About 50 people from the Buena and Zillah area attended an information meeting and potluck Jan. 21, at Buena Grange to learn more about establishing a block watch program.
Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin shared information about the resources his organization could offer, as well as his personal recipe for Apple Betty that he brought for the potluck.
Irwin encouraged those residents who were “tired of being victimized” to get involved in a block watch program.
He said his department relied on the eyes and ears of block watch members to help prevent crime and apprehend those who commit it.
He said that coverage of the county by his deputies on a given night ranges from five officers on a good night to three officers on a regular night.
He said the upper valley is “going gangbusters” in block watch activity, and he encouraged more residents in the outlying areas to get involved.
“If you get involved, I guarantee you’ll feel better,” Irwin said.
He stressed that forming a block watch was in many respects “as simple as knowing your neighbors, and setting up a phone tree,” to alert neighbors about suspicious activity.
“I want you to b e more determined than the gangs are,” Irwin said. “There are a lot more of us than there are of them. This is our Yakima County.”
Also addressing the attendees was Lt. Brian Winter, coordinator of the Yakima County Citizen Patrol.
He said the department will “partner with any agency that will work with us.”
He also encouraged anyone who observes suspicious activity to call the Sheriff’s office.
“You’re not bothering us when you call us,” Winter said.
Lt. Max James, who also addressed attendees, echoed Winter’s comments.
“If you don’t tell us, we don’t know,” said James. “We love catching bad guys.”
In later comments, Irwin reminded attendees that Aug. 3 is National Night Out, an event intended to help bring neighbors together and encourage formation of block watches in local communities.
Irwin also said a new Sheriff’s Office satellite office will be built and operational in the Zillah Lakes complex, perhaps as early as July 1.
It will replace the office in Buena that was destroyed by arson about two years ago.
He said the new facility will be available for block watch activities.
Other speakers included Ric Cole, West Valley block watch coordinator, Carol Holden of Citizens for Safe Yakima Valley Communities, Francisco Maltos, a Toppenish block watch coordinator, and Mark McAllister, Buena/Zillah block watch coordinator.
McAllister said getting a block watch started also offered benefits other than crime prevention and apprehension.
He said that becoming familiar with one’s neighbors and establishing lines of communication had helped find lost animals and also resulted in activities such as the Helping Hands Project, in which volunteers helped the elderly in their community with yard cleanup and home maintenance.
Maltos, who worked to form a block watch in his neighborhood about eight months ago, said the next meeting of his group would take place in March.
“It’s a way to contribute to our community rather than taking away from it,” he said.
He said one of the major benefits of the program was that “we got to know the neighbors.”
During his presentation, Cole also stressed the importance of connecting with neighbors.
“When you get to know your neighbors, then you know who the strangers are,” he said.
The meeting concluded with a presentation two officers from the Yakima Police Department gang enforcement unit, who talked about the history of criminal street gangs and their activities the Yakima Valley.
They stressed the importance of eliminating graffiti within 24 hours, and also of photographing the graffiti before it is painted out.
The graffiti photos can be used as evidence to apprehend and prosecute those who do it, the officers said.
Complete information about setting up a block watch and the resources that are available to residents who wish to get involved is available by visiting the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office Web site at www.yakimacounty.us/blockwatch.