Tracy Press

We're happy to share a trio of good news: crime is down, a new program is taking recreation to the kids, and one more church is helping feed the hungry.

• Crime in Tracy from April through June was down 5 percent from a year ago, according to a report just released from the Tracy Police Department.

The biggest decline was in vehicle thefts — 172 during the quarter in 2007 compared with 133 this year. Burglaries also were down by 10 percent in the three months, and robberies dropped 8 percent.

Just this week, a new Neighborhood Watch group was launched on Cumberland Drive, which makes 132 active community groups — 24 more than last year — monitored by the city. That means more residents are getting involved as watchdogs, which is always a good thing.

We suspect some of that community involvement has contributed to the drop in crime. We’ll see what the numbers say after summer’s over.

• The city’s "Rollin’ Rec" truck made its debut this week. The first visible sign of the Mayor’s Community Youth Support Network, it’s an afterschool program that travels to a different city park each week with board games, sports equipment and art projects.

At Monday’s ribbon-cutting, Councilwoman Evelyn Tolbert said she hopes this is just the beginning of what can be done with the community’s help. She’d also like to see partnerships with the school district so campuses can be used as afterschool recreation centers.

We watched a few dozen youngsters paint terra-cotta flower pots and play board games at McDonald Park. But we didn’t see any teens. It may take something more than a flier — say, extreme sports equipment and videogames — to lure them out for some fun.

Last year, the Tracy Police Department saw juvenile crime increase between 3 and 4 p.m., and with programs like this targeted to children from 8 to 14, those crime numbers may drop, just like car thefts.

• One of Tracy’s small churches is doing something big. Five weeks ago, volunteers served dinner to two homeless people, and every week since, they’ve had 40 to 50 at their tables.

Gene and Carol Snodderly, members of New Heart Community Church, say they just want to give back to a community that’s helped them. That keeps them asking for food donations and inviting the down-and-out to dinner.

Tracy Interfaith Ministries and Larch Clover Community Center both distribute food, and the McHenry House Family Shelter offers food and shelter to families. But except during the holidays, we know of only one other group — Center of Hope Church, 2514 Holly Drive — that serves free weekly meals to anyone.

A man at this week’s dinner of burritos, rice and beans said he didn’t care what was served. He was just happy to have a hot meal, his first in a long time.

It’s rare to see this kind of outreach in the middle of summer, and we wish New Heart the best.

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written by Malcolm , August 20, 2008

But the bad news is.... Tucker and Abercrombie can't spell. Abercrombie teamed with Tucker to write an opposition argument to term limits for Mayor and City Councilmembers. They spent some time correcting spelling, puntuation and grammatical errors in the document during their public meeting last night. I'm not kidding folks it was on Channel 26. Now there's an argument for term limits... go back to grammar school and learn how to craft a document BEFORE you turn it in. Here's the scoop: IVES..16 YEARS, TUCKER...12 YEARS, TOLBERT...12. Abercrombie... in training. Who opposes term limits? CAREER politicians.

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written by Dave Hardesty , August 20, 2008

Yeah, you're probably right Malcolm. Perhaps voters are just to stupid to know who they want to elect and so we have to create an artificial method by which to get other special agenda groups into power.

"Abercrombie ... in training." Nice to know an appointed freshman counsel member is a member of your grouping of the "CAREER politicians."

Dave Hardesty

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written by Decker , August 21, 2008

Our Neighborhood Watch meeting was a successful one, in my opinion. We had a great turnout for our small area, represented very well. Thank you all.

I want to thank the Crime Prevention Team for taking the time to come out. You all know your stuff and more. If you are a neighborhood in trouble with crime , whether big or small crimes, I recommend you start one. Start up is slow but once we get our paperwork back,(I still have to fill mine out) from everyone and to the police station and get our signs up, were happening.

One thing I learned is that I did not report the little crimes like kids driving on our lawn, mail box vandalized and other small crimes so our statistics appear low. Some of the time we caught kids in the act and sometimes not. I think the police need an accurate account of all crime taking place. They have a non emergency number to call and you really don't need immediate response back from the police, remember to tell them you want them to get back to you about your complaint , otherwise they won't.

Thank you Tracy Press for mentioning our little ol' meeting. It brings more awareness that the small police force that works each shift really need our help to keep our own neighborhood safe. To take responsibility for our property as much as we can, to protect ourselves from the bad guys.

Cathy Decker
Thanks Cheri

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written by Tracy RealNews , August 26, 2008

Malcolm,

I find it amusing that you are so concerned with petty details. Also saw that on Channel 26. I also saw that Sundberg just sat there and smiled at Garamendi, in the back of the room? - why yes, we watched it on Channel 26 too. Be careful what you ask for, Malcolm. The City Council had no choice but to complete their rebuttal because of the timeline, which was explained at the meeting, to which they did. If you didn't want to sit up and watch it - that's fine. It was the last item on the agenda. Most people in the audience had already left. The City Staff has to wait for them to complete the document, as the lawyer explained. If you want term limits you have to let them have their rebuttal. You asked for it - not the council. Well, except for Sundberg? Didn't she vote against the others? Did she get a nod from the back of the room? Need to know all the details, next time, Malcolm.

Thanks!

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written by solar_biscuit , August 27, 2008

I do not believe that crime is down. I do however think that because the police are stretched too thin, that they are documenting fewer crimes due to time constraints. This in turn looks like less crime which is the exact opposite of what is really going on. This makes the officials look good, when they are really doing nothing but burning out the cops!