Duke Power says the street light project is complete. We didn't get all the lights in the original plan, but we've got all they're planning to install. If a light has been installed but not turned on, please let Dave Clark know, so that he can notify Duke.
Three of the street lights have been vandalized, twice. Duke Power has made repairs each time, and the police have been notified.
Rod Turnham gave a website update. The primary points are:
Kathleen Haley reported on the refurbishing of our neighborhood entrance signs on Covedale. Painting is in progress, provided by our neighbor Enrique Nassar. Removal of the monkey grass is in progress, by transplanting and/or killing. A landscaping plan has been developed, and a work day is scheduled for Saturday, October 20 at 9:00 am, to install the new plants. Kathleen needs your help for this. Please show up bright and early with your shovel and your energy! Donated plants will be gratefully accepted. Block captains are requested to notify their neighbors.
Sign replacement at the Sunnywood entrance is waiting on resolution of the land sale of the corner lot, and finalization of arrangements with the developer. If we proceed without prior arrangements, the developer may (and would have every right to) knock down the new signs when construction begins.
National Night Out was a big success this year, with lots of thanks to Russ and Carolyn Ford, and all those who helped them. Russ said that attendance was good, in consideration of the heat, but could have been better. A plan is being discussed to scale back the event next year, having multiple block-level events put on by block captains. This would be followed up with a whole-neighborhood event in more moderate weather, probably in October. PLEASE call or email Russ or Dave with your thoughts, ideas and suggestions on this.
We need block captains. There will be a Block Captains' dinner at Dave & Judy's on October 21, and everyone interested in finding out more about the job and considering it is invited to attend.
The suggestion was offered that the neighborhood should be consistent on Halloween night, with all neighbors turning their lights off between 8:00 and 8:30. This will encourage older Trick-or-treat'ers to go home when they should.
We were reminded of the neighborhood book club, meeting every third Thursday of the month. Check the webiste for details.
CMPD Officer Dave Cristy informed us that he has a new partner, Brent Helms, and that he [Dave] is up for promotion within the next six months, and will probably be re-assigned. That is mixed news for the neighborhood. We are, of course, happy for Dave's success and progress, but hate to lose him as our Community Coordinator. Wherever he goes, however, he will always be a valued friend.
Dave gave out information on the new Internet Safety Program. There are several age-appropriate presentation within the overall package; Dave is currently offering the class for parents. The bad news, however, is that so far he has only been contacted by three neighbors interested in the class. Parents, please attend this valuable training session! The teen you save may be your own. Dave reports that 70% of the internet-based soliciations of teens for sexual purposes occurs while the teens are at home.
The very good news for our neighborhood is that 911 calls are up (150 in 6 months) and incident reports are down (17 in 6 months). This means that neighbors are good about calling in when they see something that doesn't look right, and that the police response is effective in preventing suspicious actions from escalating into incidents.
The most frequent crime reported in our neighborhood is theft of bicycles. This is entirely preventable! Don't leave bikes unattended unless they're locked.
Another frequent call is for theft of items from cars, most of which have been left unlocked. Lock your car!
Excellent news! There have been NO violent crime reports from this neighborhood in the past six months. NONE!
Dave also distributed a new hot-off-the-press Safety Guide
[Personal note from Rod] This wasn't mentioned in the meeting, but have you checked out the CMPD website lately? They are using this resource quite effectively to communicate with the community, and continually adding new features. Check it out! CMPD
Drive-off gas thefts were out of control at the Murphy (Walmart) station, until that station switched to pre-pay only. Now the problem seems to have been eliminated. Warning: don't leave your purse in the car when you go into a convenience mart. A lot of purses are stolen that way.
Dave answered several questions from the neighbors:
| Q: | Is there crime spillover from Village Lake Drive? | |
| A: | No. The crime in that area is generally confined to that area, with residents of each complex tending to victimize the residents of neighboring complexes. Crime arising out of an apartment complex is usually directly related to the quality of manangement of that apartment complex. Better managers lower crime, but it's a high-turnover job. | |
| Q: | What about the Castlewood Apartments? | |
| A: | It's getting better. There is new management. CMPD worked for a long time to get the previous management team replaced. The apartment complex may never improve to where it should be, crime-wise. A plan is under consideration to put a police station into the Independence Shopping Center, right behind those apartments, so that may help. There is a possibility that a developer will buy the complex and turn it into condos. | |
| Q: | What can be done about the kids playing in the street on Covedale? | |
| A: | If you push the kids off the street, where would they go, and what would the be doing there? Sometimes you can make a bad situation worse. It is basically a problem of respect ... these kids seem to have none. This problem is not unique to our neighborhood, it's a problem everywhere. If it gets to be too much of a problem, call 911. |
Neighbors followed up this last question with further discussion of the problem, which will not be reported here.
Questions or comments about these notes should be directed to Rod