April 20, 2006

NE Police Station Crime Prevention Fair

When: Saturday, May 6th, 2006, 10 AM - 2 PM

DISPLAYS & DEMONSTRATIONS WILL INCLUDE:

DPD Helicopter · Careflite Helicopter ·
Mobile Storefront · Police Motorcycles & Squad Cars ·
Fire Trucks & Ambulance · Bike Patrols
FREE H.E.A.T. Registration and VIN Etching
Bomb Squad · SWAT Unit · Mounted Unit ·
North Texas Poison Control

and much much more.

Free hotdogs and soda

April 19, 2006

2006 Dallas Citizen Survey

Dallas Surveys Residents to Rate Quality of City Services
Random Survey Being Mailed to 8,400 households

The City of Dallas is conducting a Citizen Survey through May 15 to rate the quality of city services for everything from fire services, garbage collection, animal control, city parks, and alley maintenance to traffic signal timing and public information. The City of Dallas 2006 Citizen Survey is being conducted by the National Research Center, an affiliate of International City Management Association. The survey will be mailed to 600 households in each Dallas City Council District.

For the statistical validity of the survey, only those randomly selected will be sent the survey. This is a random survey; it is it important that everyone who receives a survey completes it and returns it by May 15. Please be assured that your answers will be kept anonymous.

Survey results will be shared with the public and the Dallas City Council in June. This is an annual survey that will allow the City to continue to track quality of life issues and rate city services.

For more information about the City of Dallas 2006 Citizen Survey, visit www.dallascityhall.com or call 311.




City of Dallas 2006 Citizen Survey
Frequently Asked Questions


Why is Dallas doing a citizen survey? The City of Dallas is conducting a citizen survey to become better informed about our customers’ perspectives and expectations for government. Survey results will be used to: measure service performance; benchmark service quality, and evaluate policies.

When will the surveys be mailed? Surveys will be mailed beginning April 17, 2006. The surveys should be mailed back by May 15, 2006.

What kinds of questions are included on the survey? Randomly selected households will be asked to rate the quality of city services ranging from garbage collection to 3-1-1. There are also questions related to general characteristics of the city such as ratings of safety, appearance of city facilities, and ease of doing business in Dallas.

What if I don’t get a survey, but still want to participate? 600 households in each Dallas City Council District were randomly selected to participate in the survey. Only those randomly selected will be sent the survey. It is important for the statistical validity of the survey that all respondents be randomly selected.

What will be done with the survey results? Survey results will be presented to the Dallas City Council in June, and will allow the City to continue to track quality of life issues and city services and also to compare Dallas city services with those of other cities.

Is the survey anonymous? Yes. Survey responses are completely anonymous and cannot be traced back to any respondent.

Is the survey available in other languages? The Dallas survey is also available in Spanish.

Who is conducting the survey? The City of Dallas 2006 Citizen Survey is being conducted by the National Research Center, an affiliate of International City Management Association.

City of Dallas 2006 Citizen Survey
National Citizen Survey Fact Sheet
The National Citizen Survey is a collaborative effort between National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) and The International City/County Management Association (ICMA).
The survey and its administration are standardized to assure high quality survey methods and comparable results across The National Citizen Survey jurisdictions. Participating households are selected at random and the household member who responds is selected without bias.

Multiple mailings give each household more than one chance to complete the survey. Results are statistically re-weighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community.

The National Citizen Survey customized for this jurisdiction was developed in close cooperation with the Dallas City Council and city staff. The City of Dallas selected items from a menu of questions about services and issues that affect the community; defined the jurisdiction boundaries used for sampling; and developed additional policy questions relevant to Dallas. All materials will be mailed out in both English and Spanish and all responses will remain anonymous.

It's Not for Eric Estrada.

Crime Watch and VIP: I'ts still not to late to get into this Saturday's CHIPS
(Citizens Helping In Parking Solutions) class to be held at the Northeast Sub
Station, 9915 E. Northwest Highway from 8:00 am til 2:00 pm. CHIPS help write parking citations for handicapped parking violations.

To be eligible, you must had already attended a VIP class. That means I have an approved
application on file for you. If interested just let me know at 214-671-0160 and
just show up Saturday morning. The date of the class is April 22, 2006.


////Ron
Carpenter

Some Bad Apples in the Neighborhood

From a neighbor who was a victim of a recent scam.

I let myself get scammed and I feel like an idiot because I knew it was happening from the start. I really do not know why I went through with it. I was having a garage sale a couple of weeks ago when a pickup with "fresh" fruit and veggies went by. I love fresh stuff, so I wanted to see if I could get some things. The truck was full of about 5 people and the head lady was busy talking with my neighbor. The "son" jumped out and would not let me look at the produce or speak to him about it. He said, "you have to wait for my Mom". She sold a bunch to my neighbor and came to me next. She was talking very fast and I think she was probably on speed or meth (drugs) The fruit she had me try was incredible, and she was SO persistant! I really only wanted a small amount of things, but she said she could only sell a big amount (ding ding...stupid me) I almost wanted to pay her to go away because I was having the garage sale and needed to tend to it. She would not stop talking and shoving samples at me. She would not move away from my doorstep! I even told her to please move because the juice is going to draw ants and she was blocking my door for customers! Well, the price was $ 87 for a big box of stuff. I "convinced" her to give me half a box for half the price ...OK, I know, I am a sucker! Anyway, when I got the stuff, which I did not pick out myself, because I was busy with my sale, was all total "expletive."
So, moral of the story...DO NOT BE STUPID LIKE ME and give your hard-earned money to these folks! They have a good scam going and I KNEW IT and STILL did it! I can see how someone else could also do the same...afterall, my neighbor bought the full box!

My friends, who were there, also later wondered why they had so many people in the truck. Perhaps these people are acting as "body guards" in case someone puts up a big stink? That is just strictly a guess, but who knows? It was a white pickup truck. I wish I had gotten the plate number. Anyway, people in our neighborhood should be warned about his and not to be bullied and not to be stupid like I was!

It happened in 8600 block of Lockhaven Drive on 4-9-06

Tax Exempt Apartments are Costing Big Bucks!

At the April 17th Lake Highlands Area Improvement Association general meeting President Steve Wakefield announced that the LHAIA had filed a complaint with the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation who issued the financing for the Creekwood and Bent Creek apartments in our neighborhood. Both complexes have an exceptionally high incidence of crime and calls for police assistance while the ownership pays no taxes.
We encourage you to write or call Katherine Closman with the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation, email kclosmann@tsahc.org or call her at 512-477-3555, ext 424. Please take 2 minutes and let your voice be heard; together we can make a difference!

Robin Moss Norcross
VP Communications
Lake Highlands Area Improvement Association
214.662.9133