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More incidents of theft...

LMJ Neighborhood Watch,

There have been several more incidents reported this past week. 

When returning home from a spring break vacation, one of the families in Roberts Island found that their 12 ft white trailer full of construction equipment was stolen!  The trailer had been parked behind a neighbor’s house out of view (the neighbor had given them permission to park it there since no one is currently living at the home.)  The trailer was turned the other direction, had a massive lock on it, and all the tires were chained.  The only thing they found at the location was one of the chains cleanly cut.  There is a neighbor that noticed a dark blue pickup truck with a white trailer speeding out of the neighborhood on Wed March 30^th around 7:30 pm (a stormy night.)  This incident is Grand Theft since the contents were between 18 – 20K.  If you have any info on this – please report it immediately!

The other two incidents were small – but show that there are still crimes occurring.  In Live Oak on the night of Sat March 26 someone went into an unlocked car in Live Oak.  Luckily there was nothing to take other than a work badge, but the door of the car was left open and the console was left open as well.  There was a large staghorn fern stolen out of someone’s yard the week before. 

Share this information with your neighbors in case they are not getting our emails.

Please keep your guard up and your eyes open. 

Thanks,

Suzanne Arnold

LMJ Neighborhood Watch

Ps – the following streets have volunteers for block captains.  If your street is not listed – I encourage you to volunteer – the duties are simple.  If you have questions about block captain responsibilities – let me know.

 

LMJ

Augustine

Bayonne

Conifer

Conifer

Desilu

Desilu

Fernway

Fernway

Henson

Henson

Lacebark

Lamont

Marine

Marine

Nell

Roxanne

Winterset

Winterset

LMJ

LMJ

LMJ Shores

Arbor Glen

Bramble Bush

Gray Birch

Gray Birch

Mastwood

Rambling Oak

Oakwood Cove

Roberts Island

Roberts Island

Bray

Fresno

Marine

Sheba

LMJ Shores

Myrtlewood

Block Meeting Rescheduled

This message is going out to all residents that signed up to help as either Block Captains or other helpers.

Sorry – but with a Tornado Watch in effect until 8pm tonight (and with our meeting outdoors) I am canceling the block captain meeting for tonight (Wed March 30^th.) 

I will speak with our Neighborhood Watch Deputy and reschedule again for next week.   

My apologies for sending this so late – but I was in Tampa today and just got back home. 

Thanks,

Suzanne Arnold

LMJ Neighborhood Watch

Block Captain Meeting Set!

Hello LMJ Neighborhood Watch Block Captains (and others who have said they are willing to help out)

I have set the date for our Block Captain meeting...

        When:    Wednesday, March 30^th at 6:30pm  

        Where:   Isle of Pines Neighborhood Park 

                       at 13694 Lake Mary Jane Road. 

The park is located on the right hand side just past Flo Rd.  (If you get to Nell Rd on the right – you went too far.)  There will be a temporary sign placed at the entrance.  Our park has picnic tables and a covered Pavilion – so we can still meet if it rains (unless it’s a wild Hurricane Charley type storm) – and hopefully we can all enjoy viewing the sunset over the lake!  If you have kids, you are welcome to bring them – we have a large playground (but please ask them not to go on the dock or by the lake since it won’t be supervised. (You may want to bring along some bug spray too.)

Our Neighborhood Watch Deputy Jimenez is able to attend this meeting and will give us information and advice.  I will have maps of the streets and we will work together to get information out to all homes.  I will pass out the car window decals that say “LMJ” to help identify our neighbors but need your help distributing these, collecting donations, and getting additional neighbors to join.  I will also put together handouts that you can give to your neighbors to explain what has been going on and how to sign up.   Please, let me also hear suggestions from all of you and talk about the possibility of forming a “camera” committee...share your thoughts, OK? 

Then after a couple of weeks we will hold a Neighborhood Watch Meeting for ALL our residents to ask questions and learn safety tips.

I want all of you to be the first to take a look at the website/blogsite that Jeff Wahlen (from Live Oak Estates) made for us.  Just click on this link:

            LMJ Neighborhood Watch 
  

He's posted all previous emails here, important numbers and links to call, names, photos etc.  We can talk more about how to use the website at our meeting.  And, by the way, the site's free too.

We now have 38 people signed up to be block captains or help in other ways!  Hope to see you Wednesday.  If not, please let me know via phone or email, or see if you can get someone else from your block to attend in your stead.

Thanks! 

Suzanne Arnold

LMJ Neighborhood Watch

407.719.6885 (mobile)

29 Block Captains So Far!

Wow – so far we have 29 people signed up as block captains.  That is great!  And I think we will be adding a few more too!  If you are receiving this email – but can no longer serve as a block captain – please let me know immediately!

I want to set up a meeting that most of you could attend so we can lay out maps of what homes you will be covering for your “block” – and give you each a current list of who is already part of our neighborhood watch program.  I also want to go through responsibilities and introduce all of you to our neighborhood watch Deputy.

I also ordered window decals for car windows that will say “LMJ” to help neighbors recognize cars from our area.  I will need all of you to stop by homes to drop these off and make sure everyone in our neighborhood knows about our watch program and can give their information if they want to participate. I will provide forms and info for you as well – so you feel comfortable stopping at neighbors homes.

I’m going to pick a weeknight next week – maybe Wed March 30  or Thurs March 31 for a short meeting around 6pm – depending on when our Neighborhood watch officer can attend.   If you can’t make it – I’ll work out a time to talk with you individually and get you the info.

Thanks for your help!

Suzanne

Perp Turned Himself In

I have confirmed that the suspect turned himself in on Friday. This is the one that many neighbors identified from the photos that was in the stolen green car using the stolen credit card at McDonald’s and 7-11.  He was released on bail by 2:30 that afternoon.  

I have already sent in questions regarding the stolen property and car to find out if anything was recovered and will send an update when I hear back.

Remember – there may be other individuals involved.  Please do not let your guard down, keep your vehicles locked and put valuables in the trunk or in your house.  Remember – your job is to call in suspicious things, write down tag numbers, take photos, etc.  Do NOT try to physically catch a criminal or put yourself in a dangerous situation!  Vigilantes need not apply!

Suzanne Arnold

LMJ Neighborhood Watch

ps – You are all doing a great job calling in suspicious vehicles – and the police definitely have a lot to look into.  For those of you that saw all the cop cars and helicopter out here the other day – it was a neighbor that thought someone was breaking in across the street.  Turns out that she didn’t know the neighbor – and it was his house – but she did the right thing to call in suspicious activity – and the police obviously took this situation very seriously!

Hello Neighbors,

Need your help on a couple of things.

1 – We are going to apply for grant money to purchase security cameras and yard signs for our community.  I found out that there is a mandatory meeting to attend on this Friday March 18^th from 10am – 11.  I'm not able to attend and was hoping one of our members could go to this??  More info at the bottom of the page.  Please reply back if you are able to go to this.  (we only need one person to gather the info.) Thanks!

2 – Block Captains & Assistants

When we started our CrimeWatch program 3 years ago – we started to assign block captains, but the person that was going to help me assign got too busy to help with this.  (I’m assuming that those of you that signed up to be block captains in the past are still willing.)   I’m looking for more block captain to help distribute window decals and go door to door on their own street to make sure all residents know what is going on.  If you could help by being a block captain – or if you want to help other ways – please let me know!  Thanks!

3 – Neighborhood Watch   -   Name Change 

We are now organized enough and have more than the required amount of households participating in our CrimeWatch program – so we are now officially joining the Orange County Neighborhood Watch program.   This means that our Crime Prevention Officer will help follow up on our cases and keep us informed (like sending us photos of suspects.) This program is a non-profit group that will also allow us to apply for grant money to help with safety issues and I will be receiving weekly updates about crimes in the area.  I personally think this name suits our purpose better since we don’t normally have a lot of crime – and we also alert residents to safety issues such as fires.  (Which I just found out that the smoke currently in the area is from a controlled burn in Osceola.)

I spent Wed morning at the new Orange County Police substation on Lake Underhill Rd.  I met with our Crime Prevention Officer, the Police Captain for our sector, and another Deputy that specializes in vandalism and graffiti.   I can assure you - they are very dedicated to catching our suspects and also showed me some of the computer programs and the process that they use to identify communities that need extra attention.  We will be holding a Neighborhood Watch meeting in our neighborhood soon.

Keep sending in your info on suspicious vehicles etc.  We have positively identified one suspect so far – but there are definitely more people involved in the crimes out here.  Once again – please let the police handle this – and I will send you more information when it is released.

Thanks for being part of our Neighborhood Watch!

Suzanne Arnold

Safety Grants Available for Orange County Non-Profit Organizations

Do you have a project idea that will improve safety or reduce crime in the community?  If so, you may be eligible for up to $10,000 in grant funding from the Orange County Neighborhood Services Division’s Crime Prevention Program.  The grant funds can be used to implement safety projects that can be completed within a 12 month timeframe. Projects can target seniors, youth, certain neighborhoods or any other area with a demonstrated need in Orange County.

To be eligible, organizations must be a IRS recognized non profit organization and have adequate staff to administer the grant project. A mandatory grant orientation will be held March 18, 2011, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., Internal Operations Centre, 450 East South Street, Largo Room.  Click here to register for this orientation.

To obtain a grant application package, please contact Michelle Owens, 407-836-5621 or michelle.owens@ocfl.net