Make an effort to make it better
By Lisa Grazier, Camp Chase Blockwatch
Another summer gone, this one a bit more mild regarding criminal action.
There are the usual problems with criminals on the prowl, always looking for easy targets like your grill, accidentally left out overnight. For some reason, no one notices these things walking off in the neighborhood! How about scrap metal thieves? Anyone pushing a shopping cart full of siding is a thief and needs to be reported.
As usual, we have had a bogus alarm agency trying to foist off their useless product on unsuspecting residents. As stated by city code, they cannot be at your door before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If they are, then it is trespassing and you should call the police.
How about the problem of taggers? The one issue that got out of hand this summer was the proliferation of taggers or “graffiti artists.”
These are not gang members throwing up their nonsense on buildings, these are nuisances with spray paint cans who think they are brilliant. Parents, where are your children at night and why do they have cans of spray paint with them when they go out? Does anyone know how hard it is to get spray paint off of buildings, especially stone or brick?
I think that my favorite was the spray painted trees and grass at the park.
Folks, it is the little things that take a neighborhood down and suck the life out of it.
Please remember to be involved with your blockwatch, your neighbors, and your community. If you are new to the area, make an effort to get out and meet people and take time to care about where you live.
Why should we put up with the trash, the graffiti, the broken windows? Dublin doesn’t. Upper Arlington sure doesn’t. So why don’t we take a stand and fight for our neighborhood? Isn’t the Westside worth it?
Neighborhood blockwatches make a difference
By Jay McCallister, Haldy and N. Huron Blockwatch
While passing out fliers for an upcoming blockwatch event recently, a man confronted me to complain about the blockwatch. His opinions were pretty low.
It seems a bicycle had been stolen off his unlocked back porch. That made him think the blockwatch was useless.
So who is to blame when a crime occurs in a blockwatch neighborhood?
Certainly the blame should go to the thief first. Without them we wouldn’t need blockwatches or police.
Maybe that man can look to his neighbors that aren’t in the blockwatch next. None of the neighbors close to him participate in the blockwatch. If they did, they might have noticed a stranger walking through and kept an eye on him. Or they might have seen the thief actually stealing the bike and he could have been caught in the act. Yes, his neighbors are to blame too.
But what about the man whose bike was stolen?
He should go look in the mirror and blame the person looking back. That person has never once been to a blockwatch meeting.
If he had he would have learned basic home protection and known that leaving valuables out and unlocked was just asking for trouble. He would have learned the patterns of thieves in the area and known they were targeting garages and porches on the Hilltop. He and his neighbors would even have gotten descriptions of suspicious people and vehicles to watch for.
Perhaps the biggest problem is the fact that instead of simply not wanting to help himself this man went out of his way to cause trouble for the people that were trying to make a difference in the neighborhood. Even if you don’t want to get involved, don’t get in the way of those who do.
A personal message to anyone that doesn’t like the blockwatch: The Haldy & N. Huron Blockwatch has seven felony arrests to our credit in the last year. That includes five drug dealers, one habitual drunk driver and a wanted felon.
Like us or not, we are making a difference.
