CRIME WATCH UPDATE

PREDICTING THE FUTURE

DARREN DATTALO, CRIME WATCH COORDINATOR

There’s always a Monday-morning quarter- back… Hindsight is 20/20… I’m pretty good at

looking back at what happened, but I’ve learned that I can never know what will happen next when it comes to crime incidents in our neighborhood.

When I look at the numbers below, I’m incredibly grateful to see only one home break-in over the course of 3 months. And sometimes we miraculously have little or no car break-ins in a month like in July. And while we don’t have very many robberies, occasionally, we have 2 or 3 in one month.

What is the lesson here? You never know what the next 30 days will hold for us when it comes to crime activity. You can’t predict when that dead-beat is going to show up and start breaking into homes. You can only be accountable for YOUR behavior.

You have to remain vigilant at all times by keeping your doors locked (homes and cars), making your home look occupied,

keeping your car off the street and watching out for your neighbors.

Our job is to remain vigilant 24/7 while the criminal’s job is to find the one person who isn’t being vigilant right now. I hope you’ll all re-commit to staying vigilant to keep our neighborhood safe.

If you are not already on our email list, drop me a note at CrimeWatch@LGNA.net to get my monthly crime watch reports.

LGNA LOWER

GREENVILLE

NEIGHBORHOOD

ASSOCIATION

MOCKINGBIRD TO ROSS / GREENVILLE TO SKILLMAN NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2017

P.O. BOX 720067• DALLAS, TX 75372

BULK TRASH DATE PICK UP: Dec 11-15 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Dec 7

PICK UP: Jan 8-12 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Jan 4

PICK UP: Feb 12-16 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Feb 8 Remember: The city has a zero tolerance for placing trash out prior to the earliest set-out date. Don’t get stuck with a fine for missing the date.

LOG ON TO LGNA.NET for information and updates.

UPCOMING EVENTS WHEN Sat, Dec 9 noon-5pm

WHERE 5843 Vanderbilt

WHAT Holiday Sharing

WHEN Thurs, Jan 11 6:30pm

WHERE GHUMC, 5835 Penrose

WHAT T.C. Broadnax

MEET THE CEO OF DALLAST.C. BROADNAX | JANUARY 11, 6:30 PM

Find out what’s going on. Like Us on FACEBOOK (CONTINUED INSIDE)

Dallas is the United States’ third largest city with a council-manager form of government. Responsible for an annual budget of over $3 billion, City Manager T.C. Broadnax oversees a staff of more than 13,000 City employees.

Broadnax became Dallas City Manager in February 2017, breaking a long-standing Dallas tradition of hiring from within. Previously in Tacoma, Washington, and San Antonio, Texas, Broadnax has been touted as a “no-nonsense, buck-stops-here” manager. We’ve already seen a change in how things get done at City Hall, so his

presentation on January 11 should be an interesting look at what the City is doing for us.

In September, LGNA board members met Broadnax, and he suggested that he’d look forward to addressing our area’s residents. So LGNA and his staff worked through his busy schedule to determine that our January membership event would be a good match.

Following through on his desire to work with the citizens of Dallas, Broadnax also agreed to an interview with LGNA Board member Jean McAulay. See her report inside in this newsletter.

Mark your calendar for Thursday, January 11, at 6:30 pm. Greenland Hills UMC, 5835 Penrose at Delmar.

KEITH ALLEN—DALLAS POLICE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Debbie Daniel | PRESIDENT 214-821-0747

Gay Hopkins | VICE PRESIDENT 214-827-4559

Patricia Carr | VICE PRESIDENT 214-821-2562

Pam Mueller| TREASURER 214-821-1554

John Dailey | SECRETARY 214-821-6324

DIRECTORS Art Carrillo 214-714-5590

Lilia Estrada 214-874-3259

Michelle Foreman 214-394-2487

Pam Gampper 469-360-8487

David Jones 214-300-1894

Ken Lampton 214-502-5858

Jean McAulay 678-977-1649

USEFUL NUMBERS

Darren Dattalo | CRIME WATCH 214-476-8023

Council Member Philip Kingston 214-670-5415

DPD Officer Keith Allen 214-671-3477

Sanitation / Bulk Trash Call 311

Code Compliance 214-670-5708

Animal Services Call 311

ADJUSTING FOR THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

FIRE STATION BASKETS – TOYS FOR COPSThe official LGNA membership event on the afternoon of Saturday, December 9, will provide multiple opportunities to boost your holiday spirit. This year we’ll be combining the Fire Station and Toys for Cops collections with a neighborhood meet-and-greet. Plan to meet neighbors while sampling snacks and drinks for adults and kids.

For the twelfth year, the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association will be collecting Christmas goodies for the fire-fighters at Station 17. It’s our way of saying “Thanks for watching out for us.” Bring your cookies, fruitcakes, chips & salsa, or any other holiday treats – either homemade or purchased – and we’ll assemble a basket for each of the three shifts and deliver the baskets. Previous years have seen donations of non-food items such as supermarket gift cards, games, and DVDs.

Again this year, we’ll be collecting gently used stuffed toys for the Dallas Police Department. DPD officers keep stuffed toys in their patrol cars to give to frightened children involved in domestic violence calls or car accidents. Because neighbors have asked us about providing other small toys, we’ll also accept puzzles, books, and board games for Jubilee Center.

Since the yearly “fall back” time change has occurred, it is time for the also yearly (some would say obnoxious) reminder about the use of window coverings. We get used to daylight well into the evening for so much of the year, that it becomes habit to leave curtains and blinds open.

Have you ever noticed, while taking a walk or driving home, the big screen TV in your neighbor’s house? Mounted on the wall? Perhaps even the computer on the table? Have you returned from a walk with your pet and looked through the windows of your own house? If your friendly neighbors are able to note what you have and where it is located, so too can any burglar.

The contrast from the dark outside to the light from TVs, monitors, table lamps, etc. inside is stark. Thieves also “blend in” more at 6:00pm, their canvassing of the neighborhood not nearly as suspicious. Use of window coverings reduces the inadvertent advertising of your property. Summer habits are tough to break, but remember to activate those porch/exterior lights early.

Holiday travel is a wonderful endeavor. Posting details on social media, not so much. Remember to use the appropriate privacy settings available from your social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, et al.) provider. If you “tweet”, and who doesn’t, not every detail needs to be posted.

This does not only apply to those long, out-of-town trips. Even posting that you are headed out for a day of shopping or to relatives for the day provides bad guys/girls a treasure trove of information. Posting a photo from Tarrant County that is geocoded lets anyone know date/time details in addition to location. The goal is to minimize the amount of information generously provided to the criminals.

Have a safe holiday season.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND JOIN LGNA NOW! For more information and to join go to LGNA.NET/JOIN-IN

GETTING TO KNOW DALLAS CITY MANAGER T.C. BROADNAX

In February, T.C. Broadnax left the nation’s 107th largest city (Tacoma, Washington) where he served as city manager since 2012, and flew east to Dallas. LGNA board member Jean McAulay recently asked him about his impressions of Dallas. His straightforward, can-do style seems to fit the nation’s ninth largest city.

What are your first impressions of Dallas as a resident?The hustle and bustle and variety of things to do in Dallas is refreshing and quite a bit different than Washington.

What characteristics help make urban neighborhoods vibrant?The contextual layout of a neighborhood that creates opportunities and spaces for people to get out easily and engage is very important. When people can get to parks, retail and theater nearby, those access points create connectivity and interaction.

You’ve said it doesn’t work to develop policy within the walls of power and then ask residents what they think, but rather to get residents’ input first. How is that working here?It’s a little slow in coming for my appetite. But I understand it’s going to take some time to build in those systems and touch points. Over the next five to six months, we will develop and share a new public engagement strategy and create systems within our systems that require it.

One small change I’ve made to set that stage is that in any presentation we do to City Council there is a slide that conveys who we have engaged with in the neighborhoods and other entities on the topic. Everyone knows they have to answer that question so they have to get out of their chairs and do it.

Still, I want to go much further than that. When you have challenges to overcome to move forward, it’s always better to talk to people first and get their perspectives. It is the same with developers. We need to encourage them to get out and talk with residents as they begin projects.

How do the challenges differ in Dallas compared to Tacoma?Actually, you see the same problems and same desire for things to be improved. The challenges are just magnified here because it can be hard to scale solutions to the right level due to the expense. If you do something in a small city that helps 20,000 people that’s significant. If we do something that helps 20,000 people in Dallas, it’s a drop in the bucket. You have so many areas facing the same issues spread throughout the city so what you’re trying to impact is very large.

How have you found Dallas people?The people are engaging and I get more thank-yous and hellos than other places I’ve been. People who live here love this place more than anywhere else I’ve lived. I think we also walk around with a little bit of a progressive chip on our shoulder. That’s just Dallas and I like it.

What do you want people to know about you?Hmmm (laughs). I don’t like people knowing a lot about me. The most important thing is that I have a real appreciation for the role that government can play. I love for folks to push me to find ways to do better and serve better. People deserve responsive government.

This job is a tremendous opportunity for me to change people’s minds about what they believe their city government can do.

JULY 2017 AUG 2017 SEPT 2017

Home Break-ins 1 0 0

Car Break-ins 0 11 10

Robberies 0 2 0

Auto Theft 0 1 0

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As many of you noticed, Mother Nature had her own ideas about National Night Out in October. Because of the threat of thunderstorms, the outdoor festival had to be cancelled. Many exhibitors as well as neighborhood residents were very disappointed.

Ever resourceful, LGNA and the other sponsors – Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association and Friends of Tietze Park Foundation – moved many resources and several exhibitors to another date and event. LHNA has traditionally sponsored Pumpkins in the Park at Tietze Park in October. This year, the October 28 fest remained at Tietze but included more events and exhibits than usual.

As well as Council-member Philip Kingston and former Councilmember Angela Hunt, around 150 area residents attended. Also present were LGNA, LHNA, FOTPF, Dallas Aquatics, Lakewood Library Friends, Safe Streets/Great Neighborhoods, and Dallas Park Rangers. Many area neighbors brought four-legged furry friends to share in the fun.

It was a beautiful day with fun activities for adults and kids. Pumpkins took center stage for the event and overflowed the pavilion. Many enthusiastic children and parents decorated pumpkins of all sizes, then proudly took their creations home.

LGNA Board member David Jones cooked up hot dogs on the grill, and attendees enjoyed sampling homemade chili and baked goodies prepared by area neighbors and then voting for their favorite in each category. LGNA member Bill Maddox won bragging rights as “Chili Champ” and received an Ace Hardware gift card.

FALL EVENT CHANGES(CONTINUED)

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND JOIN NOW!

Please print clearly! Email addresses are required to receive neighborhood alerts. Personal information is not shared with any outside group or used for any other purpose. Receipts will be furnished upon request. Checks for LGNA membership should be made out to LGNA. For Extended Neighborhood Patrol membership, checks should be made out to LGNA-ENP. Please provide separate checks if possible. Mail this form and check payable to LGNA or LGNA-ENP to: PO Box 720067, Dallas, TX 75372 (or bring it to the next LGNA meeting).

!

name:

address:

phone:

cell:

email:

Please choose all that apply:

n Join LGNA ($20/yr, $5 for 65+)

n Join Expanded Neighborhood Patrol ($200/yr, $150 for 65+)

nAdd me to the Crime Watch Email List

n Please contact me about Volunteering

Pay Pal Now Available: LGNA has made it a little easier for you to become a member. We’ve added PayPal to the LGNA website. On the site, you’ll see two buttons, one for regular membership and one for seniors (65+). If you have a PayPal account, you can use that directly. If not, you can skip that step and proceed directly to a credit card processing page. LGNA does not receive your credit card information, only the contact information. There is no surcharge added to the regular $20 per household membership ($5 for seniors).

NEWSLETTER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Do you look forward to receiving the LGNA newsletter with its informative articles about your neighborhood? Can you spare six hours a year to assure the newsletter’s timely delivery? We need volunteers who can deliver newsletters on a regular and/or substitute basis. Newsletters are hand-delivered to 2,700+ households in our area. All of those deliveries are made by volunteers who cover 2-4 blocks each. The newsletter is published six times a year, and it takes about an hour to cover the four blocks. (It’s good exercise, too.) If you’d like to help your neighborhood, email Director1@LGNA.net or call 214-821-2562.

FIRE STATION BASKETS / TOYS FOR COPS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9

Come and enjoy meeting your neighbors. Bring your toys and holiday goody donations to 5843 Vanderbilt between noon and 5:00 pm, and we’ll deliver them to Central Patrol and the fire station. If you’re unable to come by on Saturday, a box will be on the porch for toys and non-perishable fire station donations on Thursday and Friday, December 7-8.

DiD yoU know?DiD yoU know?ALEXAN CONSTRUCTION Neighbor Matt Enzler is Managing Director at Trammel Crow Residential, the developer of the Alexan project at Greenville and Belmont. He says that they are making great progress on construction and are still on schedule.

He says that all of the foundation slabs have been poured and construction of the concrete podium is moving along. The major concrete pours should be wrapped up by the end of the year. Framing on the townhomes will begin in early November, followed shortly by the larger building. The large cranes should come down by summer of 2018. TCR plans on delivering the first units in early 2019.

Matt adds, “We know construction projects of this magnitude are messy and not pleasant. We are doing our best to be good neighbors and be responsive to complaints. We appreciate the neighbors’ patience.”

MARATHON ALERT Plan on traffic obstructions on the morning of Sunday, December 10. The 2017 BMW Dallas marathon and half-marathon will start downtown, pass through Highland Park, occupy several LGNA-area streets – McCommas, Greenville, Richmond, and Skillman – while wending east through Swiss Avenue and Lakewood toward White Rock Lake and back through East Dallas toward downtown.

POTHOLES Could it be? The City is actually planning repairs on potholes and ruts in our streets and alleys. Several major streets in the LGNA area, including Skillman, Matilda, and Richmond, were included in the November bond package.

In the December 2016 crime report from Mr. Dattalo, he highlighted

robberies that took place in your neighborhood. In a couple of

the cases, innocent victims were walking home or waiting for an

Uber after an evening with friends. None of the victims was alone

– a very good practice – yet they became victims. Then there was

the senseless robbery of the individual outside the Target store at

Central Expressway and Haskell Avenue.

I know crime-prevention tips all start sounding like Charlie Brown’s

schoolteacher, but we “blah, blah, blah” for a reason.

The hope is that repetition makes you safer. That maybe one night,

you remember to be cautious, be aware of your surroundings,

and pay attention to what is going on around you. We recognize

that there is a line between being cautious and being fearful. We

definitely don’t want you to be the latter.

We are grateful that these victims did not suffer life-threatening

injuries. We appreciate that they did nothing wrong.

As long as the bad guys are lurking, however, we want you to be

cautious and safe.

CRIME WATCH UPDATE

FRONT PORCH PACKAGE THEFTS

DARREN DATTALO,

CRIME WATCH COORDINATOR

If you’re on our Crime Watch email list or

you’re a member of Nextdoor.com, you’re

probably aware that we’ve been having issues

with thefts on front porches. This mostly seems to be

thefts of packages, but we are also seeing chairs, potted plants and

other items being taken.

Our neighborhood is not unique in this. It’s happening across Dallas.

Police are very aware of it and have made some progress. There

have been a couple of arrests in our area already. The suspects in

these cases vary widely across race, gender and age.

To avoid package thefts, try having packages delivered to an office

if possible, request a signature drop-off, or consider using a package

facility such as The UPS Store or an Amazon Locker.

In LGNA, our Extended Neighborhood Patrol officer has contacted

the usual delivery drivers and asked them to be on the look-out

for anyone that might be following them. I’d also suggest keeping

porch lights on at night to deter would-be thieves from taking

other property.

Many of you have installed video cameras or video doorbell

solutions. If you are a victim of a porch theft, please try to capture the

video or a still image and forward to me at CrimeWatch@LGNA.net.

Of course, you should call 911 and offer this evidence to the police,

but if I receive it, I can forward it to our ENP officer for a little more

personal follow-up. Be safe!

LGNALOWER

GREENVILLE

NEIGHBORHOOD

ASSOCIATION

MOCKINGBIRD TO ROSS / GREENVILLE TO SKILLMAN

JANUARY • MARCH 2017

P.O. BOX 720067• DALLAS, TX 75372

BULK TRASH DATE

PICK UP: Feb.13-17

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Feb. 9

PICK UP: Mar 13-17

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Mar 9

PICK UP: Apr 10-14

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Apr 6

Remember: The city has a zero

tolerance for placing trash out

prior to the earliest set-out date.

Don’t get stuck with a fine for

missing the date.

LOG ON TO

LGNA.NET

for information

and updates.

UPCOMING EVENT

WHEN Thursday, March 2,

6:30pm

WHERE Greenland Hills UMC,

5835 Penrose

WHAT Coyotes

YOUR NEIGHBOR, THE COYOTE

Find out what’s going on.

Like Us on FACEBOOK

(CONTINUED INSIDE)

It’s that time of year again. Saturday, March 11, will see the St.

Pat’s parade, a 5K run, and a concert and other events north of

Mockingbird, parties at businesses at Greenville and McCommas,

and the block party between Llano and Vanderbilt. Again this

year, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend

upon our neighborhood. Since December, LGNA volunteers have

been working with City staff, the Dallas Police Department, other

neighborhood associations, and local businesses to lessen the

negative impact on our residential area.

Temporary no-parking signs will be posted by volunteers on

Thursday evening, March 9, but enforcement will not begin

until Saturday morning. Most blocks within the Lower Greenville

Neighborhood Association area – Ross to Mockingbird, Greenville

to Skillman – will have either temporary no-parking signs,

permanent no-parking, or day-long resident parking only.

Volunteers are needed to help post the signs on Thursday. DPD

Explorer posts will help, and volunteers can arrive any time after

4:00pm until dark to be assigned to sign-posting crews. The address

is 5843 Vanderbilt. Crews consist of a driver to carry the signs and

2-3 “installers” to walk along and post the signs. Instructions and

some mallets are provided; however, please bring a hammer or

mallet if you have one. We’ll continue until all signs are posted.

Dinner will be provided by LGNA and local restaurants and

businesses.

The Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association also distributes

advance flyers to Glencoe Park and posts signs in the Lowest

We have seen more coyotes in recent months

because late winter is their mating season. However,

coyotes have always been in our neighborhood. The

population has not necessarily increased. We’re just

seeing more of them.

Our police force is not trained to handle wild animals,

and Animal Control usually doesn’t trap them unless

they’re sick. We are advised not to poison them, and

it’s illegal to shoot a firearm in the city. If they are

trapped and removed, the remaining coyotes will have larger litters to fill in the available territory.

So what do we do? At 6:30 on Thursday, March 2, at Greenland Hills UMC, Bonnie Bradshaw of 911

Wildlife will give useful and interesting information on how to defend ourselves and our pets against

this wildlife that joins birds, squirrels, possums, raccoons, and other critters in our neighborhood.

5k Run: 8:00am-11am (To register go to runproject.org/dashdowngreenville)

5200 Greenville•Caruth Haven•Southwestern•Skillman•University•Greenville

Parade: 11am-1:00pm, from Wellons to SMU Blvd.

Other: Brew Fest at 5809 Greenville, Mavs Event at 5111 Greenville, Family Zone at 5646 Milton,

Concert at 4925 Greenville from 12:00-8:00 pm.

Traffic: Southbound Greenville Ave. closes at 9am; other streets close at 10am. Streets will

reopen when police decide it’s safe. Officers will direct traffic at Greenville and

Mockingbird, and on both sides of Central service road from Mockingbird to Blackwell.

Trash: The parade route must be cleaned up by 4:00 pm. If not, Code will issue tickets. There

will be portalets available.

Time: 9am-6pm on Greenville Ave. between Vanderbilt and Vickery. Streets close 7am-8pm.

Street sales of alcohol end at 6:30pm or earlier if DPD deems necessary.

Police: 8am-8pm: Officers at event site and conducting neighborhood patrols.

8pm-3am: Officers along Greenville north of Belmont and patrolling the neighborhood

(all paid by sponsor). Add’l on-duty patrol throughout day and evening.

Shuttles: Shuttle from Mockingbird Station to Matilda/Greenville. No alcohol or coolers allowed

on shuttles. Two DART officers will be at Station to monitor.

Alcohol: No alcohol may be brought into event. Police DWI squad will patrol and arrest for DWI.

Large “Don’t Drink and Drive” signs will be posted. Taxi stands will be on Greenville.

Other: Party is 21+ only—IDs will be strictly enforced. City Fire Inspectors will monitor max.

crowd size in event and buildings. “Respect Our Neighborhood” signs will be posted.

Portalets and trashcans will be available. Code & Parking Enforcement will patrol to

cite violators. Clean Zone Task Force will be monitoring violations

After the St. Patrick’s Day party, party-goers usually go to the bars on Lower Greenville.

Police: On-duty officers along Greenville and Henderson from 8pm to 3am.

Parking: Temporary “No Parking” signs will be installed in neighborhoods. On streets with

Resident Parking Only (RPO), those with the appropriate RPO placards will be allowed

to park any time. Towing of vehicles will be according to the following priority: blocked

intersections, blocked driveways, no parking zones. **Please note that ANY vehicle

parked in a No Parking, No Standing zone or one that is creating a safety issue will be

subject to towing at owner’s expense.

Call 911 for police, parking, code, etc. problems. From 9am-2am, police dispatchers will be

instructed to forward all calls related to St. Patrick’s Day in Lower Greenville to the police com-

mand post at Lee Elementary, located at 2911 Delmar Ave.

5K & PARADE

SPECIAL

EVENTPARTY

AFTER THE

PARTY

TO REPORT

PROBLEMS

ST. PATRICK’S EVENTS

MARCH 11

KEITH ALLEN—DALLAS POLICE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Patricia Carr | PRESIDENT

214-821-2562

Gay Hopkins | VICE PRESIDENT

214-827-4559

Pam Mueller | VICE PRESIDENT

214-821-1554

Debbie Daniel | TREASURER

214-821-0747

John Dailey | SECRETARY

214-821-6324

DIRECTORS

Art Carrillo 214-714-5590

Lilia Estrada 214-874-3259

Michelle Foreman 214-394-2487

David Jones 214-300-1894

Ken Lampton 214-502-5858

USEFUL NUMBERS

Darren Dattalo | CRIME WATCH

214-476-8023

Council Member Philip Kingston

214-670-5415

DPD Officer Keith Allen

214-671-3477

Sanitation / Bulk Trash

214-670-3555

Code Compliance

214-670-5708

Animal Services Call 311

This flyer explains the initiatives the City is taking to limit the impact of the St.

Patrick’s Day parade and party on our Lower Greenville neighborhoods. This

is a result of a joint effort of Dallas Police, neighborhood residents, special

events office, code, sanitation, parking enforcement, event sponsors, me,

and others. Note that these events are privately sponsored and are not

endorsed by the City of Dallas.

Philip Kingston, Dallas City Councilmember

philip.kingston@dallascityhall.com / (214) 670-5415 (weekdays)

FROM DALLAS CITY COUNCILMEMBER PHILIP KINGSTON

INFO FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY –

SATURDAY, MARCH 11

Nov 2017 Dec 2017

Home Break-ins 1 3

Car Break-ins 10 15

Robberies 1 3

Auto Theft 2 1

CAUTION, NOT FEAR

CHILI WINNER BILL MADDOX

Find out what’s going on. Like Us on FACEBOOK

The City’s Park and Recreation Department has a new team – Park Rangers – committed to providing public safety to ensure a fun and safe experience in Dallas’ parks, trails, and facilities. Currently eight Park Rangers monitor the entire park system.

At October’s Pumpkins in the Park event, neighbors learned about the program from Ranger Steven Estrada. He explained that it’s an effort to support the park department’s mission by providing efficient and effective public safety while fostering environ- mental stewardship.

You may have seen Ranger Estrada at Tietze Park. It’s difficult to miss the distinctive pickup truck and his specialized uniform with Smokey hat. He urged us to keep in touch. Park Rangers can be emailed at ParkRanger@DallasCityHall.com or call 214-670-6840 during the day. For non-emergencies, after hours, please call 311. As always, for emergencies please call 911 immediately.

Do your part to keep the

neighborhood safe.

For All You Nut Lovers in LGNA

The Official State Tree of Texas is littering our yards and streets with the Official State Nut of Texas just in time for everyone to enjoy the Official State Pie of Texas.

You guessed it. Not only are the temps and leaves falling, but fall is when the mighty pecan trees in LGNA drop their nuts.

Before you begrudge this rite of passage, take time to ponder a few pecan facts.

• There are over 1000 varieties of pecans produced exclusively in Southeastern/South Central regions of the United States as

well as Mexico.

• Remarkably long lived, the pecan can survive more than a thousand years and grow over 100 feet tall.

• Pecans have been cultivated since the 1500s by Native Americans. (Thus many cultivars bear Indian names like Pawnee, Sioux, Mohawk, Choctaw, Cheyenne, Maramec and Kiowa.)

• Many Native Americans relied on pecans as an important food staple. They gathered wild pecans and combined them with fruits and vegetables (including beans, corn, and squashes), created an energy drink with pecan milk, used ground pecan meal to thicken meat stews, and included roasted pecans as part of their travel supplies to sustain them along the journey when food was scarce.

• Not only are pecan trees used for their fruit, but pecan wood is used in agricultural implements, baseball bats, hammer handles, furniture, wall paneling, flooring, carvings, and firewood.

• Pecans boast eleven vital nutrients that are useful in many processes within the body.

• Although they’re high in fat, pecans are part of a healthy, high-fat diet high in antioxidants and can decrease your risk of heart disease, increase energy levels and improve brain function, reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms of PMS.

So, instead of cussing the pecan mess of fall, why not stoop over, pick up a nut or two, and crack yourself a healthy snack.

Send your gardening questions to Sara by email at: DigThis@LGNA.net

sara wick

The LGNA newsletter now features advertising from neighborhood businesses. Our full-color newsletter is delivered to 2,700 households in the LGNA area. If you’re interested in showcasing your business at a nominal rate, contact Advertising@LGNA.net

ADVERTISING IN THE LGNA NEWSLETTER

PARK RANGERS

CRIME WATCH UPDATE

PREDICTING THE FUTURE

DARREN DATTALO, CRIME WATCH COORDINATOR

There’s always a Monday-morning quarter- back… Hindsight is 20/20… I’m pretty good at

looking back at what happened, but I’ve learned that I can never know what will happen next when it comes to crime incidents in our neighborhood.

When I look at the numbers below, I’m incredibly grateful to see only one home break-in over the course of 3 months. And sometimes we miraculously have little or no car break-ins in a month like in July. And while we don’t have very many robberies, occasionally, we have 2 or 3 in one month.

What is the lesson here? You never know what the next 30 days will hold for us when it comes to crime activity. You can’t predict when that dead-beat is going to show up and start breaking into homes. You can only be accountable for YOUR behavior.

You have to remain vigilant at all times by keeping your doors locked (homes and cars), making your home look occupied,

keeping your car off the street and watching out for your neighbors.

Our job is to remain vigilant 24/7 while the criminal’s job is to find the one person who isn’t being vigilant right now. I hope you’ll all re-commit to staying vigilant to keep our neighborhood safe.

If you are not already on our email list, drop me a note at CrimeWatch@LGNA.net to get my monthly crime watch reports.

LGNA LOWER

GREENVILLE

NEIGHBORHOOD

ASSOCIATION

MOCKINGBIRD TO ROSS / GREENVILLE TO SKILLMAN NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2017

P.O. BOX 720067• DALLAS, TX 75372

BULK TRASH DATE PICK UP: Dec 11-15 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Dec 7

PICK UP: Jan 8-12 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Jan 4

PICK UP: Feb 12-16 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Feb 8 Remember: The city has a zero tolerance for placing trash out prior to the earliest set-out date. Don’t get stuck with a fine for missing the date.

LOG ON TO LGNA.NET for information and updates.

UPCOMING EVENTS WHEN Sat, Dec 9 noon-5pm

WHERE 5843 Vanderbilt

WHAT Holiday Sharing

WHEN Thurs, Jan 11 6:30pm

WHERE GHUMC, 5835 Penrose

WHAT T.C. Broadnax

MEET THE CEO OF DALLAST.C. BROADNAX | JANUARY 11, 6:30 PM

Find out what’s going on. Like Us on FACEBOOK (CONTINUED INSIDE)

Dallas is the United States’ third largest city with a council-manager form of government. Responsible for an annual budget of over $3 billion, City Manager T.C. Broadnax oversees a staff of more than 13,000 City employees.

Broadnax became Dallas City Manager in February 2017, breaking a long-standing Dallas tradition of hiring from within. Previously in Tacoma, Washington, and San Antonio, Texas, Broadnax has been touted as a “no-nonsense, buck-stops-here” manager. We’ve already seen a change in how things get done at City Hall, so his

presentation on January 11 should be an interesting look at what the City is doing for us.

In September, LGNA board members met Broadnax, and he suggested that he’d look forward to addressing our area’s residents. So LGNA and his staff worked through his busy schedule to determine that our January membership event would be a good match.

Following through on his desire to work with the citizens of Dallas, Broadnax also agreed to an interview with LGNA Board member Jean McAulay. See her report inside in this newsletter.

Mark your calendar for Thursday, January 11, at 6:30 pm. Greenland Hills UMC, 5835 Penrose at Delmar.

KEITH ALLEN—DALLAS POLICE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Debbie Daniel | PRESIDENT 214-821-0747

Gay Hopkins | VICE PRESIDENT 214-827-4559

Patricia Carr | VICE PRESIDENT 214-821-2562

Pam Mueller| TREASURER 214-821-1554

John Dailey | SECRETARY 214-821-6324

DIRECTORS Art Carrillo 214-714-5590

Lilia Estrada 214-874-3259

Michelle Foreman 214-394-2487

Pam Gampper 469-360-8487

David Jones 214-300-1894

Ken Lampton 214-502-5858

Jean McAulay 678-977-1649

USEFUL NUMBERS

Darren Dattalo | CRIME WATCH 214-476-8023

Council Member Philip Kingston 214-670-5415

DPD Officer Keith Allen 214-671-3477

Sanitation / Bulk Trash Call 311

Code Compliance 214-670-5708

Animal Services Call 311

ADJUSTING FOR THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

FIRE STATION BASKETS – TOYS FOR COPSThe official LGNA membership event on the afternoon of Saturday, December 9, will provide multiple opportunities to boost your holiday spirit. This year we’ll be combining the Fire Station and Toys for Cops collections with a neighborhood meet-and-greet. Plan to meet neighbors while sampling snacks and drinks for adults and kids.

For the twelfth year, the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association will be collecting Christmas goodies for the fire-fighters at Station 17. It’s our way of saying “Thanks for watching out for us.” Bring your cookies, fruitcakes, chips & salsa, or any other holiday treats – either homemade or purchased – and we’ll assemble a basket for each of the three shifts and deliver the baskets. Previous years have seen donations of non-food items such as supermarket gift cards, games, and DVDs.

Again this year, we’ll be collecting gently used stuffed toys for the Dallas Police Department. DPD officers keep stuffed toys in their patrol cars to give to frightened children involved in domestic violence calls or car accidents. Because neighbors have asked us about providing other small toys, we’ll also accept puzzles, books, and board games for Jubilee Center.

Since the yearly “fall back” time change has occurred, it is time for the also yearly (some would say obnoxious) reminder about the use of window coverings. We get used to daylight well into the evening for so much of the year, that it becomes habit to leave curtains and blinds open.

Have you ever noticed, while taking a walk or driving home, the big screen TV in your neighbor’s house? Mounted on the wall? Perhaps even the computer on the table? Have you returned from a walk with your pet and looked through the windows of your own house? If your friendly neighbors are able to note what you have and where it is located, so too can any burglar.

The contrast from the dark outside to the light from TVs, monitors, table lamps, etc. inside is stark. Thieves also “blend in” more at 6:00pm, their canvassing of the neighborhood not nearly as suspicious. Use of window coverings reduces the inadvertent advertising of your property. Summer habits are tough to break, but remember to activate those porch/exterior lights early.

Holiday travel is a wonderful endeavor. Posting details on social media, not so much. Remember to use the appropriate privacy settings available from your social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, et al.) provider. If you “tweet”, and who doesn’t, not every detail needs to be posted.

This does not only apply to those long, out-of-town trips. Even posting that you are headed out for a day of shopping or to relatives for the day provides bad guys/girls a treasure trove of information. Posting a photo from Tarrant County that is geocoded lets anyone know date/time details in addition to location. The goal is to minimize the amount of information generously provided to the criminals.

Have a safe holiday season.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND JOIN LGNA NOW! For more information and to join go to LGNA.NET/JOIN-IN

GETTING TO KNOW DALLAS CITY MANAGER T.C. BROADNAX

In February, T.C. Broadnax left the nation’s 107th largest city (Tacoma, Washington) where he served as city manager since 2012, and flew east to Dallas. LGNA board member Jean McAulay recently asked him about his impressions of Dallas. His straightforward, can-do style seems to fit the nation’s ninth largest city.

What are your first impressions of Dallas as a resident?The hustle and bustle and variety of things to do in Dallas is refreshing and quite a bit different than Washington.

What characteristics help make urban neighborhoods vibrant?The contextual layout of a neighborhood that creates opportunities and spaces for people to get out easily and engage is very important. When people can get to parks, retail and theater nearby, those access points create connectivity and interaction.

You’ve said it doesn’t work to develop policy within the walls of power and then ask residents what they think, but rather to get residents’ input first. How is that working here?It’s a little slow in coming for my appetite. But I understand it’s going to take some time to build in those systems and touch points. Over the next five to six months, we will develop and share a new public engagement strategy and create systems within our systems that require it.

One small change I’ve made to set that stage is that in any presentation we do to City Council there is a slide that conveys who we have engaged with in the neighborhoods and other entities on the topic. Everyone knows they have to answer that question so they have to get out of their chairs and do it.

Still, I want to go much further than that. When you have challenges to overcome to move forward, it’s always better to talk to people first and get their perspectives. It is the same with developers. We need to encourage them to get out and talk with residents as they begin projects.

How do the challenges differ in Dallas compared to Tacoma?Actually, you see the same problems and same desire for things to be improved. The challenges are just magnified here because it can be hard to scale solutions to the right level due to the expense. If you do something in a small city that helps 20,000 people that’s significant. If we do something that helps 20,000 people in Dallas, it’s a drop in the bucket. You have so many areas facing the same issues spread throughout the city so what you’re trying to impact is very large.

How have you found Dallas people?The people are engaging and I get more thank-yous and hellos than other places I’ve been. People who live here love this place more than anywhere else I’ve lived. I think we also walk around with a little bit of a progressive chip on our shoulder. That’s just Dallas and I like it.

What do you want people to know about you?Hmmm (laughs). I don’t like people knowing a lot about me. The most important thing is that I have a real appreciation for the role that government can play. I love for folks to push me to find ways to do better and serve better. People deserve responsive government.

This job is a tremendous opportunity for me to change people’s minds about what they believe their city government can do.

JULY 2017 AUG 2017 SEPT 2017

Home Break-ins 1 0 0

Car Break-ins 0 11 10

Robberies 0 2 0

Auto Theft 0 1 0

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As many of you noticed, Mother Nature had her own ideas about National Night Out in October. Because of the threat of thunderstorms, the outdoor festival had to be cancelled. Many exhibitors as well as neighborhood residents were very disappointed.

Ever resourceful, LGNA and the other sponsors – Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association and Friends of Tietze Park Foundation – moved many resources and several exhibitors to another date and event. LHNA has traditionally sponsored Pumpkins in the Park at Tietze Park in October. This year, the October 28 fest remained at Tietze but included more events and exhibits than usual.

As well as Council-member Philip Kingston and former Councilmember Angela Hunt, around 150 area residents attended. Also present were LGNA, LHNA, FOTPF, Dallas Aquatics, Lakewood Library Friends, Safe Streets/Great Neighborhoods, and Dallas Park Rangers. Many area neighbors brought four-legged furry friends to share in the fun.

It was a beautiful day with fun activities for adults and kids. Pumpkins took center stage for the event and overflowed the pavilion. Many enthusiastic children and parents decorated pumpkins of all sizes, then proudly took their creations home.

LGNA Board member David Jones cooked up hot dogs on the grill, and attendees enjoyed sampling homemade chili and baked goodies prepared by area neighbors and then voting for their favorite in each category. LGNA member Bill Maddox won bragging rights as “Chili Champ” and received an Ace Hardware gift card.

FALL EVENT CHANGES(CONTINUED)

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND JOIN NOW!

Please print clearly! Email addresses are required to receive neighborhood alerts. Personal information is not shared with any outside group or used for any other purpose. Receipts will be furnished upon request. Checks for LGNA membership should be made out to LGNA. For Extended Neighborhood Patrol membership, checks should be made out to LGNA-ENP. Please provide separate checks if possible. Mail this form and check payable to LGNA or LGNA-ENP to: PO Box 720067, Dallas, TX 75372 (or bring it to the next LGNA meeting).

!

name:

address:

phone:

cell:

email:

Please choose all that apply:

n Join LGNA ($20/yr, $5 for 65+)

n Join Expanded Neighborhood Patrol ($200/yr, $150 for 65+)

nAdd me to the Crime Watch Email List

n Please contact me about Volunteering

Pay Pal Now Available: LGNA has made it a little easier for you to become a member. We’ve added PayPal to the LGNA website. On the site, you’ll see two buttons, one for regular membership and one for seniors (65+). If you have a PayPal account, you can use that directly. If not, you can skip that step and proceed directly to a credit card processing page. LGNA does not receive your credit card information, only the contact information. There is no surcharge added to the regular $20 per household membership ($5 for seniors).

NEWSLETTER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Do you look forward to receiving the LGNA newsletter with its informative articles about your neighborhood? Can you spare six hours a year to assure the newsletter’s timely delivery? We need volunteers who can deliver newsletters on a regular and/or substitute basis. Newsletters are hand-delivered to 2,700+ households in our area. All of those deliveries are made by volunteers who cover 2-4 blocks each. The newsletter is published six times a year, and it takes about an hour to cover the four blocks. (It’s good exercise, too.) If you’d like to help your neighborhood, email Director1@LGNA.net or call 214-821-2562.

FIRE STATION BASKETS / TOYS FOR COPS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9

Come and enjoy meeting your neighbors. Bring your toys and holiday goody donations to 5843 Vanderbilt between noon and 5:00 pm, and we’ll deliver them to Central Patrol and the fire station. If you’re unable to come by on Saturday, a box will be on the porch for toys and non-perishable fire station donations on Thursday and Friday, December 7-8.

DiD yoU know?DiD yoU know?ALEXAN CONSTRUCTION Neighbor Matt Enzler is Managing Director at Trammel Crow Residential, the developer of the Alexan project at Greenville and Belmont. He says that they are making great progress on construction and are still on schedule.

He says that all of the foundation slabs have been poured and construction of the concrete podium is moving along. The major concrete pours should be wrapped up by the end of the year. Framing on the townhomes will begin in early November, followed shortly by the larger building. The large cranes should come down by summer of 2018. TCR plans on delivering the first units in early 2019.

Matt adds, “We know construction projects of this magnitude are messy and not pleasant. We are doing our best to be good neighbors and be responsive to complaints. We appreciate the neighbors’ patience.”

MARATHON ALERT Plan on traffic obstructions on the morning of Sunday, December 10. The 2017 BMW Dallas marathon and half-marathon will start downtown, pass through Highland Park, occupy several LGNA-area streets – McCommas, Greenville, Richmond, and Skillman – while wending east through Swiss Avenue and Lakewood toward White Rock Lake and back through East Dallas toward downtown.

POTHOLES Could it be? The City is actually planning repairs on potholes and ruts in our streets and alleys. Several major streets in the LGNA area, including Skillman, Matilda, and Richmond, were included in the November bond package.

In the December 2016 crime report from Mr. Dattalo, he highlighted

robberies that took place in your neighborhood. In a couple of

the cases, innocent victims were walking home or waiting for an

Uber after an evening with friends. None of the victims was alone

– a very good practice – yet they became victims. Then there was

the senseless robbery of the individual outside the Target store at

Central Expressway and Haskell Avenue.

I know crime-prevention tips all start sounding like Charlie Brown’s

schoolteacher, but we “blah, blah, blah” for a reason.

The hope is that repetition makes you safer. That maybe one night,

you remember to be cautious, be aware of your surroundings,

and pay attention to what is going on around you. We recognize

that there is a line between being cautious and being fearful. We

definitely don’t want you to be the latter.

We are grateful that these victims did not suffer life-threatening

injuries. We appreciate that they did nothing wrong.

As long as the bad guys are lurking, however, we want you to be

cautious and safe.

CRIME WATCH UPDATE

FRONT PORCH PACKAGE THEFTS

DARREN DATTALO,

CRIME WATCH COORDINATOR

If you’re on our Crime Watch email list or

you’re a member of Nextdoor.com, you’re

probably aware that we’ve been having issues

with thefts on front porches. This mostly seems to be

thefts of packages, but we are also seeing chairs, potted plants and

other items being taken.

Our neighborhood is not unique in this. It’s happening across Dallas.

Police are very aware of it and have made some progress. There

have been a couple of arrests in our area already. The suspects in

these cases vary widely across race, gender and age.

To avoid package thefts, try having packages delivered to an office

if possible, request a signature drop-off, or consider using a package

facility such as The UPS Store or an Amazon Locker.

In LGNA, our Extended Neighborhood Patrol officer has contacted

the usual delivery drivers and asked them to be on the look-out

for anyone that might be following them. I’d also suggest keeping

porch lights on at night to deter would-be thieves from taking

other property.

Many of you have installed video cameras or video doorbell

solutions. If you are a victim of a porch theft, please try to capture the

video or a still image and forward to me at CrimeWatch@LGNA.net.

Of course, you should call 911 and offer this evidence to the police,

but if I receive it, I can forward it to our ENP officer for a little more

personal follow-up. Be safe!

LGNALOWER

GREENVILLE

NEIGHBORHOOD

ASSOCIATION

MOCKINGBIRD TO ROSS / GREENVILLE TO SKILLMAN

JANUARY • MARCH 2017

P.O. BOX 720067• DALLAS, TX 75372

BULK TRASH DATE

PICK UP: Feb.13-17

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Feb. 9

PICK UP: Mar 13-17

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Mar 9

PICK UP: Apr 10-14

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Apr 6

Remember: The city has a zero

tolerance for placing trash out

prior to the earliest set-out date.

Don’t get stuck with a fine for

missing the date.

LOG ON TO

LGNA.NET

for information

and updates.

UPCOMING EVENT

WHEN Thursday, March 2,

6:30pm

WHERE Greenland Hills UMC,

5835 Penrose

WHAT Coyotes

YOUR NEIGHBOR, THE COYOTE

Find out what’s going on.

Like Us on FACEBOOK

(CONTINUED INSIDE)

It’s that time of year again. Saturday, March 11, will see the St.

Pat’s parade, a 5K run, and a concert and other events north of

Mockingbird, parties at businesses at Greenville and McCommas,

and the block party between Llano and Vanderbilt. Again this

year, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend

upon our neighborhood. Since December, LGNA volunteers have

been working with City staff, the Dallas Police Department, other

neighborhood associations, and local businesses to lessen the

negative impact on our residential area.

Temporary no-parking signs will be posted by volunteers on

Thursday evening, March 9, but enforcement will not begin

until Saturday morning. Most blocks within the Lower Greenville

Neighborhood Association area – Ross to Mockingbird, Greenville

to Skillman – will have either temporary no-parking signs,

permanent no-parking, or day-long resident parking only.

Volunteers are needed to help post the signs on Thursday. DPD

Explorer posts will help, and volunteers can arrive any time after

4:00pm until dark to be assigned to sign-posting crews. The address

is 5843 Vanderbilt. Crews consist of a driver to carry the signs and

2-3 “installers” to walk along and post the signs. Instructions and

some mallets are provided; however, please bring a hammer or

mallet if you have one. We’ll continue until all signs are posted.

Dinner will be provided by LGNA and local restaurants and

businesses.

The Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association also distributes

advance flyers to Glencoe Park and posts signs in the Lowest

We have seen more coyotes in recent months

because late winter is their mating season. However,

coyotes have always been in our neighborhood. The

population has not necessarily increased. We’re just

seeing more of them.

Our police force is not trained to handle wild animals,

and Animal Control usually doesn’t trap them unless

they’re sick. We are advised not to poison them, and

it’s illegal to shoot a firearm in the city. If they are

trapped and removed, the remaining coyotes will have larger litters to fill in the available territory.

So what do we do? At 6:30 on Thursday, March 2, at Greenland Hills UMC, Bonnie Bradshaw of 911

Wildlife will give useful and interesting information on how to defend ourselves and our pets against

this wildlife that joins birds, squirrels, possums, raccoons, and other critters in our neighborhood.

5k Run: 8:00am-11am (To register go to runproject.org/dashdowngreenville)

5200 Greenville•Caruth Haven•Southwestern•Skillman•University•Greenville

Parade: 11am-1:00pm, from Wellons to SMU Blvd.

Other: Brew Fest at 5809 Greenville, Mavs Event at 5111 Greenville, Family Zone at 5646 Milton,

Concert at 4925 Greenville from 12:00-8:00 pm.

Traffic: Southbound Greenville Ave. closes at 9am; other streets close at 10am. Streets will

reopen when police decide it’s safe. Officers will direct traffic at Greenville and

Mockingbird, and on both sides of Central service road from Mockingbird to Blackwell.

Trash: The parade route must be cleaned up by 4:00 pm. If not, Code will issue tickets. There

will be portalets available.

Time: 9am-6pm on Greenville Ave. between Vanderbilt and Vickery. Streets close 7am-8pm.

Street sales of alcohol end at 6:30pm or earlier if DPD deems necessary.

Police: 8am-8pm: Officers at event site and conducting neighborhood patrols.

8pm-3am: Officers along Greenville north of Belmont and patrolling the neighborhood

(all paid by sponsor). Add’l on-duty patrol throughout day and evening.

Shuttles: Shuttle from Mockingbird Station to Matilda/Greenville. No alcohol or coolers allowed

on shuttles. Two DART officers will be at Station to monitor.

Alcohol: No alcohol may be brought into event. Police DWI squad will patrol and arrest for DWI.

Large “Don’t Drink and Drive” signs will be posted. Taxi stands will be on Greenville.

Other: Party is 21+ only—IDs will be strictly enforced. City Fire Inspectors will monitor max.

crowd size in event and buildings. “Respect Our Neighborhood” signs will be posted.

Portalets and trashcans will be available. Code & Parking Enforcement will patrol to

cite violators. Clean Zone Task Force will be monitoring violations

After the St. Patrick’s Day party, party-goers usually go to the bars on Lower Greenville.

Police: On-duty officers along Greenville and Henderson from 8pm to 3am.

Parking: Temporary “No Parking” signs will be installed in neighborhoods. On streets with

Resident Parking Only (RPO), those with the appropriate RPO placards will be allowed

to park any time. Towing of vehicles will be according to the following priority: blocked

intersections, blocked driveways, no parking zones. **Please note that ANY vehicle

parked in a No Parking, No Standing zone or one that is creating a safety issue will be

subject to towing at owner’s expense.

Call 911 for police, parking, code, etc. problems. From 9am-2am, police dispatchers will be

instructed to forward all calls related to St. Patrick’s Day in Lower Greenville to the police com-

mand post at Lee Elementary, located at 2911 Delmar Ave.

5K & PARADE

SPECIAL

EVENTPARTY

AFTER THE

PARTY

TO REPORT

PROBLEMS

ST. PATRICK’S EVENTS

MARCH 11

KEITH ALLEN—DALLAS POLICE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Patricia Carr | PRESIDENT

214-821-2562

Gay Hopkins | VICE PRESIDENT

214-827-4559

Pam Mueller | VICE PRESIDENT

214-821-1554

Debbie Daniel | TREASURER

214-821-0747

John Dailey | SECRETARY

214-821-6324

DIRECTORS

Art Carrillo 214-714-5590

Lilia Estrada 214-874-3259

Michelle Foreman 214-394-2487

David Jones 214-300-1894

Ken Lampton 214-502-5858

USEFUL NUMBERS

Darren Dattalo | CRIME WATCH

214-476-8023

Council Member Philip Kingston

214-670-5415

DPD Officer Keith Allen

214-671-3477

Sanitation / Bulk Trash

214-670-3555

Code Compliance

214-670-5708

Animal Services Call 311

This flyer explains the initiatives the City is taking to limit the impact of the St.

Patrick’s Day parade and party on our Lower Greenville neighborhoods. This

is a result of a joint effort of Dallas Police, neighborhood residents, special

events office, code, sanitation, parking enforcement, event sponsors, me,

and others. Note that these events are privately sponsored and are not

endorsed by the City of Dallas.

Philip Kingston, Dallas City Councilmember

philip.kingston@dallascityhall.com / (214) 670-5415 (weekdays)

FROM DALLAS CITY COUNCILMEMBER PHILIP KINGSTON

INFO FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY –

SATURDAY, MARCH 11

Nov 2017 Dec 2017

Home Break-ins 1 3

Car Break-ins 10 15

Robberies 1 3

Auto Theft 2 1

CAUTION, NOT FEAR

CHILI WINNER BILL MADDOX

Find out what’s going on. Like Us on FACEBOOK

The City’s Park and Recreation Department has a new team – Park Rangers – committed to providing public safety to ensure a fun and safe experience in Dallas’ parks, trails, and facilities. Currently eight Park Rangers monitor the entire park system.

At October’s Pumpkins in the Park event, neighbors learned about the program from Ranger Steven Estrada. He explained that it’s an effort to support the park department’s mission by providing efficient and effective public safety while fostering environ- mental stewardship.

You may have seen Ranger Estrada at Tietze Park. It’s difficult to miss the distinctive pickup truck and his specialized uniform with Smokey hat. He urged us to keep in touch. Park Rangers can be emailed at ParkRanger@DallasCityHall.com or call 214-670-6840 during the day. For non-emergencies, after hours, please call 311. As always, for emergencies please call 911 immediately.

Do your part to keep the

neighborhood safe.

For All You Nut Lovers in LGNA

The Official State Tree of Texas is littering our yards and streets with the Official State Nut of Texas just in time for everyone to enjoy the Official State Pie of Texas.

You guessed it. Not only are the temps and leaves falling, but fall is when the mighty pecan trees in LGNA drop their nuts.

Before you begrudge this rite of passage, take time to ponder a few pecan facts.

• There are over 1000 varieties of pecans produced exclusively in Southeastern/South Central regions of the United States as

well as Mexico.

• Remarkably long lived, the pecan can survive more than a thousand years and grow over 100 feet tall.

• Pecans have been cultivated since the 1500s by Native Americans. (Thus many cultivars bear Indian names like Pawnee, Sioux, Mohawk, Choctaw, Cheyenne, Maramec and Kiowa.)

• Many Native Americans relied on pecans as an important food staple. They gathered wild pecans and combined them with fruits and vegetables (including beans, corn, and squashes), created an energy drink with pecan milk, used ground pecan meal to thicken meat stews, and included roasted pecans as part of their travel supplies to sustain them along the journey when food was scarce.

• Not only are pecan trees used for their fruit, but pecan wood is used in agricultural implements, baseball bats, hammer handles, furniture, wall paneling, flooring, carvings, and firewood.

• Pecans boast eleven vital nutrients that are useful in many processes within the body.

• Although they’re high in fat, pecans are part of a healthy, high-fat diet high in antioxidants and can decrease your risk of heart disease, increase energy levels and improve brain function, reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms of PMS.

So, instead of cussing the pecan mess of fall, why not stoop over, pick up a nut or two, and crack yourself a healthy snack.

Send your gardening questions to Sara by email at: DigThis@LGNA.net

sara wick

The LGNA newsletter now features advertising from neighborhood businesses. Our full-color newsletter is delivered to 2,700 households in the LGNA area. If you’re interested in showcasing your business at a nominal rate, contact Advertising@LGNA.net

ADVERTISING IN THE LGNA NEWSLETTER

PARK RANGERS

As many of you noticed, Mother Nature had her own ideas about National Night Out in October. Because of the threat of thunderstorms, the outdoor festival had to be cancelled. Many exhibitors as well as neighborhood residents were very disappointed.

Ever resourceful, LGNA and the other sponsors – Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association and Friends of Tietze Park Foundation – moved many resources and several exhibitors to another date and event. LHNA has traditionally sponsored Pumpkins in the Park at Tietze Park in October. This year, the October 28 fest remained at Tietze but included more events and exhibits than usual.

As well as Council-member Philip Kingston and former Councilmember Angela Hunt, around 150 area residents attended. Also present were LGNA, LHNA, FOTPF, Dallas Aquatics, Lakewood Library Friends, Safe Streets/Great Neighborhoods, and Dallas Park Rangers. Many area neighbors brought four-legged furry friends to share in the fun.

It was a beautiful day with fun activities for adults and kids. Pumpkins took center stage for the event and overflowed the pavilion. Many enthusiastic children and parents decorated pumpkins of all sizes, then proudly took their creations home.

LGNA Board member David Jones cooked up hot dogs on the grill, and attendees enjoyed sampling homemade chili and baked goodies prepared by area neighbors and then voting for their favorite in each category. LGNA member Bill Maddox won bragging rights as “Chili Champ” and received an Ace Hardware gift card.

FALL EVENT CHANGES(CONTINUED)

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND JOIN NOW!

Please print clearly! Email addresses are required to receive neighborhood alerts. Personal information is not shared with any outside group or used for any other purpose. Receipts will be furnished upon request. Checks for LGNA membership should be made out to LGNA. For Extended Neighborhood Patrol membership, checks should be made out to LGNA-ENP. Please provide separate checks if possible. Mail this form and check payable to LGNA or LGNA-ENP to: PO Box 720067, Dallas, TX 75372 (or bring it to the next LGNA meeting).

!

name:

address:

phone:

cell:

email:

Please choose all that apply:

n Join LGNA ($20/yr, $5 for 65+)

n Join Expanded Neighborhood Patrol ($200/yr, $150 for 65+)

nAdd me to the Crime Watch Email List

n Please contact me about Volunteering

Pay Pal Now Available: LGNA has made it a little easier for you to become a member. We’ve added PayPal to the LGNA website. On the site, you’ll see two buttons, one for regular membership and one for seniors (65+). If you have a PayPal account, you can use that directly. If not, you can skip that step and proceed directly to a credit card processing page. LGNA does not receive your credit card information, only the contact information. There is no surcharge added to the regular $20 per household membership ($5 for seniors).

NEWSLETTER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Do you look forward to receiving the LGNA newsletter with its informative articles about your neighborhood? Can you spare six hours a year to assure the newsletter’s timely delivery? We need volunteers who can deliver newsletters on a regular and/or substitute basis. Newsletters are hand-delivered to 2,700+ households in our area. All of those deliveries are made by volunteers who cover 2-4 blocks each. The newsletter is published six times a year, and it takes about an hour to cover the four blocks. (It’s good exercise, too.) If you’d like to help your neighborhood, email Director1@LGNA.net or call 214-821-2562.

FIRE STATION BASKETS / TOYS FOR COPS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9

Come and enjoy meeting your neighbors. Bring your toys and holiday goody donations to 5843 Vanderbilt between noon and 5:00 pm, and we’ll deliver them to Central Patrol and the fire station. If you’re unable to come by on Saturday, a box will be on the porch for toys and non-perishable fire station donations on Thursday and Friday, December 7-8.

DiD yoU know?DiD yoU know?ALEXAN CONSTRUCTION Neighbor Matt Enzler is Managing Director at Trammel Crow Residential, the developer of the Alexan project at Greenville and Belmont. He says that they are making great progress on construction and are still on schedule.

He says that all of the foundation slabs have been poured and construction of the concrete podium is moving along. The major concrete pours should be wrapped up by the end of the year. Framing on the townhomes will begin in early November, followed shortly by the larger building. The large cranes should come down by summer of 2018. TCR plans on delivering the first units in early 2019.

Matt adds, “We know construction projects of this magnitude are messy and not pleasant. We are doing our best to be good neighbors and be responsive to complaints. We appreciate the neighbors’ patience.”

MARATHON ALERT Plan on traffic obstructions on the morning of Sunday, December 10. The 2017 BMW Dallas marathon and half-marathon will start downtown, pass through Highland Park, occupy several LGNA-area streets – McCommas, Greenville, Richmond, and Skillman – while wending east through Swiss Avenue and Lakewood toward White Rock Lake and back through East Dallas toward downtown.

POTHOLES Could it be? The City is actually planning repairs on potholes and ruts in our streets and alleys. Several major streets in the LGNA area, including Skillman, Matilda, and Richmond, were included in the November bond package.

In the December 2016 crime report from Mr. Dattalo, he highlighted

robberies that took place in your neighborhood. In a couple of

the cases, innocent victims were walking home or waiting for an

Uber after an evening with friends. None of the victims was alone

– a very good practice – yet they became victims. Then there was

the senseless robbery of the individual outside the Target store at

Central Expressway and Haskell Avenue.

I know crime-prevention tips all start sounding like Charlie Brown’s

schoolteacher, but we “blah, blah, blah” for a reason.

The hope is that repetition makes you safer. That maybe one night,

you remember to be cautious, be aware of your surroundings,

and pay attention to what is going on around you. We recognize

that there is a line between being cautious and being fearful. We

definitely don’t want you to be the latter.

We are grateful that these victims did not suffer life-threatening

injuries. We appreciate that they did nothing wrong.

As long as the bad guys are lurking, however, we want you to be

cautious and safe.

CRIME WATCH UPDATE

FRONT PORCH PACKAGE THEFTS

DARREN DATTALO,

CRIME WATCH COORDINATOR

If you’re on our Crime Watch email list or

you’re a member of Nextdoor.com, you’re

probably aware that we’ve been having issues

with thefts on front porches. This mostly seems to be

thefts of packages, but we are also seeing chairs, potted plants and

other items being taken.

Our neighborhood is not unique in this. It’s happening across Dallas.

Police are very aware of it and have made some progress. There

have been a couple of arrests in our area already. The suspects in

these cases vary widely across race, gender and age.

To avoid package thefts, try having packages delivered to an office

if possible, request a signature drop-off, or consider using a package

facility such as The UPS Store or an Amazon Locker.

In LGNA, our Extended Neighborhood Patrol officer has contacted

the usual delivery drivers and asked them to be on the look-out

for anyone that might be following them. I’d also suggest keeping

porch lights on at night to deter would-be thieves from taking

other property.

Many of you have installed video cameras or video doorbell

solutions. If you are a victim of a porch theft, please try to capture the

video or a still image and forward to me at CrimeWatch@LGNA.net.

Of course, you should call 911 and offer this evidence to the police,

but if I receive it, I can forward it to our ENP officer for a little more

personal follow-up. Be safe!

LGNALOWER

GREENVILLE

NEIGHBORHOOD

ASSOCIATION

MOCKINGBIRD TO ROSS / GREENVILLE TO SKILLMAN

JANUARY • MARCH 2017

P.O. BOX 720067• DALLAS, TX 75372

BULK TRASH DATE

PICK UP: Feb.13-17

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Feb. 9

PICK UP: Mar 13-17

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Mar 9

PICK UP: Apr 10-14

EARLIEST SET-OUT: Apr 6

Remember: The city has a zero

tolerance for placing trash out

prior to the earliest set-out date.

Don’t get stuck with a fine for

missing the date.

LOG ON TO

LGNA.NET

for information

and updates.

UPCOMING EVENT

WHEN Thursday, March 2,

6:30pm

WHERE Greenland Hills UMC,

5835 Penrose

WHAT Coyotes

YOUR NEIGHBOR, THE COYOTE

Find out what’s going on.

Like Us on FACEBOOK

(CONTINUED INSIDE)

It’s that time of year again. Saturday, March 11, will see the St.

Pat’s parade, a 5K run, and a concert and other events north of

Mockingbird, parties at businesses at Greenville and McCommas,

and the block party between Llano and Vanderbilt. Again this

year, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend

upon our neighborhood. Since December, LGNA volunteers have

been working with City staff, the Dallas Police Department, other

neighborhood associations, and local businesses to lessen the

negative impact on our residential area.

Temporary no-parking signs will be posted by volunteers on

Thursday evening, March 9, but enforcement will not begin

until Saturday morning. Most blocks within the Lower Greenville

Neighborhood Association area – Ross to Mockingbird, Greenville

to Skillman – will have either temporary no-parking signs,

permanent no-parking, or day-long resident parking only.

Volunteers are needed to help post the signs on Thursday. DPD

Explorer posts will help, and volunteers can arrive any time after

4:00pm until dark to be assigned to sign-posting crews. The address

is 5843 Vanderbilt. Crews consist of a driver to carry the signs and

2-3 “installers” to walk along and post the signs. Instructions and

some mallets are provided; however, please bring a hammer or

mallet if you have one. We’ll continue until all signs are posted.

Dinner will be provided by LGNA and local restaurants and

businesses.

The Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association also distributes

advance flyers to Glencoe Park and posts signs in the Lowest

We have seen more coyotes in recent months

because late winter is their mating season. However,

coyotes have always been in our neighborhood. The

population has not necessarily increased. We’re just

seeing more of them.

Our police force is not trained to handle wild animals,

and Animal Control usually doesn’t trap them unless

they’re sick. We are advised not to poison them, and

it’s illegal to shoot a firearm in the city. If they are

trapped and removed, the remaining coyotes will have larger litters to fill in the available territory.

So what do we do? At 6:30 on Thursday, March 2, at Greenland Hills UMC, Bonnie Bradshaw of 911

Wildlife will give useful and interesting information on how to defend ourselves and our pets against

this wildlife that joins birds, squirrels, possums, raccoons, and other critters in our neighborhood.

5k Run: 8:00am-11am (To register go to runproject.org/dashdowngreenville)

5200 Greenville•Caruth Haven•Southwestern•Skillman•University•Greenville

Parade: 11am-1:00pm, from Wellons to SMU Blvd.

Other: Brew Fest at 5809 Greenville, Mavs Event at 5111 Greenville, Family Zone at 5646 Milton,

Concert at 4925 Greenville from 12:00-8:00 pm.

Traffic: Southbound Greenville Ave. closes at 9am; other streets close at 10am. Streets will

reopen when police decide it’s safe. Officers will direct traffic at Greenville and

Mockingbird, and on both sides of Central service road from Mockingbird to Blackwell.

Trash: The parade route must be cleaned up by 4:00 pm. If not, Code will issue tickets. There

will be portalets available.

Time: 9am-6pm on Greenville Ave. between Vanderbilt and Vickery. Streets close 7am-8pm.

Street sales of alcohol end at 6:30pm or earlier if DPD deems necessary.

Police: 8am-8pm: Officers at event site and conducting neighborhood patrols.

8pm-3am: Officers along Greenville north of Belmont and patrolling the neighborhood

(all paid by sponsor). Add’l on-duty patrol throughout day and evening.

Shuttles: Shuttle from Mockingbird Station to Matilda/Greenville. No alcohol or coolers allowed

on shuttles. Two DART officers will be at Station to monitor.

Alcohol: No alcohol may be brought into event. Police DWI squad will patrol and arrest for DWI.

Large “Don’t Drink and Drive” signs will be posted. Taxi stands will be on Greenville.

Other: Party is 21+ only—IDs will be strictly enforced. City Fire Inspectors will monitor max.

crowd size in event and buildings. “Respect Our Neighborhood” signs will be posted.

Portalets and trashcans will be available. Code & Parking Enforcement will patrol to

cite violators. Clean Zone Task Force will be monitoring violations

After the St. Patrick’s Day party, party-goers usually go to the bars on Lower Greenville.

Police: On-duty officers along Greenville and Henderson from 8pm to 3am.

Parking: Temporary “No Parking” signs will be installed in neighborhoods. On streets with

Resident Parking Only (RPO), those with the appropriate RPO placards will be allowed

to park any time. Towing of vehicles will be according to the following priority: blocked

intersections, blocked driveways, no parking zones. **Please note that ANY vehicle

parked in a No Parking, No Standing zone or one that is creating a safety issue will be

subject to towing at owner’s expense.

Call 911 for police, parking, code, etc. problems. From 9am-2am, police dispatchers will be

instructed to forward all calls related to St. Patrick’s Day in Lower Greenville to the police com-

mand post at Lee Elementary, located at 2911 Delmar Ave.

5K & PARADE

SPECIAL

EVENTPARTY

AFTER THE

PARTY

TO REPORT

PROBLEMS

ST. PATRICK’S EVENTS

MARCH 11

KEITH ALLEN—DALLAS POLICE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Patricia Carr | PRESIDENT

214-821-2562

Gay Hopkins | VICE PRESIDENT

214-827-4559

Pam Mueller | VICE PRESIDENT

214-821-1554

Debbie Daniel | TREASURER

214-821-0747

John Dailey | SECRETARY

214-821-6324

DIRECTORS

Art Carrillo 214-714-5590

Lilia Estrada 214-874-3259

Michelle Foreman 214-394-2487

David Jones 214-300-1894

Ken Lampton 214-502-5858

USEFUL NUMBERS

Darren Dattalo | CRIME WATCH

214-476-8023

Council Member Philip Kingston

214-670-5415

DPD Officer Keith Allen

214-671-3477

Sanitation / Bulk Trash

214-670-3555

Code Compliance

214-670-5708

Animal Services Call 311

This flyer explains the initiatives the City is taking to limit the impact of the St.

Patrick’s Day parade and party on our Lower Greenville neighborhoods. This

is a result of a joint effort of Dallas Police, neighborhood residents, special

events office, code, sanitation, parking enforcement, event sponsors, me,

and others. Note that these events are privately sponsored and are not

endorsed by the City of Dallas.

Philip Kingston, Dallas City Councilmember

philip.kingston@dallascityhall.com / (214) 670-5415 (weekdays)

FROM DALLAS CITY COUNCILMEMBER PHILIP KINGSTON

INFO FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY –

SATURDAY, MARCH 11

Nov 2017 Dec 2017

Home Break-ins 1 3

Car Break-ins 10 15

Robberies 1 3

Auto Theft 2 1

CAUTION, NOT FEAR

CHILI WINNER BILL MADDOX

Find out what’s going on. Like Us on FACEBOOK

The City’s Park and Recreation Department has a new team – Park Rangers – committed to providing public safety to ensure a fun and safe experience in Dallas’ parks, trails, and facilities. Currently eight Park Rangers monitor the entire park system.

At October’s Pumpkins in the Park event, neighbors learned about the program from Ranger Steven Estrada. He explained that it’s an effort to support the park department’s mission by providing efficient and effective public safety while fostering environ- mental stewardship.

You may have seen Ranger Estrada at Tietze Park. It’s difficult to miss the distinctive pickup truck and his specialized uniform with Smokey hat. He urged us to keep in touch. Park Rangers can be emailed at ParkRanger@DallasCityHall.com or call 214-670-6840 during the day. For non-emergencies, after hours, please call 311. As always, for emergencies please call 911 immediately.

Do your part to keep the

neighborhood safe.

For All You Nut Lovers in LGNA

The Official State Tree of Texas is littering our yards and streets with the Official State Nut of Texas just in time for everyone to enjoy the Official State Pie of Texas.

You guessed it. Not only are the temps and leaves falling, but fall is when the mighty pecan trees in LGNA drop their nuts.

Before you begrudge this rite of passage, take time to ponder a few pecan facts.

• There are over 1000 varieties of pecans produced exclusively in Southeastern/South Central regions of the United States as

well as Mexico.

• Remarkably long lived, the pecan can survive more than a thousand years and grow over 100 feet tall.

• Pecans have been cultivated since the 1500s by Native Americans. (Thus many cultivars bear Indian names like Pawnee, Sioux, Mohawk, Choctaw, Cheyenne, Maramec and Kiowa.)

• Many Native Americans relied on pecans as an important food staple. They gathered wild pecans and combined them with fruits and vegetables (including beans, corn, and squashes), created an energy drink with pecan milk, used ground pecan meal to thicken meat stews, and included roasted pecans as part of their travel supplies to sustain them along the journey when food was scarce.

• Not only are pecan trees used for their fruit, but pecan wood is used in agricultural implements, baseball bats, hammer handles, furniture, wall paneling, flooring, carvings, and firewood.

• Pecans boast eleven vital nutrients that are useful in many processes within the body.

• Although they’re high in fat, pecans are part of a healthy, high-fat diet high in antioxidants and can decrease your risk of heart disease, increase energy levels and improve brain function, reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms of PMS.

So, instead of cussing the pecan mess of fall, why not stoop over, pick up a nut or two, and crack yourself a healthy snack.

Send your gardening questions to Sara by email at: DigThis@LGNA.net

sara wick

The LGNA newsletter now features advertising from neighborhood businesses. Our full-color newsletter is delivered to 2,700 households in the LGNA area. If you’re interested in showcasing your business at a nominal rate, contact Advertising@LGNA.net

ADVERTISING IN THE LGNA NEWSLETTER

PARK RANGERS

CRIME WATCH UPDATE

PREDICTING THE FUTURE

DARREN DATTALO, CRIME WATCH COORDINATOR

There’s always a Monday-morning quarter- back… Hindsight is 20/20… I’m pretty good at

looking back at what happened, but I’ve learned that I can never know what will happen next when it comes to crime incidents in our neighborhood.

When I look at the numbers below, I’m incredibly grateful to see only one home break-in over the course of 3 months. And sometimes we miraculously have little or no car break-ins in a month like in July. And while we don’t have very many robberies, occasionally, we have 2 or 3 in one month.

What is the lesson here? You never know what the next 30 days will hold for us when it comes to crime activity. You can’t predict when that dead-beat is going to show up and start breaking into homes. You can only be accountable for YOUR behavior.

You have to remain vigilant at all times by keeping your doors locked (homes and cars), making your home look occupied,

keeping your car off the street and watching out for your neighbors.

Our job is to remain vigilant 24/7 while the criminal’s job is to find the one person who isn’t being vigilant right now. I hope you’ll all re-commit to staying vigilant to keep our neighborhood safe.

If you are not already on our email list, drop me a note at CrimeWatch@LGNA.net to get my monthly crime watch reports.

LGNA LOWER

GREENVILLE

NEIGHBORHOOD

ASSOCIATION

MOCKINGBIRD TO ROSS / GREENVILLE TO SKILLMAN NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2017

P.O. BOX 720067• DALLAS, TX 75372

BULK TRASH DATE PICK UP: Dec 11-15 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Dec 7

PICK UP: Jan 8-12 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Jan 4

PICK UP: Feb 12-16 EARLIEST SET-OUT: Feb 8 Remember: The city has a zero tolerance for placing trash out prior to the earliest set-out date. Don’t get stuck with a fine for missing the date.

LOG ON TO LGNA.NET for information and updates.

UPCOMING EVENTS WHEN Sat, Dec 9 noon-5pm

WHERE 5843 Vanderbilt

WHAT Holiday Sharing

WHEN Thurs, Jan 11 6:30pm

WHERE GHUMC, 5835 Penrose

WHAT T.C. Broadnax

MEET THE CEO OF DALLAST.C. BROADNAX | JANUARY 11, 6:30 PM

Find out what’s going on. Like Us on FACEBOOK (CONTINUED INSIDE)

Dallas is the United States’ third largest city with a council-manager form of government. Responsible for an annual budget of over $3 billion, City Manager T.C. Broadnax oversees a staff of more than 13,000 City employees.

Broadnax became Dallas City Manager in February 2017, breaking a long-standing Dallas tradition of hiring from within. Previously in Tacoma, Washington, and San Antonio, Texas, Broadnax has been touted as a “no-nonsense, buck-stops-here” manager. We’ve already seen a change in how things get done at City Hall, so his

presentation on January 11 should be an interesting look at what the City is doing for us.

In September, LGNA board members met Broadnax, and he suggested that he’d look forward to addressing our area’s residents. So LGNA and his staff worked through his busy schedule to determine that our January membership event would be a good match.

Following through on his desire to work with the citizens of Dallas, Broadnax also agreed to an interview with LGNA Board member Jean McAulay. See her report inside in this newsletter.

Mark your calendar for Thursday, January 11, at 6:30 pm. Greenland Hills UMC, 5835 Penrose at Delmar.

KEITH ALLEN—DALLAS POLICE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Debbie Daniel | PRESIDENT 214-821-0747

Gay Hopkins | VICE PRESIDENT 214-827-4559

Patricia Carr | VICE PRESIDENT 214-821-2562

Pam Mueller| TREASURER 214-821-1554

John Dailey | SECRETARY 214-821-6324

DIRECTORS Art Carrillo 214-714-5590

Lilia Estrada 214-874-3259

Michelle Foreman 214-394-2487

Pam Gampper 469-360-8487

David Jones 214-300-1894

Ken Lampton 214-502-5858

Jean McAulay 678-977-1649

USEFUL NUMBERS

Darren Dattalo | CRIME WATCH 214-476-8023

Council Member Philip Kingston 214-670-5415

DPD Officer Keith Allen 214-671-3477

Sanitation / Bulk Trash Call 311

Code Compliance 214-670-5708

Animal Services Call 311

ADJUSTING FOR THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS

FIRE STATION BASKETS – TOYS FOR COPSThe official LGNA membership event on the afternoon of Saturday, December 9, will provide multiple opportunities to boost your holiday spirit. This year we’ll be combining the Fire Station and Toys for Cops collections with a neighborhood meet-and-greet. Plan to meet neighbors while sampling snacks and drinks for adults and kids.

For the twelfth year, the Lower Greenville Neighborhood Association will be collecting Christmas goodies for the fire-fighters at Station 17. It’s our way of saying “Thanks for watching out for us.” Bring your cookies, fruitcakes, chips & salsa, or any other holiday treats – either homemade or purchased – and we’ll assemble a basket for each of the three shifts and deliver the baskets. Previous years have seen donations of non-food items such as supermarket gift cards, games, and DVDs.

Again this year, we’ll be collecting gently used stuffed toys for the Dallas Police Department. DPD officers keep stuffed toys in their patrol cars to give to frightened children involved in domestic violence calls or car accidents. Because neighbors have asked us about providing other small toys, we’ll also accept puzzles, books, and board games for Jubilee Center.

Since the yearly “fall back” time change has occurred, it is time for the also yearly (some would say obnoxious) reminder about the use of window coverings. We get used to daylight well into the evening for so much of the year, that it becomes habit to leave curtains and blinds open.

Have you ever noticed, while taking a walk or driving home, the big screen TV in your neighbor’s house? Mounted on the wall? Perhaps even the computer on the table? Have you returned from a walk with your pet and looked through the windows of your own house? If your friendly neighbors are able to note what you have and where it is located, so too can any burglar.

The contrast from the dark outside to the light from TVs, monitors, table lamps, etc. inside is stark. Thieves also “blend in” more at 6:00pm, their canvassing of the neighborhood not nearly as suspicious. Use of window coverings reduces the inadvertent advertising of your property. Summer habits are tough to break, but remember to activate those porch/exterior lights early.

Holiday travel is a wonderful endeavor. Posting details on social media, not so much. Remember to use the appropriate privacy settings available from your social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, et al.) provider. If you “tweet”, and who doesn’t, not every detail needs to be posted.

This does not only apply to those long, out-of-town trips. Even posting that you are headed out for a day of shopping or to relatives for the day provides bad guys/girls a treasure trove of information. Posting a photo from Tarrant County that is geocoded lets anyone know date/time details in addition to location. The goal is to minimize the amount of information generously provided to the criminals.

Have a safe holiday season.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND JOIN LGNA NOW! For more information and to join go to LGNA.NET/JOIN-IN

GETTING TO KNOW DALLAS CITY MANAGER T.C. BROADNAX

In February, T.C. Broadnax left the nation’s 107th largest city (Tacoma, Washington) where he served as city manager since 2012, and flew east to Dallas. LGNA board member Jean McAulay recently asked him about his impressions of Dallas. His straightforward, can-do style seems to fit the nation’s ninth largest city.

What are your first impressions of Dallas as a resident?The hustle and bustle and variety of things to do in Dallas is refreshing and quite a bit different than Washington.

What characteristics help make urban neighborhoods vibrant?The contextual layout of a neighborhood that creates opportunities and spaces for people to get out easily and engage is very important. When people can get to parks, retail and theater nearby, those access points create connectivity and interaction.

You’ve said it doesn’t work to develop policy within the walls of power and then ask residents what they think, but rather to get residents’ input first. How is that working here?It’s a little slow in coming for my appetite. But I understand it’s going to take some time to build in those systems and touch points. Over the next five to six months, we will develop and share a new public engagement strategy and create systems within our systems that require it.

One small change I’ve made to set that stage is that in any presentation we do to City Council there is a slide that conveys who we have engaged with in the neighborhoods and other entities on the topic. Everyone knows they have to answer that question so they have to get out of their chairs and do it.

Still, I want to go much further than that. When you have challenges to overcome to move forward, it’s always better to talk to people first and get their perspectives. It is the same with developers. We need to encourage them to get out and talk with residents as they begin projects.

How do the challenges differ in Dallas compared to Tacoma?Actually, you see the same problems and same desire for things to be improved. The challenges are just magnified here because it can be hard to scale solutions to the right level due to the expense. If you do something in a small city that helps 20,000 people that’s significant. If we do something that helps 20,000 people in Dallas, it’s a drop in the bucket. You have so many areas facing the same issues spread throughout the city so what you’re trying to impact is very large.

How have you found Dallas people?The people are engaging and I get more thank-yous and hellos than other places I’ve been. People who live here love this place more than anywhere else I’ve lived. I think we also walk around with a little bit of a progressive chip on our shoulder. That’s just Dallas and I like it.

What do you want people to know about you?Hmmm (laughs). I don’t like people knowing a lot about me. The most important thing is that I have a real appreciation for the role that government can play. I love for folks to push me to find ways to do better and serve better. People deserve responsive government.

This job is a tremendous opportunity for me to change people’s minds about what they believe their city government can do.

JULY 2017 AUG 2017 SEPT 2017

Home Break-ins 1 0 0

Car Break-ins 0 11 10

Robberies 0 2 0

Auto Theft 0 1 0

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