Watch Jefferson County

I apologize for the delay in getting this posted - Sunday, lack of power, yesterday busy with work, this morning lost the report.

The initial meeting of the Mountain Watch was held on Saturday, January 28 with total of 63 in attendance. The presenters were Carla and Barb, Mountain Watch coordinators; Sheriff Boober, LE sponsor; Art, creator of the new web site; and Nat, SSP.

Our purpose and mission as coordinators is to communicate, educate, coordinate and motivate everyone here on the mountain to work together to make the community a safer and better place to live. We cannot follow the standard Neighborhood Watch format, as our area is unique. We will be creating our own format, stressing the use of technology. This is the way we can get what is referred to as "critical mass" numbers.

Sheriff Boober discussed the importance of a Neighborhood Watch Program and the benefits to a community. He also pointed out additional programs/topics that can be covered at our meetings - such as child identification. emergency preparedness, home security and safety.

We need to be better educated on how to Observe, Record and Report information, thus making us more observant of our surroundings and paying more attention to details. Especially important is registering on the new web site, learning to use it, and reporting suspicious activity, vandalism, accidents and/or crimes giving as many accurate details as possible. During his presentation of the new web site, Art demonstrated how suspicious activity reporting can lead to crime solution. Seemingly insignificant details combined together can solve a crime.

Naturally, in emergencies or crime in progress -- CALL 911. Suspicious activity should be reported on the web site and or call SSP - 725-SAFE (7233). If it is an incident involving a vehicle, provide as much information as possible. If it is involving an individual, again give the best description possible.

We want to thank everyone who attended. We did go over the allotted time and appreciate your patience. We will do better the next time.

Remember - Observe, Record and Report. Encourage your friends and neighbors to attend the meetings and register on the new web site.

Keep watching both web sites for information on the next meeting. We are working on it now.