Councilor calls Neighborhood Watch meet
Jan. 13—A new McAlester city councilor is working to start a Neighborhood Watch program, with hopes it will transition into ways to help revitalize the area.
Ward 3 City Councilor Chris Stone has called a Neighborhood Watch Kick-Off Meeting, set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
It's set at the Oasis Church, at the corner of B Street and West Jackson Avenue.
Mission of the meeting is "neighborhood revitalization by creating solutions for sustainable change."
"The mission is really safety and revitalization of our neighborhood," Stone said.
He said there's a lot of petty theft, some squatters on vacant properties and some drug houses in that general area.
"We want to take care of the crime first," Stone said. "First get the place safe and then transition into a beautification type thing where we clean up vacant lots."
The area Stone wants to see covered by the project extends from Electric Avenue to Carl Albert Parkway and from A Street to West Street.
It basically covers the north part of Ward 3 and also includes a portion of Ward 4, he said.
McAlester Mayor John Browne has been invited to the Tuesday night meeting and scheduled speakers include McAlester Police Officer Nick Mattioda.
Plans call for the group to discuss commonly-stolen items, such as bicycles and other things that are left outside.
"We want to make this a neighborhood where the bad guys will skip it because it's too hard to steal from," Stone said.
He has high hopes for the area.
"We have parks where people can get together and a bunch of churches," said Stone. He considers the planned program as a great way for more city residents to get to know their neighbors.
He said the group is not organizing for members to take the law into their own hands.
"John Wayne and Bruce Willis are not invited to this," Stone quipped. "We are not a police force."
It's all about neighbors getting together and keeping a watchful eye out for each other, he said.
"We want a safe place to come to," Stone said. "We want a neighborhood where people want to move here."
In talking with people, Stone said he's learned the people who feel the safest are those who know their neighbors.
"That's the key, when neighbors are watching out for each other," he said.
A followup meeting is set for Feb. 6, also at 6 p.m. at the Oasis Church. That meeting is to feature representatives from the city's Code Enforcement and Community Development departments.
"This is one of those things that you gain hope from," Stone said. "I think the world is running a little low on hope.
"It's time to help our community."
