by Dustin Schutte
Pharos-Tribune
LOGANSPORT —
With help from the United Way and the Emergency Management Agency, Cass County has officially launched a Neighborhood Watch program.
Discussions about starting a crime watch program date back to October. The United Way received nearly $9,000 in grant money from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security allowing neighborhoods throughout the county to begin organizing watch programs.
“Everybody wants to be more secure,” said Amy Beechy, the program coordinator.
With the grant, the United Way was able to print informational brochures, buy official signs and train police officers, the most important aspect of starting the program.
“Members of the Logansport Police Department went through several hours of training for this,” Beechy said. “It’s very important that situations are handled properly.”
Beechy said that there are currently no neighborhoods that have a watch program established, but there are a few people who are currently laying the groundwork.
“There are at least five people who are trying to get this going,” she said. “Fifty percent of a neighborhood has to show interest before the program can be put into effect.”
One of the individuals working to organize a Neighborhood Watch is Barb Snyder, a resident of Fairfax apartments.
“I really want to see this thing grow to hopefully stop some of the vandalism,” she said. “People need to know that they can’t terrorize the area.”
Before moving to Logansport, Snyder was a coordinator of similar programs in Charleston, S.C., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
By the end of the year, Beechy hopes to have at least 10 programs in the county and hopes to get participation from smaller towns.
“The goal is to reach out with this program,” she said. “We’d like to have one established in Walton and Royal Center as well.”
Though the program is in its early stages, Snyder is hoping that it will be effective in cleaning up the area.
“Go drive around,” she said. “All you see is graffiti. It wasn’t like this 15 years ago.”
• Dustin Schutte is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at dustin.schutte@pharostribune.com or (574)-732-5148.
Need info?
For more information, contact Cass County Emergency Management Agency at 574-722-2484 or stop by the office at 1227 N. Ind. 17.
