Here we are, one week before Christmas, and all is peaceful and bright. While we've had a few instances of criminal activity within the neighborhood, we have shown a decrease in crime while incidents around us have gone up. As you have read, we put a group of adults and juveniles in lock up for armed robbery, burglary, etc. and it appears it was the right group. Now if we could just keep them there, we would all be better off.
We did have an incident on Log Cradle, a major street with lots of traffic, in which some scumbags took the factory wheels/tires off a Tahoe while it was parked in the driveway. While that wasn't the only incident we handled that morning, it is indicative of a crime trend. We have been dealing with this on and off for several years and there doesn't seem to be a way to prevent it other than not invest in these items. I responded to a firefighter in an apartment complex who had two different locking lug sets in addition to his custom wheels/tires getting taken and the vehicle had an alarm system. The people that steal these items are very good at what they do and while every once in a while we catch them at it, until we start lopping off body parts as in Saudi Arabia, it's not going to slow down.
Everyone in the neighborhood has gotten better at securing their valuables at night as the motor vehicle burglaries have decreased while around us they continue. The most popular item are GPS systems. Women are doing a better job of not leaving their purses in their cars as we are getting less of those calls too. We have taken a few reports of identity theft and credit card fraud. There are many ways to become victims, but in general, someone can't steal your identity without your personal information to include a social security number. I am still amazed at the number of people, whether it's on a traffic stop, or when I respond to an incident, when I ask for identification; their social security card will be in their wallet. There is no need to carry a social security card around as you cannot use it for anything other than get a job or driver's license. Other than that, if the wallet is lost or stolen, the potential for identity theft goes up dramatically. Also, for those of you that use computers, there is something called Phishing in which you receive an e-mail that supposed to be from your bank, internet provider, etc. saying you need to update your personal information to include social security number, bank account numbers or credit card numbers. Do not respond to these e-mails! Do inform the entity that the e-mail is supposed to be from as they need to be made aware. Also, do not use credit/debit cards at restaurants or any other place where someone walks off with your card. A criminal was using a group of waiters/waitresses with sophisticated electronic devices to steal credit card numbers and then attaching those numbers to gift cards which he sold to other criminals. This outfit was brought down by one cop finding one of these gift cards and backtracking the information on the magnetic strip. The original mastermind behind this was also doing car burglaries and when he found a credit card in a vehicle, would swipe the information from the magnetic strip and leave the card. The victim would never know about the problem until the next credit card statement arrived.
Another current scam is someone contacts you claiming to be selling something or offering you a job working from home. After you accept the offer, a forged check/money order/cashier's check is sent with the instructions to cash it, keep a portion and send the remainder somewhere else. The saying “if it's too good to be true, then it is” should immediately slap you upside the head. Some banks will cash these instruments as they are merely promises to pay and give you the money against your account. Once they try and collect on the fraudulent instrument and find out it's worthless, they are coming after you for their money. Also, drug dealers are now using this scam to launder money. I don't think any of you want to get caught up in a federal investigation of drug dealing/money laundering.
While we have a new federal administration coming into power, already the rumors of gun control are raising its ugly head. For those of you that believe outlawing certain or all types of firearms, ammunition or any other type of weapon in the hopes that will reduce or eliminate crime, I also have a magic pill that will make you smarter/reduce weight/richer. As some of you have read in the Chronicle, the majority of weapons seized in Mexico have come from Texas and in particular the Houston area. However, what the article failed to emphasize is that taking these weapons into Mexico is a violation of Mexican law. Some of these purchases were also illegal in violation of United States federal law and in some instances of Texas law. That doesn't include the use of these weapons in the commission of murder, kidnapping, drug dealing, etc. is also a crime. I don't think I need to address the corruption among government, law enforcement and military personnel. Anyone can pass any law they want, but as we have seen time and time again, until the criminal is locked up, he/she will continue to victimize anyone and everyone possible.
Amazingly enough, I went to a gun show before the election and bought a .22 long rifle firearm just because I thought it was a neat piece. The next gun show after the election, the same gun was selling for $140 more and only two weeks had passed. People were lined up four and five deep at each table trying to buy firearms and there was even a line to buy a certain caliber of ammunition. A couple of dealers had to cut off sales hours before closing because that was how long it was going to take to process the sales transactions already made. The price and availability of certain types of firearms and ammunition have started to increase (think Clinton gun ban) leading everyone to believe we are going to see a repeat under the Obama administration. I'm not going to tell you it's not going to happen, despite the recent United States Supreme Court ruling, but I've hedged my bets (and I'm in law enforcement) and if you think you need to, do so. President Obama will have his hands full dealing with more important things, but I can guarantee one thing, if congress wants to go along with anymore stupid gun control laws instead of punishing crooks, there will be a lot of politicians without jobs come the next election, just like last time. Some of you may not agree with my assessment, but an examination of any society that has attempted to control crime by controlling an inanimate object has failed or as one writer in the Chronicle noted, guns do not kill people, stupid people with guns kill people. Unfortunately we have no to will to control the stupid people because we don't want to offend them.
We are entering into a new year, check your vehicle registrations, safety inspections stickers and driver's licenses. Don't drink and drive. There are a lot of empty houses in the neighborhood, keep an eye on them and report suspicious activity. If you or anyone you know may be in need of a good job with benefits, the Harris County Sheriff's Office is still hiring. Go to www.hcso.hctx.net to see what we do and maybe even apply.
We as a nation are entering exciting new times, may you all have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous and hopeful New Year!
“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” Martin Luther King Jr.
-Officer Mook
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Crime Watch News
It is now a few days after the elections and what an election this was. We have a new president, a bunch of new criminal and civil court judges, a new sheriff, but most of the same members of congress. The next two years will be very interesting! I am, however, amazed at the level of cynicism among our young people. Texas is still a “red” state and the executive and legislative branches are now “blue”. No matter how anyone feels about this, let us all hope it goes well, for none of us “wins” if there is failure. I hope that everyone is prepared to endure the economic times ahead. I'm not an economist, but it's easy to see that the policies of the last forty years are finally catching up to us. There are some that want to assign blame for companies failing, people losing their houses/cars, the stock market crashing, etc, but it all goes back to individual responsibility. Certainly there are those CEOs along with their subordinates that were ripping people off and there are legions of politicians that allowed these things to happen and even took active parts, however, no one forced anyone to take out loans they knew they couldn't afford. There are also those individuals that took active parts in committing fraud and continue to do so as I write this, but there is always a day of reckoning. The me generation is over and now it's time to work together. I think we also need to do a better job of teaching government/civics in school. There are people out there that believed that I could have lost my job based on who was elected sheriff. While it is true that I serve at the pleasure of whoever is the boss, I still have civil service and can't be fired for any reason. Besides, we're still a little short handed and I'm pretty sure I'll have my job for as long as I want it. This is still a free country, vote for whoever you want.
Some of you wanted to know more about the accused child abuser I arrested. While all arrests are public information, I don't mention names as a matter of policy and despite my own personal feelings, everyone is entitled to the concept of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. If anyone wants to know about the convicted and registered sex offenders among us please go to www.txdps.state.tx.us, click on criminal records on the left side and then click on the highlighted text for sex offenders. Keep in mind that this list reflects where a sex offender is supposed to be and crooks being crooks, they don't always do what they are supposed to do. This is not an all inclusive list as there are offenders out there that have not been identified or caught, let alone convicted. I submit that it is each parent’s responsibility to keep an eye on their children, however, keep in mind, most offenders exist within the family and the instances of the creepy next door neighbor are few and far between. I had one resident call about a suspicious person watching his daughter at the bus stop. He got me a license plate, I located and identified this person, who it turns out, was watching his own daughter at the bus stop. Instead of walking 30 yards with his daughter, he follows her in his vehicle, in which he has not registered to his new address, did not have his driver's license or insurance with him and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Needless to say he had a very rude awakening that morning.
While we are on rude awakenings, I was called a racist twice last month, which is probably a record for me. Despite the dawning of a new day in America, we still have “victims” among us who subscribe to the theory that their problems are based on the color of their skin rather than their own boneheaded actions. In the first instance, junior is driving around in the dark with no lights, no driver's license or insurance and vehicle not registered to this area. After I put the car on a wrecker and write junior a fist full of tickets, dad comes running up to the scene and when he gets his fist full of tickets for allowing junior to break the law, he proceeds to tell junior I'm doing what I do because, you guessed it, I'm a racist. Unfortunately I can't peel of my uniform and defend my honor, but for those of you that believe this kind of crap, you might want to find someplace else to live. I cannot fathom how someone can be breaking the law and when they get caught and are being dealt with accordingly, it is somehow racism in action.
In the other instance, which did not occur in this neighborhood, a couple was arguing, throwing things around and generally putting their business in the open as this was an apartment complex. Upon my arrival, I can hear them going at it as I approach the door. Of course, when the door opens, I'm told where to go and that the only reason I'm there is, and here we go again, because I'm a racist. That's right, I drive around for seven and three quarters hours and 15 minutes before quitting time, I decide that I need to jump into a family disturbance because I have absolutely nothing better to do. Some people live only because it's illegal to kill them! Interestingly enough, they had a pattern of cops showing up on their doorstep for exactly the same thing, but of course I can't tell them they probably need to examine their own behavior instead of their skin color. What they still don't know is that the neighbor that called was of the same race.
I've had a few instances of things being stolen out of open garages, especially in Westbrook Lakes. Someone will be working in the yard, usually in the back, they leave the garage door open and some scumbag drives by, runs into the garage, snatches an item and they're gone in seconds. A couple of residents have found what they believe to be their property on Craigslist. Some of you make pretty good detectives. I have to recommend that you do everything to protect you own property as we can't do it for you, but case something does happen, our detectives/deputy investigators are pretty busy so whatever leads you can gather, it's always appreciated. Also, our department is still hiring and we have a new boss, which may or may not change things, but I still love my job.
It was great to meet more of you during National Night Out, hopefully you got to meet more of your neighbors and you'll do a good job of looking out for each other. We are now headed into the holiday season. Please don't drink and drive! We have developed the “no refusal” policy where if someone is caught drinking and driving, we can apply for a search warrant to draw blood if they decide they don't want to blow into an intoxylizer machine. Blood draws are mandatory if a death or serious bodily injury are a result of a motor vehicle crash. Some of you may have noticed that the street racers are coming out of the woodwork again. There was a fatality on FM 1960 last month in which an innocent elderly woman was driving along, minding her own business when idiot boy racing another moron after school, runs into her after losing control of his high dollar sports car/racing machine. She died, the racer died and his passenger died while the other racer left the scene, but was later caught. Dad, of course, is on television rather quickly denying his son was out there screwing up even though there were many witnesses to this horrific event. Some parents just need to be slapped upside the head. Needless to say, he's fixing to get sued by a whole bunch of people in addition to having lost his son and while no one needs to go through what he's fixing to endure, he can't put the blame on anyone else.
Till next time, let’s be careful out there.
-Officer Mook
Some of you wanted to know more about the accused child abuser I arrested. While all arrests are public information, I don't mention names as a matter of policy and despite my own personal feelings, everyone is entitled to the concept of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. If anyone wants to know about the convicted and registered sex offenders among us please go to www.txdps.state.tx.us, click on criminal records on the left side and then click on the highlighted text for sex offenders. Keep in mind that this list reflects where a sex offender is supposed to be and crooks being crooks, they don't always do what they are supposed to do. This is not an all inclusive list as there are offenders out there that have not been identified or caught, let alone convicted. I submit that it is each parent’s responsibility to keep an eye on their children, however, keep in mind, most offenders exist within the family and the instances of the creepy next door neighbor are few and far between. I had one resident call about a suspicious person watching his daughter at the bus stop. He got me a license plate, I located and identified this person, who it turns out, was watching his own daughter at the bus stop. Instead of walking 30 yards with his daughter, he follows her in his vehicle, in which he has not registered to his new address, did not have his driver's license or insurance with him and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Needless to say he had a very rude awakening that morning.
While we are on rude awakenings, I was called a racist twice last month, which is probably a record for me. Despite the dawning of a new day in America, we still have “victims” among us who subscribe to the theory that their problems are based on the color of their skin rather than their own boneheaded actions. In the first instance, junior is driving around in the dark with no lights, no driver's license or insurance and vehicle not registered to this area. After I put the car on a wrecker and write junior a fist full of tickets, dad comes running up to the scene and when he gets his fist full of tickets for allowing junior to break the law, he proceeds to tell junior I'm doing what I do because, you guessed it, I'm a racist. Unfortunately I can't peel of my uniform and defend my honor, but for those of you that believe this kind of crap, you might want to find someplace else to live. I cannot fathom how someone can be breaking the law and when they get caught and are being dealt with accordingly, it is somehow racism in action.
In the other instance, which did not occur in this neighborhood, a couple was arguing, throwing things around and generally putting their business in the open as this was an apartment complex. Upon my arrival, I can hear them going at it as I approach the door. Of course, when the door opens, I'm told where to go and that the only reason I'm there is, and here we go again, because I'm a racist. That's right, I drive around for seven and three quarters hours and 15 minutes before quitting time, I decide that I need to jump into a family disturbance because I have absolutely nothing better to do. Some people live only because it's illegal to kill them! Interestingly enough, they had a pattern of cops showing up on their doorstep for exactly the same thing, but of course I can't tell them they probably need to examine their own behavior instead of their skin color. What they still don't know is that the neighbor that called was of the same race.
I've had a few instances of things being stolen out of open garages, especially in Westbrook Lakes. Someone will be working in the yard, usually in the back, they leave the garage door open and some scumbag drives by, runs into the garage, snatches an item and they're gone in seconds. A couple of residents have found what they believe to be their property on Craigslist. Some of you make pretty good detectives. I have to recommend that you do everything to protect you own property as we can't do it for you, but case something does happen, our detectives/deputy investigators are pretty busy so whatever leads you can gather, it's always appreciated. Also, our department is still hiring and we have a new boss, which may or may not change things, but I still love my job.
It was great to meet more of you during National Night Out, hopefully you got to meet more of your neighbors and you'll do a good job of looking out for each other. We are now headed into the holiday season. Please don't drink and drive! We have developed the “no refusal” policy where if someone is caught drinking and driving, we can apply for a search warrant to draw blood if they decide they don't want to blow into an intoxylizer machine. Blood draws are mandatory if a death or serious bodily injury are a result of a motor vehicle crash. Some of you may have noticed that the street racers are coming out of the woodwork again. There was a fatality on FM 1960 last month in which an innocent elderly woman was driving along, minding her own business when idiot boy racing another moron after school, runs into her after losing control of his high dollar sports car/racing machine. She died, the racer died and his passenger died while the other racer left the scene, but was later caught. Dad, of course, is on television rather quickly denying his son was out there screwing up even though there were many witnesses to this horrific event. Some parents just need to be slapped upside the head. Needless to say, he's fixing to get sued by a whole bunch of people in addition to having lost his son and while no one needs to go through what he's fixing to endure, he can't put the blame on anyone else.
Till next time, let’s be careful out there.
-Officer Mook
Filed under:
Crime Watch News
Crime Watch News
It is now a few days after the elections and what an election this was. We have a new president, a bunch of new criminal and civil court judges, a new sheriff, but most of the same members of congress. The next two years will be very interesting! I am, however, amazed at the level of cynicism among our young people. Texas is still a “red” state and the executive and legislative branches are now “blue”. No matter how anyone feels about this, let us all hope it goes well, for none of us “wins” if there is failure. I hope that everyone is prepared to endure the economic times ahead. I'm not an economist, but it's easy to see that the policies of the last forty years are finally catching up to us. There are some that want to assign blame for companies failing, people losing their houses/cars, the stock market crashing, etc, but it all goes back to individual responsibility. Certainly there are those CEOs along with their subordinates that were ripping people off and there are legions of politicians that allowed these things to happen and even took active parts, however, no one forced anyone to take out loans they knew they couldn't afford. There are also those individuals that took active parts in committing fraud and continue to do so as I write this, but there is always a day of reckoning. The me generation is over and now it's time to work together. I think we also need to do a better job of teaching government/civics in school. There are people out there that believed that I could have lost my job based on who was elected sheriff. While it is true that I serve at the pleasure of whoever is the boss, I still have civil service and can't be fired for any reason. Besides, we're still a little short handed and I'm pretty sure I'll have my job for as long as I want it. This is still a free country, vote for whoever you want.
Some of you wanted to know more about the accused child abuser I arrested. While all arrests are public information, I don't mention names as a matter of policy and despite my own personal feelings, everyone is entitled to the concept of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. If anyone wants to know about the convicted and registered sex offenders among us please go to www.txdps.state.tx.us, click on criminal records on the left side and then click on the highlighted text for sex offenders. Keep in mind that this list reflects where a sex offender is supposed to be and crooks being crooks, they don't always do what they are supposed to do. This is not an all inclusive list as there are offenders out there that have not been identified or caught, let alone convicted. I submit that it is each parent’s responsibility to keep an eye on their children, however, keep in mind, most offenders exist within the family and the instances of the creepy next door neighbor are few and far between. I had one resident call about a suspicious person watching his daughter at the bus stop. He got me a license plate, I located and identified this person, who it turns out, was watching his own daughter at the bus stop. Instead of walking 30 yards with his daughter, he follows her in his vehicle, in which he has not registered to his new address, did not have his driver's license or insurance with him and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Needless to say he had a very rude awakening that morning.
While we are on rude awakenings, I was called a racist twice last month, which is probably a record for me. Despite the dawning of a new day in America, we still have “victims” among us who subscribe to the theory that their problems are based on the color of their skin rather than their own boneheaded actions. In the first instance, junior is driving around in the dark with no lights, no driver's license or insurance and vehicle not registered to this area. After I put the car on a wrecker and write junior a fist full of tickets, dad comes running up to the scene and when he gets his fist full of tickets for allowing junior to break the law, he proceeds to tell junior I'm doing what I do because, you guessed it, I'm a racist. Unfortunately I can't peel of my uniform and defend my honor, but for those of you that believe this kind of crap, you might want to find someplace else to live. I cannot fathom how someone can be breaking the law and when they get caught and are being dealt with accordingly, it is somehow racism in action.
In the other instance, which did not occur in this neighborhood, a couple was arguing, throwing things around and generally putting their business in the open as this was an apartment complex. Upon my arrival, I can hear them going at it as I approach the door. Of course, when the door opens, I'm told where to go and that the only reason I'm there is, and here we go again, because I'm a racist. That's right, I drive around for seven and three quarters hours and 15 minutes before quitting time, I decide that I need to jump into a family disturbance because I have absolutely nothing better to do. Some people live only because it's illegal to kill them! Interestingly enough, they had a pattern of cops showing up on their doorstep for exactly the same thing, but of course I can't tell them they probably need to examine their own behavior instead of their skin color. What they still don't know is that the neighbor that called was of the same race.
I've had a few instances of things being stolen out of open garages, especially in Westbrook Lakes. Someone will be working in the yard, usually in the back, they leave the garage door open and some scumbag drives by, runs into the garage, snatches an item and they're gone in seconds. A couple of residents have found what they believe to be their property on Craigslist. Some of you make pretty good detectives. I have to recommend that you do everything to protect you own property as we can't do it for you, but case something does happen, our detectives/deputy investigators are pretty busy so whatever leads you can gather, it's always appreciated. Also, our department is still hiring and we have a new boss, which may or may not change things, but I still love my job.
It was great to meet more of you during National Night Out, hopefully you got to meet more of your neighbors and you'll do a good job of looking out for each other. We are now headed into the holiday season. Please don't drink and drive! We have developed the “no refusal” policy where if someone is caught drinking and driving, we can apply for a search warrant to draw blood if they decide they don't want to blow into an intoxylizer machine. Blood draws are mandatory if a death or serious bodily injury are a result of a motor vehicle crash. Some of you may have noticed that the street racers are coming out of the woodwork again. There was a fatality on FM 1960 last month in which an innocent elderly woman was driving along, minding her own business when idiot boy racing another moron after school, runs into her after losing control of his high dollar sports car/racing machine. She died, the racer died and his passenger died while the other racer left the scene, but was later caught. Dad, of course, is on television rather quickly denying his son was out there screwing up even though there were many witnesses to this horrific event. Some parents just need to be slapped upside the head. Needless to say, he's fixing to get sued by a whole bunch of people in addition to having lost his son and while no one needs to go through what he's fixing to endure, he can't put the blame on anyone else.
Till next time, let’s be careful out there.
-Officer Mook
Some of you wanted to know more about the accused child abuser I arrested. While all arrests are public information, I don't mention names as a matter of policy and despite my own personal feelings, everyone is entitled to the concept of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. If anyone wants to know about the convicted and registered sex offenders among us please go to www.txdps.state.tx.us, click on criminal records on the left side and then click on the highlighted text for sex offenders. Keep in mind that this list reflects where a sex offender is supposed to be and crooks being crooks, they don't always do what they are supposed to do. This is not an all inclusive list as there are offenders out there that have not been identified or caught, let alone convicted. I submit that it is each parent’s responsibility to keep an eye on their children, however, keep in mind, most offenders exist within the family and the instances of the creepy next door neighbor are few and far between. I had one resident call about a suspicious person watching his daughter at the bus stop. He got me a license plate, I located and identified this person, who it turns out, was watching his own daughter at the bus stop. Instead of walking 30 yards with his daughter, he follows her in his vehicle, in which he has not registered to his new address, did not have his driver's license or insurance with him and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Needless to say he had a very rude awakening that morning.
While we are on rude awakenings, I was called a racist twice last month, which is probably a record for me. Despite the dawning of a new day in America, we still have “victims” among us who subscribe to the theory that their problems are based on the color of their skin rather than their own boneheaded actions. In the first instance, junior is driving around in the dark with no lights, no driver's license or insurance and vehicle not registered to this area. After I put the car on a wrecker and write junior a fist full of tickets, dad comes running up to the scene and when he gets his fist full of tickets for allowing junior to break the law, he proceeds to tell junior I'm doing what I do because, you guessed it, I'm a racist. Unfortunately I can't peel of my uniform and defend my honor, but for those of you that believe this kind of crap, you might want to find someplace else to live. I cannot fathom how someone can be breaking the law and when they get caught and are being dealt with accordingly, it is somehow racism in action.
In the other instance, which did not occur in this neighborhood, a couple was arguing, throwing things around and generally putting their business in the open as this was an apartment complex. Upon my arrival, I can hear them going at it as I approach the door. Of course, when the door opens, I'm told where to go and that the only reason I'm there is, and here we go again, because I'm a racist. That's right, I drive around for seven and three quarters hours and 15 minutes before quitting time, I decide that I need to jump into a family disturbance because I have absolutely nothing better to do. Some people live only because it's illegal to kill them! Interestingly enough, they had a pattern of cops showing up on their doorstep for exactly the same thing, but of course I can't tell them they probably need to examine their own behavior instead of their skin color. What they still don't know is that the neighbor that called was of the same race.
I've had a few instances of things being stolen out of open garages, especially in Westbrook Lakes. Someone will be working in the yard, usually in the back, they leave the garage door open and some scumbag drives by, runs into the garage, snatches an item and they're gone in seconds. A couple of residents have found what they believe to be their property on Craigslist. Some of you make pretty good detectives. I have to recommend that you do everything to protect you own property as we can't do it for you, but case something does happen, our detectives/deputy investigators are pretty busy so whatever leads you can gather, it's always appreciated. Also, our department is still hiring and we have a new boss, which may or may not change things, but I still love my job.
It was great to meet more of you during National Night Out, hopefully you got to meet more of your neighbors and you'll do a good job of looking out for each other. We are now headed into the holiday season. Please don't drink and drive! We have developed the “no refusal” policy where if someone is caught drinking and driving, we can apply for a search warrant to draw blood if they decide they don't want to blow into an intoxylizer machine. Blood draws are mandatory if a death or serious bodily injury are a result of a motor vehicle crash. Some of you may have noticed that the street racers are coming out of the woodwork again. There was a fatality on FM 1960 last month in which an innocent elderly woman was driving along, minding her own business when idiot boy racing another moron after school, runs into her after losing control of his high dollar sports car/racing machine. She died, the racer died and his passenger died while the other racer left the scene, but was later caught. Dad, of course, is on television rather quickly denying his son was out there screwing up even though there were many witnesses to this horrific event. Some parents just need to be slapped upside the head. Needless to say, he's fixing to get sued by a whole bunch of people in addition to having lost his son and while no one needs to go through what he's fixing to endure, he can't put the blame on anyone else.
Till next time, let’s be careful out there.
-Officer Mook
Filed under:
Crime Watch News
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
State of the Neighborhood
My fellow Residents,
Welcome to the first “State of the Neighborhood” address. I plan to post a report every month after board meetings. As you may know, we have just had our annual neighborhood meeting and I think it went well. It would have been nice to see more of you at the meeting, but this is the first time we had enough proxies and Residents present to have an immediate quorum. In the past few years, we have needed to go door to door asking for involvement before the meeting could begin. There were three positions up for election. Brent Galloway and I were reelected to the Board. We welcome a new member, Lisa Zanot. I would like to thank the other members of the Board for their time serving. As you may not know, we do this on our own time, for free, because we care about our community and property values.
The past year the Board has worked to improve its relationship with the Residents in the community. I feel we have made some progress. With the web site, community information is easy to find and you can contact Board members with the click of the mouse. We had two Meet and Greets at the pool this summer. The first one, I walked the community and told Residents I saw about it. The turnout was fair. The second one I was unable to attend, but was told that several Residents were there and addressed the Board members that were present with their concerns. We need to hear from the community if we are going to be able to address concerns.
As many of you have noticed, we have added new lights at the community pool and park to make it a safer place for our Residents. The purpose of these additions is to make it harder for the punks that have been conducting illegal activities at night at the park. The Board has also decided to take responsibility for graffiti removal as it happens. In the past, the Homeowner was responsible for the burden of removing it. At times it was not being done quickly. We need to get it removed to tell the punks that this is our community not theirs.
We have our meetings every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7P.M. at the pool on Brookleaf. We would love to see you there. The more participation, the better we can make our community. There are many committees that you can be involved with. It only takes a small amount of time to get a lot done. Here are the committees that need help: Pool; Deed Restrictions; Grounds and Maintenance; Architectural Review. We are working on a plan for future improvements in the community. By participating on a committee, you can be an active part of your community’s future.
I would like to also thank the Officers for all the hard work they do in protecting our community. As you read Officer Mooks newsletter, you can see what they have been dealing with. They could really use our help. By reporting things that you see, they can address the problems more efficiently. If the punks know we stand united in the fight against them, they will leave our community and do their deeds elsewhere. So if you see any suspicious activity, call the police. They want you to understand they are here for you. You can report anonymously, and no one will know. As for the punks committing crimes, just know we are all watching, and you will be caught sooner or later.
Homeowners with rental property, we ask that you make Renters aware of the community rules and guidelines. Please maintain your asset to the standards set forth by the deed restrictions. All Homeowners should help to make this community one that others want to copy, and criminals fear.
As for the “State of the Neighborhood”, it is ok but can be much better with your help. We are planning more informal community gatherings to promote involvement and provide information about activities to the Residents. Keep checking the website as dates will be posted periodically.
I look forward to seeing you at next month’s meeting on Tuesday, September 9th.
Yours truly,
Brandon Jager, Board President
Welcome to the first “State of the Neighborhood” address. I plan to post a report every month after board meetings. As you may know, we have just had our annual neighborhood meeting and I think it went well. It would have been nice to see more of you at the meeting, but this is the first time we had enough proxies and Residents present to have an immediate quorum. In the past few years, we have needed to go door to door asking for involvement before the meeting could begin. There were three positions up for election. Brent Galloway and I were reelected to the Board. We welcome a new member, Lisa Zanot. I would like to thank the other members of the Board for their time serving. As you may not know, we do this on our own time, for free, because we care about our community and property values.
The past year the Board has worked to improve its relationship with the Residents in the community. I feel we have made some progress. With the web site, community information is easy to find and you can contact Board members with the click of the mouse. We had two Meet and Greets at the pool this summer. The first one, I walked the community and told Residents I saw about it. The turnout was fair. The second one I was unable to attend, but was told that several Residents were there and addressed the Board members that were present with their concerns. We need to hear from the community if we are going to be able to address concerns.
As many of you have noticed, we have added new lights at the community pool and park to make it a safer place for our Residents. The purpose of these additions is to make it harder for the punks that have been conducting illegal activities at night at the park. The Board has also decided to take responsibility for graffiti removal as it happens. In the past, the Homeowner was responsible for the burden of removing it. At times it was not being done quickly. We need to get it removed to tell the punks that this is our community not theirs.
We have our meetings every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7P.M. at the pool on Brookleaf. We would love to see you there. The more participation, the better we can make our community. There are many committees that you can be involved with. It only takes a small amount of time to get a lot done. Here are the committees that need help: Pool; Deed Restrictions; Grounds and Maintenance; Architectural Review. We are working on a plan for future improvements in the community. By participating on a committee, you can be an active part of your community’s future.
I would like to also thank the Officers for all the hard work they do in protecting our community. As you read Officer Mooks newsletter, you can see what they have been dealing with. They could really use our help. By reporting things that you see, they can address the problems more efficiently. If the punks know we stand united in the fight against them, they will leave our community and do their deeds elsewhere. So if you see any suspicious activity, call the police. They want you to understand they are here for you. You can report anonymously, and no one will know. As for the punks committing crimes, just know we are all watching, and you will be caught sooner or later.
Homeowners with rental property, we ask that you make Renters aware of the community rules and guidelines. Please maintain your asset to the standards set forth by the deed restrictions. All Homeowners should help to make this community one that others want to copy, and criminals fear.
As for the “State of the Neighborhood”, it is ok but can be much better with your help. We are planning more informal community gatherings to promote involvement and provide information about activities to the Residents. Keep checking the website as dates will be posted periodically.
I look forward to seeing you at next month’s meeting on Tuesday, September 9th.
Yours truly,
Brandon Jager, Board President
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Letters from the HOA President
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