June Newsletter
Filed under Newsletters
Each month when I sit down to write this article I find myself going through a period of reflection. This month is no exception. But this month is a little bit different. You see, June 2010 marks the third anniversary of our community crusade. The Greater Mission Bend Area Council had its humble beginnings three years ago when a group of citizens reacted to a series of brazen robberies that were taking place in the driveways of our community. It seemed there were individuals from a local apartment community who were venturing into our neighborhood and literally holding people up as they pulled into their driveways. This made the news and gave the Mission Bend area a kind of notoriety. They came to be referred to as the Mission Bend Driveway Robberies. It was the kind of notoriety we can all live without.
In response to these events a meeting was held at the newly opened community fire station on Bellaire. The fire trucks were moved out of the service bay and seating was set up for a surprisingly large gathering of local citizens. If you were one of those in attendance you got to hear Fort Bend County Commissioner Bob Hebert address the concerns of our community. You also got to hear representatives from various law enforcement agencies speak on the threat of crime in our neighborhoods. That was all well and good and was long overdue. There were a couple of very interesting events which followed this meeting.
For one thing, we found out that the citizens of our community would stand up and speak out about the problems of gang activity and other criminal activity in this area. Who knew? Secondly, there was a redoubling of effort by local law enforcement agencies to bring an end to the driveway robberies. This happened very quickly as the perpetrators were caught shortly thereafter. I would say that the police agencies involved heard our concerns – and acted on them. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a group of citizens came together in a quest to take the spirit of the community meeting to a new level. These concerned citizens began to meet and eventually became the founding members of the Greater Mission Bend Area Council. The rest, as they say, is history.
Well, three years have come and gone. Much time and energy have been expended in a quest to provide our collective neighborhoods an organization to address the many challenges we all face. The GMBAC has been successful in bringing awareness of our community to political leaders in both Harris and Fort Bend counties. We are hard at work defining problems and setting the stage for real solutions to the many challenges that face our community. And on June 26 we will host a special Town Hall meeting to celebrate our three year history and to address our citizens concerns about crime prevention.
Yes, crime is still a serious problem in this area. It is a problem in any area of the region. Unlike other areas in the unincorporated regions of Harris and Fort Bend counties we now have an infrastructure to address the issue of crime. I think that I can say with all candor that crime is the first agenda item on the plate for the Greater Mission Bend Area Council. Just like three years ago we want to invite all the citizens of this community to join us as we offer a second Town Hall meeting to address crime prevention. Our slate of speakers will be announced soon. I can tell you that the meeting will take place on June 26 beginning at 8:45 AM and lasting until 1 PM. The meeting will be held at Mission Bend United Methodist Church (www.mbumc.org) at 3710 Highway 6 South, across the street from Wal-Mart. Please check our web site at www.GMBAC.com as we post information and updates about the meeting. So, mark your calendars, come early and plan to stay late. We plan to have a program which will inform you and which will encourage you about the future of this area. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Mike Martin
President
Greater Mission Bend Area Council
E-mail: mmartin@GMBAC.com
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Shooting at local apartment
Filed under Crime Report
A story in today’s Chronicle details the shooting of a man at a local apartment. According to information provided, this complex is on Addicks Clodine in the Clayton community. A link to the story is provided: http://www.chron.com/disp/discuss.mpl/metropolitan/7077692.html?p=2
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Town Hall Meeting
Filed under Calendar of Events, Crime Report
Saturday, June 26 the Greater Mission Bend Area Council will host a Town Hall meeting for the citizens of the Greater Mission Bend Area. The focus of the meeting will be on issues of crime in our community and the steps we can all take to make our community a safer place to live.
The meeting will be held at Mission Bend United Methodist Church at 3710 Highway 6 South (just south of Wal-Mart). The church web site is www.mbumc.org and includes a map of the location. The meeting will begin with a registration at 8:45 and will continue until 1:00 PM. This will be a dynamic and informative meeting and will provide useful information about how to deal with crime in our community. Representatives of communities outside of the Mission Bend area are welcome to attend.
Our special guest speaker will be Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey. Mr. Healey talk will be followed by presentations from local law enforcement agencies regarding crime prevention. This meeting is designed to give our citizens real and valuable information about how to address the problem of crime in our community.
This meeting will also present information about forming a crime watch program in your local neighborhood. There will be a special workshop dedicated to actually setting up crime watch programs. Check back for the date of this workshop.