Monday, April 12, 2010
Durham Public Schools Staff Development Center
2107 Hillandale Road
Durham, NC 27704
6:00 to 8:00 p m
Facilitators: Cheryl Shiflett
Bill Anderson
I missed the February Meeting and no minutes were taken that I am aware of. The March Meeting was Coffee with the Council and I was not present.
Self Introductions
COMMUNITY CONCERNS:
A report of Gunshots fired at 905 Lorraine Avenue and increased activity in that area. They are requesting patrol surveillance and the Police will investigate this. They are also requesting guidance on how to form a Neighborhood Watch. This will be provided.
There are some trees and shrubs at 901 Chalk Level Road. This is now Hampton Forrests formerly known as British Woods. These trees and shrubs provide a cover for suspicious activity. It is on private property and the Police cannot intervene on private property. Someone from Neighborhood Improvements will send out a letter to the owner and see if this helps.
Bulk Item pick up. These are not being picked up. Report of someone (private person perhaps) picked up part of their items, but some were left and never picked up. They were told to call Solid Waste and get a reference number for the items and then they could track the pick up time.
Vehicles parked in yards at 2806 Shenandoah and 2617 Farthing Street. This is a blue truck and a small van. Do not call Durham One call for this. This is a zoning issue and you should call Karen Burd in Zoning and her number is 560-4137 ext 28242. Mike Woodard said to email him if this continues to be a problem.
Walltown: 1109 Onslow Street. Increased activity and Drug dealing going on here and it is directly across the street from an Elementary School. Police are aware of this situation and when you see actual activity please call 911 so they can respond while the activity is happening.
The tethered Dog rule cannot be enforced until July 1, 2010. Report of a barking dog tethered requires you to file a formal complaint with the Police Department. You might want to inform the owner that as of July 1, the dog cannot be tethered. Police respond to the barking dog and Animal Control will enforce violations of tethering July 1, 2010.
Noise Ordinance is a myth. This is not constrained to any particular time. Anytime any noise is intrusive, it can be reported. The only exceptions are Construction work.
Appears to be increased Parking in fire lanes every where. Would like to see parking tickets give for these violations.
Shots were reported on Farthing Street two nights ago. Does anyone know what this was about? Nothing to report.
DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES:
Parks and Recs: Lucille Patterson and Audrey Gill report that Edison Johnson is to reopen for regular hours on June 14. If you want a sneak preview of the newly reconstructed facility, that will be available on June 9. They continued to have all the programs at Campus Hills while Edison Johnson was closed. Friday night Concerts will be held at the SunTrust Plaza starting April 16. An Art walk will be 4-16 and Earth Day on April 24. Audrey Gill reports there were 32 Teens during Spring Break and 16 graduates from the “Job Learning Program” at Campus Hills. Call Audrey if you know anyone who is interested in becoming a life guard. Senior Games will begin in 2 weeks.
Animal Control: Cindy Bailey reports that a Rabied Donkey has been reported on a goat farm in Northern Rougemont area. Donkeys protect goats and must have been attacked by an animal with rabies. The donkey did have rabies and was put to death. This farm also sells cheese and milk and since pasteurization kills all germs, this is still safe for consumption.
CENSUS: Encouraged everyone to complete these forms and mail them in. There were T shirts and caps are available if you want them.
Kudos to the Police Department in solving murders. They are tops in the Country. They are testing a new product to map these.
Common Code Red phone calls. When there is an emergency and calls are sent out to everyone, this does not include cell phones. New technology is in the works but not available for cell phones at this time.
Yes, a citizen can have a weapon visible on themselves if they have a permit for the gun.
PROGRAMS:
We watched a video on “Confessions of a Burglar.” Very interesting and informative. This was from a person who is serving time for Burglary to support a $400 a day drug habit. Told just how easy it was to break into our home and steal our belongings. He also told how easy it was to find “fences” (folks who will buy the stuff he steals) and we also learned that Pawn Shops are not the main source for this.
Question and Answer period from Investigator Wilson of the Durham Police Department.
Investigator Wilson has been the Pawn Shop Investigator for the Durham Police Department for five years. Most Pawn Shops operate legally. They have to report everything they purchase within 48 hours and employees of Pawn Shops cannot be felons. Their records are complete and the Police Department recovered $321,000 in merchandise last year. The Pawn Shops have no real system to determine if the items were stolen. The person providing the items, signs a receipt that they are the rightful owner and they have a legal right to sell it. If this is determined not to be the case, then they can be charged with a crime. Pawn Shop owners work directly with the Police and help solve many cases. Arrests are made and property is returned to the rightful owner if they can prove it is theirs. This means you must have serial numbers of all your property. It is not necessary to engrave your name on the item, but if you have a list of the serial numbers of all your property then you can get it back Keep this list in a safe place. Pawn Shops do a lot of collateral work. They will buy an item and charge a small interest fee for 90 days and the owner can pay the interest and get their “stuff” back.
It was encouraging to learn that Pawn Shops are not the bad guys that most thought they were. The question was asked, “What happens when a Pawn Shop Owner breaks the rules?” Investigator Wilson answered, “I don’t know. We haven’t caught one yet not in the past five years.”
Annoucements: David Harris reports that he could not find the PAC 2 By-Laws on the Web site. The Fiscal year for PAC 2 is July 1, thru June 30. Election of Officers should be done in May.
Meeting adjourned.
Carolyn Best
Secretary.