TOPs Winter 2003

“TOPs” - TOWNWATCH on Patrol

Welcome to “TOPs”, Pennsbury Townwatch’s member newsletter. Townwatch can be reached at 610-388-0785.

President’s Corner

It has been another productive year for Pennsbury Townwatch. We have managed to provide at least three patrol groups per week throughout the year providing increased coverage for our Township. With a combination of full patrols, neighborhood patrols, and standing patrols, we have been very visible throughout the Township in 2002. All of the Directors now have a permanent set of patrol signs so it is quite possible you could find a “patroller” on the highways, streets, and roads almost every day of the week.

Townwatch would not be viable without the member volunteers who make up our patrollers and I want to especially thank them for their service to the community. Pennsbury Township has one of the lowest crime rates in Chester County and has one of the highest levels of community support for our Townwatch activities.

Non-patrolling members are also important with their generous financial help and support that allow us to continue and expand our activities. This past year we were able to place over 30 additional Townwatch signs on Pennsbury Township roads and neighborhoods. In addition, we have been able to purchase additional magnetic signs for patrollers and automobile window stickers with emergency telephone numbers for all Township residents.

The Board of Directors makes the entire Townwatch system work and I would like to thank them for their help and guidance during the year. Two of our Directors—Pat Barron and Bruce Swayze—have decided to move on but both will still be active in local affairs, Pat with his role in the Pennsbury Township Emergency Management team and Bruce with his service on the Unionville - Chadds Ford School Board.

I would like especially to thank Jim Sears for his service as the Patrol Chairman. During his 3-year term, Jim revolutionized and streamlined our patrol procedures to provide more coverage with fewer patrollers and brought a real sense of “family” with our frequent patrollers. Jim has not left the Board, but has turned over the Patrol Chairman reigns to Kevin Meloney. Kevin has a great foundation of patrollers and patrol procedures to work with, thanks to Jim’s great organizational skills.

We always need more volunteers for our patrol efforts and encourage those of you who have not had a chance to patrol to leave a message on the Townwatch telephone, 610-388-0785. Our Patrol Chairman will get in touch with you. Patrolling requires about 8 hours per year of personal time and you will be rewarded by knowing that your efforts help to keep our Township a safe and secure place to live.

Sincerely,

Ronald E. Majors

President, Pennsbury Townwatch

Pennsbury Townwatch Annual Meeting to be Held on March 4, 2003

Attendees at the Annual Meeting will find out about our patrolling activities, crime reports in our area, and some of the programs that Townwatch is conducting to ensure the continued safety and well being of Township residents. The meeting again will be graciously hosted by Eric Miller of the Chadds Ford Winery, and will take place at the Winery, 632 Baltimore Pike (Route 1) in Chadds Ford. It will begin at 7:30 PM and should last less than an hour.

The guest speaker is Trooper Leonardo Becerra, Community Services Officer and recent “Rotary Trooper of the Year”, of the Pennsylvania State Police. The topic of his presentation will be “Home Safety and Security in the Suburbs”. A question and answer period follows his talk.

Light desserts and refreshments, including a tasting of Chadds Ford wine, will be served.

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Reminder – Renew Your Membership

Recently, our annual request for membership went out to Pennsbury Township residents. For a mere $7.50 for an individual membership, or $10 for a family or business, you can help Townwatch to continue its program of providing patrols and other activities to maintain your safety, security and peace-of-mind. Funds are used for road signs, patrol signs, window stickers, TOPs Newsletter, promotional activities and other related items. Make your check payable to Pennsbury Townwatch and mail it to: Pennsbury Townwatch Inc., 702 West Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, PA 19317. Donations are tax-deductible.

New Patrollers

Welcome to these new volunteer Patrollers:

Ernie & Tricia Bailey

Ray Coe

Sandy & Steve Desirey

Barb Hall & Lee Berkwits

Greg Leeber

Cliff Sayre

Pennsbury Township Police Reports

At the monthly meetings of the Pennsbury Townwatch Board of Directors, one of the regular activities is to review the Pennsylvania State Police reports for our Township. Each month the Police Liaison Committee Chairman is provided a publicly available listing of police activities in the Township. Information is divided into categories such as false burglar alarm calls, accidents, disabled vehicles, 911 hang-ups, suspicious vehicles, thefts & burglaries, public disturbances, traffic violations, drugs, underage drinking, and other such crime related activities.

We analyze these various categories to look for trends that may require more frequent patrolling in certain areas or more attention to possible “hot spots” in our community. Fortunately, the rate of occurrence is rather light, except for false alarms which still are one of the biggest sources of “time waste” for our State Police officers. Residents with alarm systems are urged to be vigilant in making sure that systems are in proper working order in order to avoid these non-productive police activities.

Pennsbury Townwatch

Annual Meeting

March 4, 7:30 p.m.

Chadds Ford Winery

Guest Speaker

Wine Tasting & Dessert

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9-1-1 Address -- DO YOU KNOW YOURS?

IS IT VISIBLE FROM THE STREET?

Winter 2003 – Issue No. 4

“TOPs” - TOWNWATCH on Patrol

President’s Corner

Pennsbury Townwatch