| 7/30/2009 12:23:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Night to unite- Meet you Neighbors
 | State Sen. Chuck Wiger
District 55
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What can you do make your neighborhood safer? By participating in one of the many local meetings being held in the area on Tuesday, August 4, we have an opportunity to see what we can all do to create a safer community. I look forward to attending many area gatherings and I encourage you to take part in your neighborhood or community celebration. If your neighborhood has not yet organized a gathering, I encourage you to contact your neighbors and organize one.
North St. Paul invites you to hold a block party to meet and socialize with your neighbors. If you would like a city official to attend your event, you need to submit an application by July 31. For more information visit http://www.ci.north-saint-paul.mn.us/ and click on Events, or contact Laurie at 747-2504.
Also in North St. Paul, Christ Lutheran Church, at 2475 E. 17th Ave., will host a National Night Out Celebration from 6-9 pm. Festivities include food, games for kids, face painting and the Minnesota Zoo Mobile. For more information visit http://www.ci.north-saint-paul.mn.us/ and click on Events, or contact Laurie at 747-2504.
The Maplewood Police Department is sponsoring National Night Out in conjunction with the National Association of Town Watch. To register your block party call the Maplewood National Night Out hotline at 249-2700 or visit http://www.ci.maplewood.mn.us/index.aspx?NID=467.
If you live in Oakdale, register your block party for a visit from your public safety professional by calling Police Officer Michelle Stark at 738-1025. This year, Minnesotans have developed their own program to celebrate National Night Out, called "Night to Unite". Sponsored by the Minnesota Crime Prevention Association, AAA of Minnesota/Iowa and local law enforcement agencies, Night to Unite offers neighborhoods and communities the opportunity to strengthen partnerships, organize, educate and generate support for local anti-crime programs.
For more information on Night to Unite visit http://www.mncpa.net/ or call 651-554-3230. Getting to know your neighbors and becoming familiar with your neighborhood is a great first step in combating crime. By knowing who lives in your neighborhood and their activities, you can more easily detect unusual or suspicious activity and individuals who don't belong. Also, when neighbors communicate with each other about criminal incidents, they can help each other prevent and deter the occurrence of more crime. For information on neighborhood watch groups, contact your local law enforcement agency.
Here are some tips for preventing crime during the summer months, courtesy of the Oakdale Police Department:
• Lock your door when you are outside. Someone might be watching and waiting for the opportunity to walk into your unlocked home while you are out in the backyard doing yard work.
• Lock your main level windows when you leave for work or go to bed at night to ensure burglars can't cut through the screen for an easy entry to your home. Also, don't leave property in plain sight next to open windows as thieves can easily cut through the screen and reach in.
• Shut your garage door. Leaving your garage door open allows thieves easy access to your property.
• Be sure to shut and lock your garage and sheds during nighttime. Turn on your outside lights. With more foot traffic in neighborhoods during evening hours, turning on your exterior lights may deter criminal activity on your property.
• Deliver outgoing mail to a postal box. By dropping your mail off at a U.S. postal mail box instead of leaving it in an unsecured mail box, you ensure that identity thieves and check forgers can't access your personal information. As always, please contact me with questions or suggestions about any issue. You can reach me at 296-6820 (Capitol) or 770-0283 (home), send email to sen.chuck.wiger@senate.mn, or write to 323 State Capitol, St. Paul, MN 55155. Please visit my Senate website at senate.mn/senatorwiger. I also encourage you to visit me at the Capitol, or let me know if you'd like me to stop by your home or apartment. Also, please tune in to my local cable TV show, "Your Capitol: What's Up?" which appears on public access channels 15 and 16.
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