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Jeer: Vandalism in Warren
Residents in Bisbee’s Warren area are getting tired of seeing criminal damage on their or their neighbors’ properties.
On Tuesday, Bisbee police Sgt. Taron Maddux told the Bisbee City Council that between July 9 and Aug. 9, 19 of 21 calls in the Warren District were about criminal damage. And in a yearlong review, 277 calls in the city were regarding criminal damage, with Warren reporting the most.
The cost, residents reported, was about $30,000 in damage.
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Maddux told the council and residents who were present that it’s hard for police to prevent criminal damage, and there are typically no witnesses. He urged residents and business owners to put in security measures, including lighting.
Councilman Bennie Scott urged the public to get involved.
Yes, the public can play a role by watching for characters acting suspiciously. By reporting them to police, the hope would be the police would be able to put together an effort to tackle the criminal damage.
It does take a team effort to combat crime, and we hope the Warren community, with the Police Department’s aid, can find a way to end the costly crime that is occurring.
Cheer: Grants for schools
It’s always good news when local agencies earn grants. They help to fund programs that provide a variety of services in our area.
This week, Carmichael Elementary School and Village Meadows Elementary School were told they both received five-year 21st Century Community Learning Center grants. The grants will provide $500,000 to the schools over that time period.
The money will be used to create learning centers that will target children and their families in areas of academic achievement and physical fitness. It also will help fund parenting classes and science and computer classes.
All of this is geared toward helping to round out the children’s lives. It should also give them experiences that they may not have experienced before.
And with parenting classes and family-oriented efforts, it helps to build the foundation of our communities, hopefully creating a healthier and more supportive environment for some of our community’s youth.
Jeer: West Nile at its peak
West Nile virus isn’t something that all of us are aware of or think about every day.
But we probably should.
This week, Craig Levy, program manager of the vector borne disease program for Arizona Department of Health Services, told reporter Dana Cole that we are just starting to enter the peak of the West Nile season.
With that warning, we should raise our awareness, for not only can the mosquitoes that carry West Nile be nagging pests, but they also can carry sickness — more than 10,400 people who suffered from West Nile virus between 1999 to 2007 had what was considered a serious illness, affecting the brain, spine and nervous system. And there have been 960 human deaths in that time frame.
Arizona had 42 human cases last year.
This kind of news means we all need to be working to prevent mosquito breeding sites. And it’s easy to do. Empty standing water from such containers as flower pots, buckets and barrels. Change the water in pet dishes and bird baths at least once weekly. Get rid of old tires, as they hold water. Empty children’s wading pools and store them on their sides when not in use.
And remember to wear long-sleeved shirts and use insect repellent.
If we all do our part, we can help decrease the impact of West Nile. There’s no time to wait.
