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Wednesday's Internet Edition, January 07, 2009.
Neighbors come together at National Night Out
By Kymm Griffin
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By Kymm Griffin
Staff Writer
For the neighbors surrounding Greer Basin Park, National Night Out was the perfect opportunity to come together and celebrate the changes taking place in their neighborhood.
Since 2003, Diane Grieco has kept a watchful eye on her neighborhood as the Neighborhood Watch captain.
“I love it,” said Grieco, about the program.
Grieco has worked closely with the Galt Police Department and Officer T.J. Guidotti to bring about changes in the area. She has participated in everything from monthly meetings at the police station to photographing strange vehicles on her street.
“T.J. has got us trained. We know how to spot gangs,” said Grieco. She continued saying that now when she see kids in the neighborhood, she looks for gangs colors on them and does not hesitate to call the police when she spots suspicious people in her neighborhood.
“I’ve made calls alright, and they’re pretty quick to respond. I’m pleased with the service,” said Grieco.
Grieco is forthright about her protective nature towards her neighborhood and all the kids that live near by. She frequently videos strangers in the neighborhood to record license plates and even sets up a tripod at night just in case anything happens.
“My neighbor has told me that she’s happy there’s someone on the block like me,” said Grieco, who also admits that she doesn’t mind being known as the “crazy lady” on the street.
Over the years, Grieco has watched her neighborhood grow and change. During the last five years when the housing market was booming, Grieco watched as younger and younger kids started to move in. Grieco uses events like National Night Out to reach out specifically to those kids and keep them away from gangs.
“We passed out 175 flyers,” said Grieco, neighborhood watch captain for Lapwing Lane and Spoonbill Streets. “The neighborhood kids really helped out.”
To attract the kids on her streets that range in age from 2 to 13 years old, Grieco enlisted the help of her friends, Elsie and Gary Greenich, and all of their farm animals.
The Greenichs brought out a petting zoo complete with bunnies, goats, kittens, guinea pigs and pony for the kids to enjoy.
Root beer floats were also handed out for free and even KAT Country 103 was on hand to provide music.
While Grieco has enjoyed being the neighborhood watch captain, she is also thankful for other neighbors who are stepping up to help make changes. After serving for five years, Grieco is ready to let Christina Arinaga take over as captain.
Shortly after moving in across the street from the Greer Basin Park, Arinaga knew that she had to get involved and help improve her neighborhood.
“There’s a lot of stuff in the neighborhood that I don’t agree with,” said Arinaga. She added that she routinely sees youth and young adults hanging out at the park in the middle in the night.
“We want to make it a nice neighborhood,” said Arinaga.
For more information about starting a Neighborhood Watch program in your area, call 366-7000.
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