Eagle Eyes (Forest Hills Grid 18)

June 2011

Some folks have already put out displays of red, white and blue -- and they look really nice! It would be great to have the entire grid join in to celebrate our patriotic summer season together. Something simple is best . . . an American Flag, bunting, a red/white/blue bow around the porch light or mailbox, some flowers in the 3 color groups . . . anything to just show community spirit. Please join in our community effort to show unity!

Thanks to all who attended our May 26^th NHW meeting up at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church. We had a pretty good turn-out, and a nice presentation by Jason from Walk Wise on pedestrian safety. There has been an increase in criminal activity in our general area as well as within our grid over the past couple of months. May brought several burglaries, including a couple of bicycles stolen (grand theft) out of a fenced back yard on Floriland. Someone on Dartmouth had a pet snake stolen from a backyard shed by some juveniles who overheard the owner’s son talking at school about his dad’s pet snakes (you might want to talk to your children about advertising your valuables . . . and, if you get new appliances/electronics, don’t display the box on the garbage pile for all to know that you just bought a new 50 inch flat screen tv. At least turn the box it came in inside out so it can’t be spotted on a casual passing-by.). A juvenile who was under suspension from Adams broke into the school and stole about $2500 in computer equipment. The thing to remember is, these incidents took place while school was still in session. It is a fact that criminal activity increases once school is out and the kids are bored --- “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” --- and school will be dismissed for the summer as of Friday, June 10^th until Tuesday, August 23rd. So when you see folks -- especially teenagers --  just wandering around over the summer (or, really, any time) let them know that you have noticed them – don’t be shy about them seeing you spot them -- and if remember that if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Follow your instinct: don’t just assume it is innocent activity. The police would rather you call for them to check out the situation than to have to write up a report for vandalism or burglary. Visibility is the key . . . walk outside occasionally (or look out the windows) to see what might be going on, or who is outside, or if there might be a suspicious vehicle in your neighbor’s driveway - - - - - or yours . . . . Watch.

Remember, if you are going away on vacation, have a neighbor pick up your mail and newspaper (or have delivery held until your return). Have someone maintain your yard (summer rains can make the grass & weeds grow FAST!). Set timers for inside lights, and vary the times set as close as possible to your normal routine. Consider having a neighbor park their spare car in your driveway to make it appear as if someone is there. Consider filling out a Vacation Watch form (which can be downloaded from this web site) and turn it in to TPD District 2 Headquarters on 30^th Street at Annie Avenue, so that the officers on routine patrol can keep a little bit closer eye on your house. And just in case something should happen, be sure a trusted neighbor (or the TPD Vacation Watch form) knows how to get hold of you for information or instructions.

There has been a lot of “stuff” showing up on the parkway area of Ola, between Floriland/Patbur and Busch. It isn’t clear how much “stuff” has just been dumped as opposed to residents putting it out for pick-up. When people see overgrowth along the parkways, accumulated trash, or “stuff” dumped there, they just are encouraged to dump more themselves. And a messy/littered neighborhood has been shown to attract the criminal element moreso than a neatly kept neighborhood. Remember, if you want these items hauled away by the city garbage pick-up, it needs to be placed in your regular collection location. You can be fined for placing these items (like old entertainment centers and sofas) out behind your house when that isn’t your regular collection spot. Several of those parkway areas are pretty overgrown, and you can be fined for this as well. If you need help maintaining these parkway areas . . . or know of a neighbor who does . . . let us know. We can find someone willing to lend a hand to a homeowner who is disabled or maybe needs to be gone for extended periods of time. But we have to know that help is needed before it can be offered.

A number of folks are complaining about their house A/C unit being low on Freon – especially after they have been away for a period of time (even just a weekend). “Huffing” freon is a popular pass-time for catching a buzz these days -- regardless of the number of brain cells this activity can kill -- and A/C units are often visible and easily accessible from the street on the side of your house. Consider installing a 4 foot or taller fence around your outside A/C unit at a distance that will discourage folks from being able to reach through and get a hit of Freon. Freon ain’t cheap, and neither is the service call that brings the re-charge. The fence will slow down someone from trying to steal you’re A/C unit for the copper, as well.  Watch.

June 1^st  brought us the beginning of the 2011 Hurricane Season. If we get hit in any way by a storm (hurricane, tropical depression of otherwise) we could have some major issues to deal with in this area. Overhead power/phone/cable lines can be taken out in a heartbeat yet not restored for days or even weeks, especially when these beautiful big oak trees have not been maintained/trimmed up for years. (The oak tree in my own front yard dropped a dead branch that we hadn’t noticed up high just last week, and almost took out a neighbor’s car which she had borrowed from a friend while hers was in the shop. WHEW! I got lucky!) Even if we don’t have lines down, neighboring communities can lose power, and when TECO tries to restore their power, old lines can be blown out from the switch-over surges, and we could be out of power for DAYS. When electricity is out, the gas pumps won’t run, so you can’t gas up. And curfews could be imposed to discourage looting. (I was living in the Orlando area in 2004, when those 3 hurricanes went thru back-to-back, and experienced all of these things. Only one neighbor, who went hunting & camping a lot, had a percolator that they could use over a fire – their gas grill – and God Bless them, they supplied all of the coffee drinkers with at least one cup of java in the mornings until power was restored. It took 5 days to restore the power after Hurricane Charlie passed thru. And by the way – we lost power because Florida Power tried to re-route power to other neighborhoods, not because our area had an issue.)

So . . . if we get hit by a big storm, are you prepared? Do you have contact numbers (cell phone) for your neighbors in case you – or they – need help? Do you know who your NHW block leader is to call and ask for help, or to just get out the word that you may need help? Do you have a minimal supply (at least 3 days worth) of your medication and food on hand? Spare batteries/flashlights/food supply/can opener/matches/propane tank for your grill/charcoal? Walkie talkie? Spare gasoline for cars or chain saws? FIRST AID KIT STOCKED with UN-EXPIRED contents? Mosquito repellant? Car chargers for your cell phones? BOTTLED  WATER??? Pet supplies?

Want to know how to be prepared? TampaGov.net has info for emergency preparedness on their web site. Tampa has a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program to prepare folks to be able to assist in the event of an emergency where first responders (police, paramedics, fire dept) might be delayed in arriving, so that the situation can be kept under control until they might be there. You never know when responders' arrival may be delayed due to tree-blocked streets, flooding, downed power lines, etc. (remember our storm sewer systems is OLD, and already not really adequate for regular summer downpours as it is). Consider signing up for this course (it’s free). Make use of the help that is available to you. Especially your neighbors – if such an event takes place, we are going to need to lean on each other.

 Incidently . . . if your street has flooding issues already from the regular summer rainstorms, PLEASE report this issue to the city NOW. If a section of storm drain can be cleared out before a big storm hits, we will be that much farther ahead. If you don’t know who to contact, ask your block leader, or contact this web site’s administrator at Aquarius9721@VERIZON.net for assistance.

Let’s all work together to be prepared . . . whether it is preparing for storms, or crime. Know your neighbors. Be sure you have a name and contact number/email address for your neighbors as well as for your NHW block leader. WATCH.

We are Neighborhood Watch, and we are watching out for each other.

See you on the sidewalk . . . .