Safer Huntington WV

Action Teams Forming

Bill — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:57:32 +0000

Last month a wide array of people from across the spectrum of Huntington’s concerned citizens came together for a community action summit. At the summit they discussed not only what needs to be fixed in Huntington to make it a safer and more inviting home but also on what we, as citizens, could do now without having to wait for others (the government) to do it for us. Many fantastic ideas were presented at the summit and they each seemed to fit in one of six categories. These categories were then used to form “Action Teams” that could work on implementing the ideas as well as identifying other ways to tackle the various problems in and around Huntington.

At the end of the Summit everyone in attendance was given the chance to sign up for one or more of the action teams and, thanks to those people, each of those teams has a great start at gathering enough people to make positive changes a reality. However, each team could use more people, more ideas, and more energy. With that in mind we encourage you to check out each group and sign up with one or more of them.

Action Teams

Drug Issues – addressing various drug-crime related issues
Dilapidated Housing – repairing and eliminating dilapidated housing
Community Connections with Technology – using websites and social media
Personal Connections – increase personal connections within and among neighborhoods
Landlord Accountability – hold landlords accountable and develop a property owner database
Youth Engagement – increasing youth engagement through public schools and Marshall

Please use this form to sign up for one or more teams:
[contact-form]

Litter Getters Should Beware Bottle Bombs

Bill — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:51:51 +0000

I, like many people in Huntington, spend a portion of each of my days picking up trash around town. However, today I was informed about a serious risk to anyone who is picking up a discarded plastic bottle. It’s called “Works Bomb” or a bottle bomb. The bomb consists of a soda or water bottle with some household chemicals mixed together in it. The chemicals react and begin to boil so that once the lid is placed on the bottle the gases created via the boiling reaction create pressure in the bottle. Eventually the pressure builds up enough that the bottle explodes.

The force created by the bottle explosion is enough to remove fingers, seriously disfigure your face, or destroy a mailbox. Thus it behooves you to approach any closed bottle containing liquid with caution. If the bottle appears to be melting or seems swollen call 911 and ask for assistance. I haven’t heard about these kinds of incidents here but it can’t hurt to be on the safe side.

Safe Community Summit

Bill — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:40:49 +0000

Various groups throughout Huntington, including all of the neighborhood associations, are actively working on a series of Safer Neighborhood Meetings culminating in a Safer Neighborhood Summit on May 25th. Each meeting is designed to get citizen feedback on ways we think we can actually actively make our neighborhoods better places to live and to develop specific plans to help make our goals a reality. If you think your neighborhood could be safer, in any way, then it behooves you to attend a meeting (or more)!

Here are the currently scheduled meetings:

Spring Hill : April 14th 6pm @ Cabell Huntington Hospital
Southside : April 20th 6:30pm @ Southside Elementary
Highlawn : May 4th 7:30pm @ Highlawn United Methodist Church
Walnut Hills: May 11th 6:30pm @ Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge
West Huntington: May 14th 7pm @ Central United Methodist Church
Westmoreland: May 17th 6:30pm @ Westmoreland Women’s Club

To help foster discussion I strongly encourage you to download and read the Safer Neighborhood Discussion Guide which will be used during the meetings to help guide and foster the discussion. If you want you can also print out this Flyer for the Action Summit and use it to advertise the meetings and the final summit throughout your neighborhood.

City Responds Quickly To Vandalism

Bill — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:40:49 +0000

Over the past weekend there was extensive spray paint vandalism done to the new playground at McClellan Park (27th street). The vandalism was reported to the city’s park board Monday morning and by Monday afternoon it had been removed. A big cheer to the park board for being so dilligent! Remember, if you see vandalism, or vandals, to report them to the proper authorities to get it cleaned up and to put and end to this self destructive behavior!

You can see the vandalism that was done at this flickr photo set

Citizen Opinions Needed

Bill — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:38:19 +0000

Create Huntington is working with the West Virginia Center for Civic
Life to plan a series of neighborhood forums about Crime and Community
Safety in Huntington. In preparation for these conversations, citizens
are asked to share their opinions about crime and safety in a survey.
The survey results will be used to gain a deeper understanding of the
issues related to the problem and design discussions that are unique
to Huntington’s needs. The survey can be completed online by clicking
here:
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?MountainsideMedia/e85581b6c8/0531277037/65cb8f1316/sm=WsArNhxmnjYI1JIxxzTRmw_3d_3d

A team of local citizens will review surveys and other research.
Neighborhood Associations will arrange the forums, which will be held
throughout Huntington in the coming months. The work is being coached
by representatives from the West Virginia Center for Civic Life and
Everyday Democracy through a grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum
Foundation. The hope is that community conversations about the issue
will lead to effective action that makes communities safer and deters
crime in Huntington.

More information will be available at www.createhuntington.com in the
coming weeks.

Open House for National Volunteer Week

Bill — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:24:04 +0000

Faith in Action of the River Cities will hold an Open House on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 from 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm at the office, 848 Ninth Avenue in Huntington. The event is held in recognition of National Volunteer Week, April 19th through 25^th.

Faith in Action is an interfaith, volunteer organization that provides vital, non-medical assistance to the elderly and adults with disabilities free of charge. Volunteer care givers take seniors to appointments, assist with grocery shopping or paperwork, make friendly visits, and provide daily telephone reassurance calls among many other services. The personal connection between volunteer and care receiver is one reason the organization has been active in the region since 1996. The services provided help seniors remain in their own homes and improve the quality of their lives. Faith in Action serves the elderly and adults with disabilities in Cabell and northern Wayne Counties in WV and Lawrence County, Ohio.

The public is invited to stop by the office on the 21^st to learn more about Faith in Action and volunteer opportunities; to enjoy light refreshments; and to thank the volunteers who make it all possible. Anyone with questions may call the Faith in Action office at (304) 697-1274 or (toll free) 877-367-1271. Office hours are Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm.

Vandalism – What Can Be Done

Bill — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:30:39 +0000

Richard Cobb just blogged about how vandalism is becoming a more pressing problem within Huntington due to the lack of enforcement. The article identifies alleys as being particularly ripe targets for taggers due to ideal conditions for concealment of the illicit behavior; poor lighting, little traffic, and poor visibility from within the homes/businesses along the alley. The question then is what can we, as citizens do, to help cut down on vandalism?

Install lights on your garage or outbuilding that lies along an alley way. By lighting the area you will automatically make that alley less inviting to a passing vandal.
Remove Graffiti as soon as you can. By removing it the vandal will grow discouraged that their work keeps getting removed. Sure, at first, they might hit again out of frustration but eventually they will realize you won’t back down (and you shouldn’t!)
If you see vandalism occurring – report it to the police! If you remain silent when the crime is occurring how can you complain about it happening? We need to work together with law enforcement to reduce the crimes in our communities!

Those steps alone will make a huge impact. If you are the neighbor to someone who gets vandalized encourage them to clean it up and offte to help them. If they won’t and you can then just do it yourself otherwise you’re just inviting the vandals to return and the next time they will probably be on your property.

If you’d like more information on why fixing vandalism quickly can help prevent future vandalism you should check out the book “Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order And Reducing Crime In Our Communities” by George Kellilng and Catherine Coles.

Finally, we could come together as a community and provide a better opportunity and outlet for the people who want to create grafitti. Perhaps we could organize a mural project along the floodwall downtown.

1st Annual Huntington Clean Sweep

Bill — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:32:52 +0000

The First Annual “Huntington Clean Sweep” beautification project will be Saturday, April 25 through Saturday, May 2. Sponsored by the Mayor’s Committee for a Sustainable Community, the Clean Sweep project is a citywide event that focuses on sprucing up both the downtown and residential areas of Huntington.

Brandi Jacobs-Jones, City of Huntington Director of Administration and Finance, states, “This is going to be an exceptionally busy year for tourism, and we want to make sure we showcase Huntington for our visitors. It is our goal to once again make the Jewel City sparkle, and we encourage everyone to join us in this first annual event.”

Volunteers are needed for the downtown cleanup on Saturday, April 25 and Saturday, May 2. Civic groups, church groups, student organizations, businesses, and concerned citizens are encouraged to participate and “Adopt-A-Block” by painting over graffiti, pulling weeds, picking up trash, etc.

Community residents are urged to contact their Neighborhood Association for week-long cleanup activities in their areas. The City of Huntington will have commercial dumpsters positioned throughout the neighborhoods to assist in the cleanup effort.

Businesses wishing to donate supplies for the event should contact Cathy Snoddy, at 304-697-7550 or csnoddy@huntingtonjuniorcollege.edu.

For further information concerning the Huntington Clean Sweep contact Brandi Jacobs Jones at 304-696-5540 or bjacobs-jones@cityofhuntington.com

Community Gardeners Need You

Bill — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:29:25 +0000

Calling All Volunteers, We Need You:
Bring gloves, hoes, shovels, spades, trash bags, and whatever else you can think of, especially friends or family that could lend a hand Our next meeting is this Saturday at 2pm at the Barnett Facilities building, located at 1524 10th Avenue across from White Way. We need lots of volunteers to help work in the garden area, doing things like marking the beds with twine, cleaning and clearing the surface, turning the soil, weeding, etc. Also, on Tuesday next week, I need volunteers to help clean-up and prepare the Webb’s donated gardening area, especially clearing out their old burn-pile. We’ll meet at the Ace Hardware parking lot on 5th St Road at 1pm.

Confirmation Email:
Email us at our communitygardenshunt@gmail.com account to confirm that you are Volunteering. In that email, we will need your full name, which days you can Volunteer, and the best way to reach you by phone if there is a last-minute change of plans. This will be especially necessary when working on privately donated garden spaces, such as the Webb’s property, so that property owners know in advance who will be visiting at what times and for what purposes.

Weather:
The weather looks GREAT for Friday-Wednesday, so keep your fingers crossed!
See You Saturday and Tuesday!

Rally On the River – How Can You Help?

Bill — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:35:59 +0000

Would you like to help the Red Cross plan their next fundraiser? “Rally on the River”, a tailgate themed event is currently being planned for August 2009 and we need your help. The meeting will take place on Thursday, March 19th at 10:00 a.m. in the second floor conference room at the Red Cross building located at 1111 Veteran’s Memorial Blvd. Refreshments and a snack will be served.

You can learn more about the local Red Cross at http://www.cwv-redcross.org/index.php?nav=home