1^st Quarter 2010 WGNA meeting news 2/8/10 Ken Agee

The 1^st quarter WGNA meeting was held on Tue 1/26/10 per the normal cycle of meetings (7PM on the 4^th Tuesday of the months of January, April, July, and October). Minutes of the meeting will be published later.

The meeting had such good attendance (40-45 neighbors) that we met in the larger upstairs room at The ROC instead of the normal downstairs room. District 6 Councilwoman Barbara Chick attended, as did the current WGNA President Ellen Fong and President Emeritus Barby Dike. The main speakers were two members from Garland Police Department’s Neighborhood Patrol for our area. The two patrolmen emphasized that residents should always be vigilant for activities that are out-of-the-ordinary…let them filter out the things that are serious or not serious, because individuals may not realize larger patterns of crime. The two main phone numbers to use are 911 for emergencies & crimes in progress, and 972-485-4840 for non-emergencies.

The officers were promoting the C.O.P. program, which stands for Citizens On Patrol. This is a great way to contribute to your local community (and you can see directly how your contribution counts!)

Barby Dike is a big booster of this program, and points out that our police department was very much involved with the apprehension of at least 25 people involved in a drug ring centered on the high-schools of Garland & Rowlett. Heroin was being distributed and used by these kids, and there is no doubt that the GPD wouldn’t have been nearly as effective as they were without the help of citizens and the C.O.P.