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Middletown Neighborhood Watch Program

Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown Community
Forum Name: A Better Middletown
Forum Description: A discussion about how to make Middletown a Better Place
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5143
Printed Date: Mar 28 2024 at 11:04am


Topic: Middletown Neighborhood Watch Program
Posted By: ktf1179
Subject: Middletown Neighborhood Watch Program
Date Posted: Mar 25 2013 at 8:14am

Neighborhood Watch meeting Tuesday

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By  http://www.middletownjournal.com/staff/rick-mccrabb/" rel="nofollow - Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

Thirty-eight years ago, Ron Van Arsdale is back where it all started.

He is overseeing the Middletown Neighborhood Watch program, a responsibility he held in 1975 when he was head of the crime prevention unit for the Middletown Division of Police.

“I was the only member of the unit,” he said. “I was the unit.”

Van Arsdale is back to kick start Neighborhood Watch in Middletown again. Now, he is retired and the program is being organized under the Coalition for a Healthy Middletown. He was named coordinator earlier this year and will host an informational meeting Tuesday at the Middletown Senior Center.

Revival of the Neighborhood Watch program is being funded through a Drug Free Communities Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Office Administration and Office of National Drug Control Policy. Fiscal agent for that grant is the Safety Council of Southwestern Ohio.

Kristy Duritsch, executive director of the Safety Council, said the organization’s mission is to save lives and prevent injuries through education and partnerships. Through a Drug Free Communities Grant and the partnership with the Middletown police department, she hopes to “recharge” the Neighborhood Watch Program.

Van Arsdale said he wants to “recycle” the program and bring it back to life.

“It has a lot of history, but we will start from scratch,” he said. “It’s still a grassroots movement and will not be imposed on anyone. It’s got to come from the people in the neighborhoods asking for it.”

Tuesday’s meeting is for residents who want to learn more about the program, according to Van Arsdale.


HOW TO GO

What: Middletown Neighborhood Watch Program informational meeting

When: 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Middletown Senior Center, 3907 Central Ave.

More info: 513-423-9758




Replies:
Posted By: bumper
Date Posted: Apr 06 2013 at 5:40am
after seeing week after week of the police reports of air conditioners getting cut out and taken all over the city, dag gone must have a warehouse full by now.. just how much copper is in one ? lol or are they selling the whole thing? kinda seems like a gang of thieves... that poor UDF store sounds like they should put a cop at the door with lots of handcuffs and just hook-em up when they come thru the doorLOL


Posted By: scovik888
Date Posted: Apr 07 2013 at 10:10pm
I wish Ron all the best in getting the neighborhood watch back up and going. God knows this town needs it. But one comment he made kind of struck a nerve with me when he said he "was the crime prevention unit". He did have some help namely from my father, Ken Craig, and Paul Lewis and I think later on Terry Alfrey. Dad was even the Ohio Crime Prevention Association president one year. So Ron did have some help and together they made a fine team. I remember during the holiday season I rode along with dad and the CRW group and watched over the various malls and plazas looking for criminals. Good times :)



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