Neighbors United For Change

Tension and Disturbances that come with the Job

Jul 12, 2004

You know for every good thing that happens their is a bad thing that's growing.

First the good thing was the meeting held at 1408 S. 31st. Street last week on July 8th at 6:30 p.m.

There were 15 people in attendance with 1 city council member and 2 police officers, a town watch organizational officer and a member from the anti-drug network.

The discussion was to set up town watch and neighborhood crime prevention.


The meeting brought out the mothers who sons were involved in recent shootings in which one of the boys was killed while riding his bike.

Everyone was pleased with the turnout and said how impressed they were with Mr. Stanley Purnell for, bringing everyone together and how peaceful and orderly the meeting was.
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Now, to get on to the not so pleasant.

It seems that there are those who don't want a town watch in the neighborhood.

Word out is that they want to protest by sitting on the bridge until they are heard.

They would rather not participate because of fear and they want to pass the buck because, these same people can't bear the burden that their children are the ones doing the wrong.

The irrational part comes in where they are saying that they would rather have police patrolling the areas rather than they themselves.

Excuse me, but isn't this a catch 22?

Are they saying that they rather their children get arrested by the patrolling police so they aren't blamed?


How can you be part of the solution when you're part of the problem? You can't say that your children are not doing anything when it's obvious to everyone who lives on the street and watches the traffic coming and going.


There has to be something done and if that means that their children have to be caught in the cleanup then so be it. Afterall, we the town watch are trying to prevent this by going to the parents and the children involved before police intervention.

Instead everyone involved is in denial. Oh well, it's your bed. Sleep in it.

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Next problem comes with having unruly neighbors and neighbors who don't want to participate in anything having to do with the neighborhood or block they live in.

Instead they are complainers for everything decided upon by the body.

Recently two of our neighbors became unruly with our block captain because they want to be filthy and live in unsanitary conditions. Waste was coming from their rented property and was causing great odor to stream throughout the neighborhood. This was brought to the attention of the owner who was ordered by the city to clean it up.

This was done. However, the incidents continue and city utility persons asking questions about their whereabouts have angered these same neighbors to threaten the block captain and surrounding neighbors with bodily harm because they have knocked on the doors of the block captain to find out how they can get in to turn off all of the unpaid utilities.

These women had to have been inside because they immediately came up to the block captain with a witness present while sitting on his porch and told him what they would do to him.

He in turn called the police after another neighbor who was a witness to the incident,and who was also told to mind her business, told the block captain that she would do it if he didn't.