NENA General Meeting and Board Elections

The NENA general meeting and board elections are scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 2. The event will be held at Phoenix College in the Willo Room located at the NE corner of 11th Avenue and Flower Street.

A speaker from the office of Vice Mayor Tom Simplot will be at the event to discuss neighborhood blight, graffiti, foreclosures and crime summit results. Our new community action officer with Phoenix Police, Al Knecht, will also be speaking at the event.

All residents are invited to come out and vote for board officers. We need new members to help keep the association running, so if you are interested in running for a NENA office, please submit your name, position desired, phone number and email address before the May 2 meeting to Ginger Baron at gingerlbaron@cox.net or 423-3496. Ballots are made in advance, so Ginger needs the information prior to the meeting.

Alley clean-up/bulk trash collection begins on May 16-May 25

The City can fine you if you place bulk trash in the alleywaysduring times that are not for bulk trash pick-up. Bulk trash caninclude tree limbs, grass clippings, old appliances, TVs, furniture,carpeting and cardboard moving boxes. You can also refer to http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshcoll.html tofind out what can be collected and won't be collected. Please only putbulk trash behind your OWN yard, not your neighbors. If this ishappening, please call the City and they will talk to your neighbors.

The City has a new site where you can type in your address and find out the placement and pickup dates at http://phoenix.gov/garbage/trshmain.html.

In the meantime, please trim your weeds in the alley and if possiblespray with weed killer. As it gets warmer these weeds dry out and thenthey are a fire hazard. Everyone is responsible for the areaimmediately behind their house to the middle of the alley. The City canand will fine you if you are reported.

The main number is 602-262-7251.

October 22, 2008
This incident occurred on streets bordering N.E.N.A. and was unrelated to the neighborhood. At approximately 10:50 p.m., Thursday, October 23, 2008, shots were fired in the area of 19th Avenue and Thomas Road. Unknown suspects in an early 90's model Honda fired at two young adult victims as they were traveling west in their vehicle on Thomas from 19th Avenue. Both of the victims were struck by the bullets and the driver lost control of the car in the area of 21st Avenue and Thomas, crashing through a resident's block wall fence bordering Thomas Road. Both victims were transported to a hospital in serious but not life-threatening conditions. Call police if you observed the incident as it occurred.

September 17, 2008
Property owners at 3029 N. 16th Avenue (north east corner of 16th and Avalon) want to alert NENA residents to an unsettling event that occurred at that location on Wednesday, September 17th. Their home was broken into at 9:45 AM. The men knocked on the door (resident was home but didn't answer, thinking they were solicitors) and 10 minutes later the resident found them in the backyard headed toward the rear access doors of the house. The resident alerted them someone was home--scaring them away and they hopped the south side of the fence where they had initially gained access. There were three men, all late teens, two Hispanic and one white; all were carrying backpacks. Phoenix Police were called and responded.

August 24, 2008
(Reported by Lisa Poulin) I just wanted to give you all a heads up and to spread the word to your neighbors in case they should see another incident. About 6/6:30 tonight a red four-door sedan pulled a u-turn in front of our house on 16th Avenue and Avalon. A white sports car was following it. The red car started to make it's turn, pulled up on the sidewalk across the street from our house and then before he completed his turn, the driver got out of the car and said something to the driver of the white car. The red car completed the turn and then pulled about halfway down the alley south of our house and the white car followed it (the alley is between 16th Ave. and 17th Drive and Verde and Avalon). Neither car looked familiar. After they pulled down the alley, they all got out and seemed to be doing something behind the bushes on the east side of the alley. I called Crime Stop and the police cruisers along with the helicopter arrived about 20-30 minutes after the two cars left. They were in the alley for a good 10 minutes before they both left. It looked to be all men, but it was getting dark and our view was kind of obstructed. I'm assuming they were up to no good, so please keep your eyes out and be sure to report anything you see.

June 10, 2008
VEHICLE VANDALISM - Smashed Windows: June 9th, various locations throughout NENA - cars had windows smashed. Locations reported to me included: south side of Earll Drive between 18th and 16th avenues and on the south side Earll between 18th and 19th Avenue. Police were contacted and reports taken. VEHICLE VANDALISM - Metal Theft: 3021 N.18th Avenue/Earll - Tuesday, June 3rd, at approximately 6:00 p.m., a maroon pickup truck parked next to a resident's pickup t parked on the street in front of their house. There were two white males in the truck. One of them cut out the catalytic converter from the resident's truck. Another neighbor came upon them just as they finished the job. They threw the part in the back of their truck and sped north to Earll and then west toward 19th Avenue. The rear license plate had been covered and they were able to get away. Description: 2 white males, 25-40 yrs., older pick up truck with maroon stripe on side. Police were contacted and a report taken. This appears to be a new crime trend involving metal thefts. Criminals look for trucks that are higher off the ground for easier access as was the pickup truck in this case.

June 7, 2008
A sex offender is living in the neighborhood. His name is Bruce William Cunningham and he is living at 1501 W. Catalina Drive. He is 58 years old, 6 foot 2 inches, weighs 225 and has brown hair and brown eyes. He pled no contest to three individual cases of indecent exposure from December 1997 to February 1998 in Phoenix. This offender is constitutionally free to live wherever he chooses. Citizen abuse of this information to threaten, intimidate, or harass sex offenders will not be tolerated. Contact Det. R. Ruiz with any questions at 602-495-5260. His probation officer is Becky Shackelton at 602-506-3213.

May 17, 2008
The following information was provided by NENA resident, Barb Simpson: At approximately 3:20 PM today (Friday, May 16), I witnessed a mailbox thief on Flower Circle North. A male driver, in his early to mid-20s, positioned his car in the center of Flower Circle N heading west between my house at 1614 and next door to the east at 1618. Then he backed in hapharzardly to parallel park along the curb in front of Daryl and Sandy's house at 1605? or 1607?. He got out of the car to go up to their door and seconds later returned to his car, a new model black 2-door sedan car (Toyota I think, with a temp plate on rear--I'm clear on that), where he immediately pulled into the circular driveway at Gary and Kristi's house at1618. He was still facing west, when a female in her early 20s, exited the same car from the passenger's side. She went up to the free standing mailbox, put something in and simultaneously took something out, (flag was raised) and off the car went around the circle to exit around Flower to the west by June and Ellis's. I alerted Gary, and the police, and tried to call several neighbors. Found out Susie Thompson withnessed same thing. Unfortuneately I couldn't provide a clear description of the individuals (except the male was Hispanic and female was White, both slim) Police arrived and interviewed us. DO NOT put any outgoing mail on your clip or in your box (mail of the day had not arrived), especially outgoing bills with checks or account numbers! This couple is very brazen. They could be scoping the neighborhood for other opportunities such as incoming mail, account numbers, and government checks. They replaced the mail stolen from Gary with a stash of junk mail with yet another address on it. Please call Crime Stop immediately if you see this car or anything else going on out of the ordinary at 602-262-6151.

March 16, 2008
Please be on the lookout for graffiti vandals in our neighborhood. Homes/block walls have been hit in the past week--one of them twice in one week. The two locations that have been reported to the city's "Graffiti Busters" and Phoenix Police are 3131 N. 17th Drive and 3301 N. 17th Avenue. If you witness graffiti vandals in action, call police immediately (911). Be a good witness and get the-- license plate of any vehicle, suspect(s) description, clothing, male/female, physical description, direction of travel, etc. For more information on fighting graffiti, click on the link below: http://phoenix.gov/NBHDPGMS/grafbust.html

Want to find out about crime when it happens
Contact Connie Tyler at contyler@yahoo.com if you'd like to be added to her email list to be notified when crime in the neighborhood happens. Call Crime Stop at (602) 262-6151 for non-emergencies and 911 for serious crimes in progress.