Eagle Eyes (Forest Hills Grid 18)

May, 2012

Thanks to all who attended our 2^nd quarterly meeting on April 26^th.  (Yes, we have added a 4^th meeting per year. The next one will be the end of July; please watch the web site for the confirmed date.) Lt. Zambito plus 3 officers from the night shift attended and entertained questions/comments. Traffic issues were discussed, but a lot of the traffic complaints need to be addressed in other ways besides the police – and we need to discuss this issue amongst ourselves to get some action on it, so please contact us to discuss this further. We are planning for the July meeting to include at least one of the city council representatives to be in attendance, in order that they may address these issues along with the community improvement project that is to take place within the near future. We ask that you send in your comments/questions/suggestions ASAP to us either via this web site’s discussion page or thru our email address: EagleEyeGrid18@YAHOO.com . We will probably contact you to discuss your concerns further, possibly by holding a series of small meetings to plan & organize  some of these issues ahead of the next meeting. We don’t want credit for your ideas . . . we just want to be organized & efficient. That will get city council’s attention better than anything. They know that they owe their jobs to us.

We really would like to utilize our internet access and to be able to forward information that would be important to you and to our neighborhood in general -- -- but, alas! we don’t have very many email addresses or phone numbers for our residents of this grid. We receive a lot of information regarding neighborhood scams, patterns of crime, witness information that would probably help solve a burglary, etc, but don’t have a way to share it with everyone. It would be really nice to be able to alert neighbors a couple of blocks away about a suspicious person or vehicle that we have been keeping an eye on all afternoon, a recurring speeder, a mailbox whacker, etc. So please . . . encourage your neighbors to give us with their contact information. We won’t abuse your contact info by sending jokes, etc., through the email – we promise. And remember that not everyone has internet access:  so, if you know or suspect that your neighbor doesn’t have internet access, please walk over and let them know what is going on!

One common crime occurrence continues to revolve around unlocked vehicles. So many auto burglaries take place in vehicles that were not secured, and often have valuable items within view. Please, remember to lock your vehicles, close their windows, and don’t leave anything – especially of value – in plain sight, even small change or cigarettes. And, consider using a device which immobilizes the steering wheel – such as The Club. TPDs’s detectives are often told by auto thieves that they don’t even bother with a vehicle which has The Club in place. Apparently The Club adds just enough additional time that the thieves won’t take the chance on getting caught trying to steal that vehicle.

As you already know, we don’t just deal with crime data on this web site and with our NHW group. We also try to include information that may be helpful in your everyday life – such as posting free or inexpensive activities for you to take part in, concerts in the park, pool hours, etc. And if you discover that one of our community service hyperlinks is no longer valid, please let us know. It takes a lot of time to peruse various web sites for such information, so if we occasionally miss something, please understand. That being said . . . we could use a little help maintaining this web site. If you can spare an hour or so once a month to help out, please let us know. Believe it or not . . . out of all the Neighborhood Watch web sites we used to view regularly for helpful information & ideas (there were over a half dozen) this web site is the only one that has been kept updated over the past 2-plus years. Not to brag . . . but you have some dedicated NHW volunteers out here in your grid!!

There is a one hour Mobile Patrol certification class coming up. Please contact us if you are interested in becoming certified to participate. We absolutely can’t have too many people certified for this; Mobile Patrol has been a big factor in helping keep neighborhoods safe.

Please . . . help keep our streets free of litter. A neat, clean neighborhood is a known deterrent to the criminal element. We don’t need to look like we just stepped off the pages of Better Homes and Gardens. We just need to demonstrate that we have pride in our neighborhood by keeping the tall weeds mowed and the litter picked up.

Speaking of Better Homes and Gardens . . . is anyone out there interested in participating in a plant exchange? Now that spring has sprung, some folks are clearing out overgrowth in their yards, and have some extra plants to share. If you are interested, let us know ASAP. Hey . . . the price is right . . .

Once again, we remind you to TALK to your neighbors -- it is the best deterrent to crime. Knowing your neighbors and who belongs in your neighborhood is a must for the concept of Neighborhood Watch to work. Plus -- you never know who might let you utilize their pick-up truck to get materials for a project around your house . . . :-)

See you on the sidewalk . . . . . . . . . .