By Carol McCracken (Post # 376)

It’s still a dark and stormy night out which probably accounts mostly for the fact that only one person showed up for the Neighborhood Watch Informational meeting scheduled for this evening from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the East End Community School. One person showed up other than this reporter. The meeting was hosted by the Portland Police Department.

“From the number of phone calls I’ve received where people were interested in being involved, I thought there would be more people here,” said Officer Gayle Petty, Senior Lead Officer for the Greater Munjoy Hill area, one of the facilitators of the meetings. Janine Kaserman coordinator of the community policing office on the Hill and the other facilitator said that getting to know who your neighbors are so you can tell when something is amiss is an advantage of these neighborhood meetings.” There are other neighborhoods in Portland that have similar programs; East Bayside, Bayside, Parkside and the West End.

The two emphasized that the Police Department does not run the Neighborhood Watch program. It’s up to community leaders to administer the “Watch,” although the Police are certainly available as consultants.

Officer Petty said she will be out of Portland next week. She and other officers be visiting Los Angeles to learn more about their Senior Lead Program on which the Portland program is based. The trip is funded by grant money. In her absence, please call Janine Kaserman at 756-8135.

The Police Department will probably schedule another informational meeting in the spring.