Germantown Oaks Neighborhood Watch

September 2009 Newsletter

New Website

We’re starting out the month with a new website.  It will allow members get information faster, communicate with others, and discuss issues.  You’ll even be able to create your own pages to share information.  There is also a link to our new classified ad pages.  You have to create a user ID to place an ad, but you can read it without signing in.  Check out all the different pages and please give me some feedback!

 

Crime

There was a rash of crimes in our area during the last three weeks of August.  It appears to have slowed down, but don’t let your guard down.  Crimes are still occurring right outside our boundary.  All the criminals have to do is cross the street to be back. 

 

National Night Out

We held a night out party on National Night Out and had a good time.  Neighbors were invited to come and share food and meet each other.  We had thirty plus people attend this activity.  Announcements were distributed to the neighbors from Snyder and to Apple Creek.  We hope to cover the north side next time. 

As a result of the flyers and party we have had 5 or 6 families join our group. 

 

 

August Neighborhood Watch Meeting

There was a full room for this month’s meeting.  A few more and they would have had to open up the overflow room.  Let’s hope they have to next month!  Thanks to our members who came to the meeting.  The food was great and the information was good, also.    

During the meeting we learned the peak crime time has shifted to 3pm - 6pm.  This is the time when teens are getting out of school.  A few have been caught.  One burglar was caught wearing tennis shoes belonging to another teen, when he was seen at school by the owner of the shoes.  Crime is down 12.9% (392 crimes) in the Ridgeway District for the year to date.  Parents, please pay attention to and monitor your kid’s activities.  It is the unsupervised kids who are getting into trouble. 

We received answers to a few questions:

1.  Car tags from out of town/state are not legal, but are low priority.
2. Trailers parked on the street must be moved every 24 hours.
3. Cars without tags can/will have “Intent to Tow” stickers placed on them.
4. Broken down cars parked on the street can be ticketed and towed if not moved.

Major Polk discussed the Real Time Crime Center and how it helps fight crime and helps us.  He also covered the Crimestopper program.

 

Work on Storm Drain

During the past few weeks you may have seen workers coming and going down Oak Chase and Tranquil Creek. Here’s the story:

Some neighbors have been trying for several years to get the City to repair the underground “storm drain” that runs behind all the houses on Oak Chase.  It has caved in and left holes greater than 3-9 foot deep and more alongside a 5' concrete drain pipe.  They paid a plumber with a remote camera to walk the line and point out all the cracks and cave- ins on video DVD to prove the problem, and still had to force City sewer/storm drain maintenance to repair.  Sixteen hundred feet of pipe needed replacing, but instead of replacing the pipe, a new type of plastic insert was sprayed on.

 

Kirby High School Policy?

Last week two teenage girls in front of my house were stopped by an officer.  I had a question for the officer, so I went out.  I ask about the girls and was told they went to school, Kirby HS, but were late.  They said they were told they had a choice--leave or be suspended.  Guess which one they chose?   I tried to verify the policy with Kirby HS officials, but received no answer or call back.

 

Code Violation of the Month

Do you know of any motor vehicles that meet these criteria?

Number 3:  Parking & Storing Inoperable (junk) Motor Vehicles

It is a violation to park, store or leave any vehicle that is rusted, wrecked, junked, partially dismantled, inoperable or abandoned upon any property for ten (10) days unless the vehicle is completely enclosed within a building.