Threat of break-ins is back!

 On December 24th, a resident on Hickory Street noticed a man peering in her side door. The resident went to the door and asked the man what he wanted. He said he was looking for the O-Train but he had a small crowbar in his pocket, so she asked the man where he lived. He said "over there". The resident then asked him "what street?" and he repeated "over there". It looks like some people are taking advantage of the holiday season. Take care and take precautions:

Dos and don'ts
•       Lock your doors and windows.
•       Don't let newspapers or mail pile up if you are away.
•       Tell your neighbours if you are going to be away and ask them to keep an eye open for anything unusual.
•       Report suspicious persons.
•       Do not open your door to strangers. Call 311 to report incidents. Call the police to report theft. Call 911 if there is a crime in progress or a life threatening emergency.
•       You can get a free home security check from our community police officer. His name is Constable Milton and his email address is MiltonA@ottawapolice.ca.

break-ins continue

I received the following note from a resident:

"We were made aware of a suspicious behaviour on Ruskin at mid-day around in early August with a 20 year Caucasian man being caught peering in the window of a backdoor. There were two other suspicious older men observed that day possibly checking out the neighbourhood.

There was garage theft on Fairmont on July 26.

We spoke to Constable Milton, our neighbour policeman and he said that there was a break and entry on Gwynne  (reported in more detail on http://chna4u.blogspot.ca/ ) and Bayswater Place on July 3.

On July 9 there was a theft from a car on Ruskin (hospital property).

It is really important any theft (even cars left unlocked) be reported to the police and community.  Sharing this information enables all of us to protect our homes and our neighborhood.

There is a lot of good information on how to make homes and neighborhoods more secure below and at the blog noted above.  Sadly enough security is not about making your home perfectly secure, just harder to get into than others.

According to the police, you can minimize chances of your home being broken into:

• Strengthen your rear door.  Wooden frames are not very strong, especially as most are made of soft woods. 
• Set your alarm, if you have one.
• Leave a light on or get a motion detector light installed; not very applicable to this instance though.
• Tell your neighbors if you have work being done or might otherwise have a stranger going into your house when you are not at home; this will help them to know if they do see someone they don't recognize in or around your home."

Vote Today! New Playing Field Needed.

Last day to vote!  One of our local soccer team is competing for a new field at Plouffe Park.  Many of the boys live in the neighbourhood and go to school at Devonshire.  The team  - the St Anthony's Cachcafaz - needs online votes to win this contest (sponsored by BMO), and is competing against 14 other teams across Canada, including the Westboro-bassed Ottawa Royals, a club with a much larger membership and machinery in place to set up voting stations to collect votes. 

Plouffe really needs the help. Lots of kids in the Civic use Plant Bath and the adjacent park, so it would be great if the community could pull together to help see the park renewed.

More info at http://gocachafaz.wix.com/cachafaz

Ashcroft to not pursue cut across Byron Linear Park

Ashcroft to not pursue cut across Byron Linear Park

Ottawa, August 24, 2012 – Following a clear message from neighbours of the former Soeurs de la Visitation convent on Richmond Road, Councillor Hobbs has requested, and Ashcroft Homes has agreed not to pursue a southern access across the Byron Linear Park.

“I am pleased that Ashcroft has agreed to stick to the plan adopted by Council in November 2010 and not cut across the Byron Linear Park. The neighbours of the site made it clear that they did not want another cut across this park,” said Hobbs. “When Ashcroft first told me they were going to file this application, my answer was clear: I would not support it. Following my announcement on Twitter to this effect, the response from the community has been substantial, and overwhelmingly opposed to such an exit.”

“Ashcroft Homes believes in this project and wants to be a good neighbour. While we believed the Byron access was the best one, our neighbours have been clear, and we’ve listened,” said David Choo, President of Ashcroft Homes. “We look forward to moving forward to build a great addition to Westboro.”

The removal of the Byron option for the southern exit once and for all means there will be a southern access via Shannon Street, currently a quiet one lane street with just four homes.

“My focus is to ensure that we get a quality street and to minimize the impact – spatially and visually for Shannon Street residents,” said Hobbs. “This is a lovely corner of Kitchissippi and I want to ensure it won’t be lost.”

“Ashcroft is committed to work with their neighbours and Councillor Hobbs to achieve a sensitive and beautiful new Shannon Street,” said Choo.

community design plan- get involved!

As part of the CDP, the City has retained Urban Strategies Inc. to explore the transformation of the Preston-Carling area around the O-train Carling Station through a Design Charette process. Preston-Carling is one of the three areas within the CDP boundaries, and has seen a very high volume of development interest. This Charette will be used to establish planning and design directions to facilitate the preparation of the CDP and to guide the community improvements and review of development applications. It is generally the intent to have the final CDP presented before Planning Committee by Spring 2013.

Design Charette information:

Who:                      Anyone interested, no requirement for registration.

When:                   Tuesday September 25 and Wednesday September 26, 2012.

Where:                  St. Anthony’s Banquet Hall at 525 St. Anthony Street.

Daily format:         9:00 am to 4:00 pm daily: Continuous Design Sessions focused on various themes

6:30 pm to 8:30 pm: Community Drop-in for all to see the emerging directions for the area and share comments

A communication strategy has been developed to promote the Design Charette. The campaign will be launched in the first week of September to invite residents, business owners, and other stakeholders to attend and participate.

Ottawa Crime Mapping Tool

Our local police representative has provided the following resource should you wish to see where crime has occurred in any part of the city.

Go to:

www.ottawapolice.ca

-click on Crime Files on the tab at the top

-click the big ‘Stay Alert Stay Informed’

The Ottawa Crime Mapping Tool page will present to you.

-Scroll down and agree to the qualifiers by clicking ‘Proceed’

The crime mapping tool page will open up and you will see the crime trends on the page. You will be able to search 3/7/14/30 days to see what types of crimes are occurring in any part of the city.

Community Police Offer Support & Advice

The Wellington Community Police Centre (CPC) offers a number of programs and services that could help.  The Centre can be reached most any weekday at 613-236-1222, ext. 5870 or 5871.   

The first is Neighbourhood Watch which encourages residents to be alert to strangers in the community and to report all suspicious persons or incidents to the police.  The more reports the police receive from residents in this area the more likely it is that they will target this community for additional patrols.  Your community already subscribes to Neighbourhood Watch but continued reminders are necessary to encourage residents to make reports when necessary.

Another useful program is the Home Security Inspection Program of which residents can take advantage by simply contacting the local CPC.  This program offers the free services of trained police representatives who will visit any home from which a request is received, to examine and suggest measures that can be taken to improve the security of that home.

To schedule a free  Home Security Inspection by a trained police representative, contact our local police centre at 613-236-1222, ext. 5870 or 5871.