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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:54 pm
by Jerry Ritcey
A typical instinct might be to, in the words of Frank Constanza, "raid down blows upon them" but there is a somewhat less violent alternative. Keep a camera phone or digital camera handy and snap a pic. I wish I had one on me the day I say an SUV driver going down my 25 MPH street around forty, with NO hands on the wheel, eating a sundae with a spoon.
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 12:18 am
by Tom Bullock
Noise, trash, rude behavior, zooming traffic may not be hard crime, but they are pulling down Lakewood neighborhoods.
The police do a good job but are stretched, and we can't expect them to do everything for the community. Other tools may be a better fit for the job of encouraging pride in our homes, teaching kids to be polite, and keeping the neighborhood friendly, clean, and safe.
The first step towards dealing with noise, trash, and absentee landlords is to organize the neighbors. This adds an additional tool to the toolbox for meeting the challenges facing Lakewood.
This is some of what we discussed at the July 24 neighborhood safety meeting I organized at Lakewood Park. We'll do a follow up meeting in early September to get into the problem-solving.
I invite anyone here who is (legitimately) frustrated with these problems to channel your frustration into organizing your neighbors. We don't need to reinvent the wheel: we'll learn from one another about what already works. I'm happy to work with anyone to help set up a neighborhood Good Neighbor Network (e.g. more than just a Block Watch).
Tom Bullock
Candidate for City Council, Ward 2
216-337-1318