Mount Helix Patch Turns One Year Old Today

It's time for Mount Helix Patch to blow out the candle! That is, the single candle atop its first birthday cake.

Yes, a year ago today, Mount Helix Patch went live – and on Election Day to boot. Not a bad first day. Since then, we've done countless interviews, uploaded thousands of photos and published 2,085 articles.

So far, it's been a wonderful experience covering the Mt. Helix, Casa de Oro, and Spring Valley communities. We've enjoyed meeting and working with many of you and look forward to continuing to do so.

But this site is more than just news and stories. We wanted to take the time to remind you why we're here and what this site is all about. Simply put, it's about you and the community you live in.

The site is set up to allow you, the reader to fully engage with the stories and start conversations about them. These little tips are all about involvement and engagement, and will make your Mount Helix Patch experience a lot more rewarding.

We've built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements and add events to the community calendar. We hope that our site will strengthen the community, but we can't do it without you. So get to it! Year one is in the books. We hope that you'll become a bigger part of what we do in year two and beyond.

1. Comment on an Article

We subscribe to the idea that "news is a conversation." Much of our reporting will emanate from what readers tell us in e-mails, comments on our sites, and in conversations around town. Share your thoughts and reactions to our articles by posting a comment directly below each story.  

2. Ask a Question

So maybe you want to know when that pothole is going to get fixed, or maybe you're a local expert on native trees just dying for someone to ask why his allergies are so bad this year. Patch's Q&A section is the place for you to ask your questions and show off your expertise, all while connecting with your neighbors. Visit http://mounthelix.patch.com/questions and ask a question, or answer someone else's.

3. Post an Event

Do you know of a book signing at a local bookstore,  or an art exhibit at a local coffee shop? Is there a garage sale or graduation ceremony coming up? If it's not on our Patch calendar, it should be. You can add events to our site at http://mounthelix.patch.com/search/events, and best of all, it's totally free.

4. Send a News Tip

At the bottom of the homepage, there's a link that says, "Send Us News Tips." Tell us about stories we should cover. Your tip will be sent straight to Eric Yates, Mount Helix Patch's (incredibly grateful) editor.

5. Post an Announcement

Post births, engagements and wedding announcements. Tell us who made the honor roll or share school awards, social notes and thank you shout outs. If you're looking for volunteers or searching for your lost dog, we welcome you to call on your community for help. Just remember, our Terms of Service say announcements should be for personal use and not for advertising. http://mounthelix.patch.com/search/announcements

6. Sign Up for Newsletters

The daily Mount Helix Patch newsletter brings you all articles and announcements that have been posted in the last 24 hours. It is delivered to your e-mail every day at 6 a.m. You can also sign up for the weekly newsletter, which shows a subset of the content created and featured on our site over the last few days. It is delivered every Thursday at 10 a.m. Look for the Follow Us and Newsletter links in the right column of this and most every page.

7. Claim Your Directory Listing

Our business and organization listings aren't skimpy. Our team of researchers actually hit the streets and visited businesses, schools, parks, libraries and more so we can provide photos as well as detailed information such as products sold and hours of operation. To contact us about the listing for your business or organization, e-mail us at directorysupport@patch.com. If you own or manage a business or organization in our directory, claim it at http://mounthelix.patch.com/search/listings.

8. Shout It Out!

You now have a way to shout out on the site without having to add a comment to an existing article. You can tell us what you have to say right now by using the new shout box at the top of the Activity Stream on the homepage. Whatever you "shout" will go directly into the stream, right on the homepage. Keep in mind that respect is paramount.

9. Upload Your Photos and Video

Upload videos of high school football touchdowns or your Mt. Helix Little Leaguer's first home run. Post photos from local festivals, or send in a snapshot of your best holiday recipes. We invite you to share with the rest of the community the memories you've caught on camera.

10. Become a

If you're like most people, you've probably got an opinion on just about everything. At Mount Helix Patch, we not only appreciate those opinions, we welcome them with open arms. If you'd like to join the bevy of Patch bloggers, you can sign up here. From there, you'll be given access to the site as a blogger, which will allow you to create and submit blog posts. At that point, the blog will be approved by the editor and will appear live on the site. It's simple, and of course fun. We welcome bloggers on any topic, so get those fingers typing!

11. Social Media Engagement

You can "like" us on Facebook at Mount Helix Patch and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MountHelixPatch. Immerse yourself in our content and actively contribute and engage via social media. Let's start a conversation.

12. Send a Letter to the Editor

Patch would like to invite every member of the Mt. Helix, Casa de Oro and Spring Valley communities to submit a letter to the editor. Express your thoughts or concerns about anything that might be stirring up conversation around town, and we'll post it. Make sure it's not longer than 300 words and e-mail it to Editor Eric Yates at eric.yates@patch.com.

The more Mount Helix Patch serves as on online space for community dialogue, the more useful our site will be. So next time you have something to share with your neighbors, consider taking a moment to send a letter to Patch. Chances are, you're not the only one who feels that way.

Eat, drink, and be Patchy! And if you want to make us cupcakes for our birthday, we definitely won't mind!

Encino Patch editor Lauren Rosenblum contributed to this article.