It is time for me to contact you with some reminders, changes, news and suggestions for this coming year. You are always welcome to call me with suggestions, concerns, questions or comments, and I hope you do because it can only strengthen our association and community.

As you know or may not know, I recently became VP again and that entails over-seeing the safety issues for our community. Relatively speaking, we are a large area in terms of number of residences and the size of the streets. Our new Liason Officer with the Columbus Police Department is Officer Gary L. Scott, and upon his suggestion, the ECA&B Board has decided to split the Blockwatch area into two sections in an effort to make it more manageable, cohesive and efficient. Many of us get our information about community safety from our websites, the e-chain, and Facebook; nonetheless, one-on-one interaction with our neighbors is still absolutely essential to the vitality and security of Eastmoor. Our hard-working webmaster, Scott Huggins, and his wife Amy have been very active in Blockwatch for many years on Kellner, Brookside, and

I apologise for being long-winded, but when we have to talk, we have to talk. Motel One is a big issue again and, again, is in the news for being the public nuisance it is. The goal being its permanent closure, ECA&B has been extremely active in this especially this year through its Kel-Brook Blockwatch partnering with surrounding associations and watches in the area. Likewise, residents from Kellner, Broadmoor, Little Broad, and Medway recently met to discuss with Officer Scott the current status of affairs at G.J’s and the Convenient 1 businesses at the Broad-James corner. There has been improvement there as well, but these are challenges that are on-going.

I would like to thank you most sincerely for all you have done, many of you for some number of years! And for that reason I encourage each of you to suggest to friends and neighbors that they help you and/ or take over these very important roles. Consider social get-togethers or meetings as a way of meeting neighbors if that has not happened on your street. The better we know each other, the better we look out for each other. And, please, encourage friends and neighbors to attend the Association related meetings.

At this time it might be beneficial to review of the use of the 311, 645-4545, and 911 City numbers:

The city’s 311 number should be used often for complaints such as littering, parking, speeding at particular time slots, noise, poor building and property maintenance at business sites. A plethora of calls on such problems attracts the city’s attention. The police do not respond to 311 calls but they are tracked so CALL OFTEN!

The Columbus Police 645-4545 number should be used for reporting suspicious characters and activities, loitering, vandalism, malicious destruction of property, public fighting. Observe and give as many specific details as you can. Do not hesitate to report any such activities. We do need to be the eyes and ears of the police. The police do have to respond and take reports on these calls, and through them files are built.

911 is the police emergency number. Do not use this number for matters covered by the 311 number. Essentially, one dials 911 when a crime is in progress be it a burglary, assault, etc. or immediately after such a crime has occurred.

Lastly, we still have a need for captains or passers on the following streets or parts of streets:

I need: an address number and phone for Jack and Marie Casto

            a phone number for Debbie Seastone

            an address and phone for Meri King

            an address and phone for David Mayer

Thank you all again for the generous contribution of your time!

Most sincerely,

Ellen B. Peterson, Vice President, Community Safety Oversight

ECA&B  235-3938; kellnergrnthumb@aol.com

kellnergrnthumb@aol.com