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North
Park Estates News Volume 2,
Issue 3 November 22,
2003 Holiday Celebration/
Neighborhood Watch Kick Off Tuesday, December
16 6:30-8:30 P.M. South End of Eubank At Old Braker Lane
Join us for Hot Chocolate, Christmas
carols, and Neighborhood Watch Information.
Bring the entire family. The
neighborhood association will rent an inflatable slide for the kids to
enjoy. We will invite a representative
of the Austin Police Department to Speak regarding crime prevention and
Neighborhood Watch. In order to have an
active Neighborhood Watch we need everyone possible to attend an information session, so we have sandwiched it
between hot chocolate and announcing the winners of the Holiday decorations
contest with a side of inflatable fun for the kids. Mark your calendars! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Operation Candy Cane: It has been suggested that we attempt to
place a decorative candy cane (3 foot size)
next to every mailbox in the neighborhood. A unified decorating element can make a charming addition to the
neighborhood and show unified community spirit. The Plastic candy canes are available at Garden Ridge, Wal-Mart ,
and many other places for less than $2.00.
Any complete street with a candy at every mailbox will be recognized at
the Holiday Celebration. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Special points of interest: · Pflugerville
Schools Thanksgiving Holiday-November 26-28 · Pflugerville
Schools Winter Break December 19– Jan 6 · Neighborhood
Holiday Celebration– Tuesday -December 16th 6:30-8:30 p.m. · Austin Police
Department offers a free home security survey to identify possible security risks at your home and may
help you qualify for a discount on your insurance. Inside this issue:
Holiday Decorations
Contest It is time once again to show our holiday
spirit through outdoor decorations.
This year the neighborhood association will be offering prizes for the
top outdoor displays in three categories.
The categories are as follows: Best
Display of the Holiday Spirit , The Highest Wattage Display, and Most
Original Holiday Decorations. The
neighborhood association will announce the winners at the Holiday Celebration
December 16, at 8:30. Photos of the
front runners will be on display on the web site and residents votes will be
accepted on the forum or by e-mail to Sam Amsler. Our web site is www.main.org/northpark, and a link to the
webmaster, Sam Amsler, is available from the home page. Votes received on the forum will account for
50% of the vote. The other 50% of the
vote will come from the Holiday Decorations Committee. Prizes will be approximately $25.00 in value
and include dinner for 2 at Ross’s Old Austin Café for the Holiday Spirit
Award, and a gift card from Lowe’s for the Highest Wattage award.
Protect your property: Engrave your drivers license number on valuables to identify your property. An engraver is available for $20.00 at home improvement stores. A thorough inventory of your belongings is also very helpful when reporting a loss to both the police and your insurance company. Neighborhood Wide
Garage Sale Plans for a neighborhood wide
garage sale are on the January agenda for the neighborhood association. We are considering a spring date and
including maps at the entrance of the homes that are participating in the project. If you are interested please go to the
neighborhood forum on the web site to be involved in the discussion and
planning or the event. Volume 2, Issue 3 North
Park Estates News Crime Prevention
Sundae Recap
On October 26th, 2003 approximately 50
residents attended a general meeting concerning neighborhood crime
prevention. At this meeting we
discussed the recent spike in criminal activity in our neighborhood. The string of burglaries on Eubank and North
Bend included three separate burglaries the most recent was stopped in progress
by the home owner. All of these
burglaries have been during the day are 60% of all home burglaries. Auto burglaries were also reported along
with checks (outgoing bill payments) stolen from mailboxes and the “washed” or
altered and cashed. Most residents at
the meeting agreed that a neighborhood watch or some sort of organized effort
was needed to protect our homes. We discussed trying to walk the
neighborhood during the day, specifically between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. when
thieves expect to find homes empty and
keeping a notepad near the door to take notes on suspicious activity. We
also talked about wearing an armband or specific color to distinguish residents
from non-residents when walking. One
neighbor pointed out that many of us are leaving our car or cars in the
driveway and risking a $10,000+-investment and protecting $50.00 worth of junk
filling our garages. All of the
suggestions were worth considering.
Most of these issues are covered in a Neighborhood Watch program. Neighborhood watch is a crime prevention
program that enlists the active participation of residents to: recognize and report suspicious activities,
use crime prevention strategies at home, and communicate with each other. A neighborhood watch could be an extension
of our neighborhood association due to the common interest. Block captains would distribute the
newsletter and flyer to their block and act as a representative for their
block. We have block captains for many
of our street, but still need volunteers for the following streets; Hunt
Ridge & Hunt Ridge Cir., Minda & Minda Cir., North Bend (Austin
Park to Eubank), Circle Bend, and Apollo.
If you live on any of these streets, and are willing to deliver
newsletters and flyers to your street and act as a representative for your
block or half of your block, please contact Jessica Currie at 832-2139. We have asked Austin Police Department to
provide a representative for our Holiday Celebration to brief us on
Neighborhood Watch tactics. North Park Estates Neighborhood
Association P.O. Box
81395 Austin, TX
78708 We’re on the
web at www.main.org/northpark A Guide for Reporting Neighborhood Crime
It sounds easy, but unfortunately only about half of all crimes are
reported. Eyewitness information is the
key to solving many crimes. Here are a
few tips from The Neighborhood Watch Guide, produced by Farmer’s
Insurance. ·
Call
the police immediately. Five minutes
could make a difference. ·
Be
prepared with vital information, What occurred? When? Where? How Many Suspects? What was said? What did they do? What did they Take? Where
did they go? Are there any other
witnesses, and how can they be contacted? ·
Consider
the following questions for a suspect
description: Male/Female? Weapon?
Race? Age? Height?
Weight? Hair Color? Hair Length? Style? Eye Color? Glasses?
Face? Complexion? Mustache?
Beard? Mask? Tattoos?
Scars, Marks? Speech/Accent? Distinguishable gait, limp? Bag/Backpack? Clothing color? Shirt, pants, coat, hat, shoes, jewelry? ·
A
complete vehicle description includes: License State, and Number, Make, Model,
Year, Body Style (2 door, convertible?) Color, and Identifying hub caps,
wheels, dents, scratches, bumper stickers or decals. ·
Remember
that all calls to the police must be prioritized based on apparent danger to
human life due to limited personnel.
Even if they can not respond immediately the information you provide may
help solve the crime. ·
Wrong information is worse than no information CONTACT INFO FOR BOARD MEMBERS 2003-04 Board Of Directors David
Nuhn President 834-4166 Larie
Amsler Vice President 836-7673 Sam
Amsler Secretary 8367673 Jessica
Currie Treasurer 832-2139 Members
At Large Carol
Fritz 837-6835 Maria
Mayer 339-0738 Louis
and Gene McCoy 836-5289 Tom
and Nancy Miner 873-8682 Dale
and Greta Sellers 339-6221 Bob
and Virginia Young 837-6287 A. J. Walker 836-0203 Remember 911 &
311 Emergencies Non-Emergencies |
