Break-in at Springfield Square

On Wednesday, March 26, 2008, at 9:30am, a resident locked his dead-bolt and left his ground floor condo at Springfield Square Condominium. About 1.5 hours later, his front door was kicked in, door jamb broken and the burglar stole his Ipod, CD collection and 4 bottles of men's cologne. He suspects the intruder watched him exit the property. An adjacent ground floor unit had a break-in a couple of weeks ago.

Keep your eyes open for suspicious people who are loitering in the neighborhoods. Don't hesitate to call the police if something seems out of ordinary.

CANKER WORM SPRAY -- Safe & Soon

Within the next two weeks, the City of Charlotte will be conducting an aerial spray to control the cankerworm population. The spray will cover approximately 63,000 acres. A map of the spraying area is located on our website: cankerworm.charmeck.org. In addition to the map, the website contains a list of frequently asked questions and answers and a brief history of the cankerworm problem in Charlotte.

As City employees, we wanted to ensure you had the necessary information to answer basic questions you might get from residents. Here are the facts:

• The product, Foray 48B, is not a chemical insecticide. It contains Bacillus thuringiensis which is commonly referred to as Bt. This material is a naturally occurring organism that is already present in our environment.
• In order to be effective, Bt must be ingested by the caterpillars. The specific enzymes necessary to activate Bt are only found in the digestive system of caterpillars. Other insects, birds and animals do not have the enzymes necessary to activate Bt in their digestive systems.
• Documented studies of Bt have found no adverse affect on humans, plants, water supplies or other organisms. We have links to several of these studies on our website.
• Certified organic farmers use Bt to control leaf feeding caterpillars in their gardens and bee keepers use it to control wax moths in the bee hives.
• The low-flying aircraft used for the spraying will work with the FAA and Charlotte Douglas Airport officials to ensure the safest possible operations while in Charlotte airspace.
  Temporary Change to Residential Car Washing Restriction

In response to requests to clean off residue from the cankerworm spraying program, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities will temporarily suspend the water use restriction on residential car-washing for seven days following the start of spraying. There are no other changes to the water restrictions. Because the spraying has not yet begun, residential car washing at the present time is not allowed.

The infestation of Fall Cankerworms in Charlotte has been affecting our tree canopy for almost twenty years. Our best hope of controlling the population is by using a two step approach, banding in the fall and spraying in the spring.

If you need additional information, please visit cankerworm.charmeck.org or call the City’s Landscape Management department at 704-336-4262. --- Kim McMillan

Inside CMPD

The goal of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is to make Charlotte one of the safest large cities in America. To do that, we continually advance strategies that prevent crime. We find ways to engage the community in taking steps that help minimize opportunities for victimization. We explore appropriate policy direction with the Mayor and City Council. We seek solutions to the complex community problems that contribute to crime and disorder. And we enforce the laws and arrest the people who break them.

The officers, staff and volunteers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department take very seriously their duty to provide citizens with professional, innovative and effective service. Community safety is a shared responsibility and we are committed to working in partnership with neighborhood residents and business owners as well as other local, state and federal agencies to reduce crime and increase safety.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has more than 1,600 uniformed officers, 465 civilian employees and 400 volunteers providing public safety services to the community.

Charlotte Quick Facts

• CMPD provides police services for the City of Charlotte and unincorporated areas of Mecklenburg County
• Population: 648,139 City of Charlotte - 850,178 Mecklenburg County
  
• Total square miles: 267.8 City of Charlotte
• Within CMPD's jurisdiction: 713,455 people, 438 square miles and 3,777 street miles
• 1,627 sworn officers
• 465 civilian personnel
• More than 400 volunteers provide critical service in key areas, including 911 communications, records and property control, crime scene and laboratory analysis, and crime reporting
• America's 21st largest city
• America's 5th largest urban region

cmpd.org

Fourth Ward Parking

New Parking Rules Suspended through 10 April 2008

We recently announced new on-street parking guidelines in Fourth Ward. We have received responses from many of you. Some neighbors support the new guidelines while others have questions or concerns. The FOFW Board has determined a prudent course of action is to suspend the new parking rules and not enforce the guidelines for a period of 30 days. Park It! has agreed not to enforce the new rules for 30 days from 3/10/08 - 4/10/08. The former rules will be enforced (Mon-Fri 8-5, 2 hour visitor parking, after 5pm unlimited visitor parking).

Friends of Fourth Ward

Dilworth - Crime Prevention

Dan Tierney of EYE wrote this article about crime in Dilworth. It seems, not surprisingly, that Dilworth is experiencing troubles which are similar to what we see in Uptown Charlotte. The article is good reading and it does offers incite as to what other neighborhoods want to do about crime.

Suggestions ranged from long-term plans like hiring a private security firm and petitioning the City Council for more officers in the area to simpler ideas like paying more attention to the surroundings and getting to know neighbors.

"We'd like to see some police cars," said Dilworth resident Jack Fenlon. "I'm not talking 24 hours a day. I'm talking if there's a chunk of time when these crimes occur, I want to see visibility then."

Dilworth like Uptown Charlotte is a safe place to live, work and play. It is our responibilty to keep all of our neighborhoods safe and two of the best things we can do is keep our eyes open and get to know our neighbors. See what is happening and respond to it. Call the police if you see something wrong. The police can not be everywhere all of the time and they need us to be their eyes and ears.