will not cool off until the middle of September. And what do we use the most water for? Watering our lawns! So that is number one on their list of ways to save.

(1) Water your lawn and plants in the morning and evening, when temperatures are cooler and there is less evaporation.

(2) Use a timer to avoid over-watering.

(3) Wash fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of under running water.

(4) If you have a pool or spa, use a cover to reduce evaporation.

(5) Replace part of your lawn with shrubs or ground cover.

(6) Collect rain water to water your plants.

(7) Check pipes and faucets regularly for leaks.

(8) Shorten your shower by just aminute or 2 and save up to 150 gallons a month .

(9) Adjust your lawnmower to a higher setting. Taller grass holds more moisture.

(10) Defrost food in the fridge instead of under running water.

(11) Wash only full loads of clothes and dishes.

(12) Turn of the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.

(13) Use water-saving aerators on all faucets.

Hopefully these tips will reduce you water bill a little, and right now smaller bills are good.

I just want to warn all my fellow Rain friends about some e-mails I got. It was supposedly from a 20-something girl in a refuge camp in Dafur. It said she had contacted me through active rain and wanted help moving to America.

Here is what the first one said:

My name is Miss Lizy, and I saw your profile today at (activerain.com) and i become interested in you, Please My Dear I will like you to contact me back as soon as possible through my email address(lizy20094u@yahoo.com) so that i can give you my pictures for you to know whom i am, I believe we can move from here. Please Remember colour or distance does not matter, but Love matters allot in life. Reply me back on time,

From Lizy

I am leary of these types of emails, but replied. The second e-mail was a little weird because she made suggestive comments about my picture. It's just a straight, business-like head shot. I didn't reply after that. But today I got another email from her with pictures of a young black women. More weird, suggestive comments. And she "wanted my help investing her late fathers fortune".

Here is what it said:

Good Evening my dearest One

How are you doing today i believe with God you and your family are doing well and fine over there in your country, I am more than happy when i saw your mail, how was your day, mine is a little bit Cold over here in Dakar Senegal, my name is Lizy Oti from Ivory Coast in West Africa, 5.7ft tall, fair in complexion, (never married before) i am 24 years old, and Presently i am residing in the refugee camp here in Dakar as a result of the civil War that was fought in my country,

My late father Dr Kingsley Oti was the managing director of oti industry (Ltd) and he was the personal advice to the former head of state (Late Dr Robert Guei) before the rebels attacked our house one early morning and killed my mother and my father in cold blood, It was only me that is alive now and I managed to make my way to a near by country Senegal where i am leaving now,
I would like to know more about you, Your likes and dislikes, your hobbies and what you are doing presently,

I have gotten emails like this before and never replied. Now these scammers are trying to use our proffession as real estate agents to get to us. DON'T FALL FOR IT. JUST DELETE.

And if anyone out there knows who at Active Rain I contact about this. I would appreciate the information.

My husband and I (and our son) all love to read, so one of the things we usuallyt do on Sunday afternoons is go to the bookstore. While loking through people magazine today, I saw a 2 page spread about the Church Under the Bridge, complete with pictures.

In case you have never heard of th Church Under the Bridge, let me give you the history. In the early 1990's a lot of homeless people were living under the overpass at I-35 and 4th street here in Waco. That intersection is the main entrance to Baylor University. As you may or may not know, Baylor is the prremier private Baptist college in the country. Ok, I'm prejudiced, I went to school there.

Being private also means being expensive, so the Baylor students would have money to help these homeless people. The would buy them food or give them money. But around 1993, Waco passed an ordinaance that you could not stand on the corners asking for donations unless you were a non-profit group and got a permit first. But these homeless people still needed help.

So some people started holding Sunday morning bible study under the bridge and it quickly evolved into an organized church which is attended by not only the homeless, but others who don't want to get dressed up and go to a formal church service. It's come as you are. They have gospel groups on a makeshift stage, port-a-potty's and afterwards serve food. I have never attended myself, but have driven by there on sunday mornings when they are holding services. It looks like a very uplifting experience.

And now it has gotten attention in a national magazine. A 2 page spread with pictures. Check it out. This is the kind if positive news our country needs right now.

And while researching for this blog I found out that Austin and San Antonio also have similar churches. You can learn more about the Church Under The BRidge at www.churchunderthebridge.org/ .

If you are a model plane enthusiast you will not want to miss this! The Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club (HOTMAC) is having a scale model aircraft fly-in on Saturday June 20th from 10:00 am to dark at the HOTMAC field at Speegleville park on Lake Waco. Per car donation accepted at the gate. Restrooms and concessions on site. For more information go to www.hotmacre.org or call 254-722-5569.