Monday, December 31, 2007

Holiday Tree Collection

The City's Department of Solid Waste Management will collect holiday trees for recycling for all Solid Waste customers from January 2 - 31, 2007. Trees should be placed at the curb by 7 a.m. on residents' normal household collection day.

Trees taller than six feet should be cut in half. Residents should also remove all decorations, including tinsel, lights, garland, and ornaments, as well as stands, nails, and other hardware. Residents are also asked to not place trees in bags. Trees that have been completely sprayed with fake snow ("flocked") will not be recycled, but will be removed by the City for disposal.

Holiday trees may also be dropped off at the City's Waste Disposal & Recycling Center at 2115 East Club Boulevard, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., at no charge until January 31. Trees delivered after that date will be subject to the usual disposal fees.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Reporting A Crime

FYI, On Dec 19th a neighbor arrived home and ran in for a minute, leaving their car unlocked in their driveway. Someone went in the car and stole a pocketbook and a few other misc. items.

Please keep your cars locked, personal items inside and garage doors closed to be safe. Please report any suspicious activity to the Police and call 911 in case of an emergency!

From The Durham PD website:

Discovering a Crime - If you observe a crime in progress or discover one that was committed earlier, there are several basic things you can do to assist the Police Department.

If the crime is in progress, please call 911 and provide as much information as possible. Please give the location of the crime, type of crime, victim and suspect information, a suspect description if possible, and a vehicle description. Try to go to a safe place until officers arrive.

If the crime was committed earlier, do not disturb anything and call the police. Give the 911 telecommunicator as much information as possible and wait for the officer to arrive.

Reporting the Crime When the officer arrives, he or she will need certain information about the crime. The officer will ask what you observed and if there were other witnesses. The officer will need your name, address and telephone number. Try to remember as many details about the crime as possible and provide this information to the officer.
Durham Woman Catches Burglary Suspects in Act

Posted: Dec. 27 12:31 p.m. –WRAL.com

"Durham - A woman in North Durham may have helped solve at least half a dozen break-ins in her area after she confronted three strangers who broke into her house on Hallmark Road Wednesday.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she came home and found three men upstairs. One of them had her purse, so she confronted them.
“She said she was struck, struck by one of the intruders,” said Lt. Stanley Harris with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman followed the intruders outside, and one of the men fired a gun, deputies said. The woman was not injured.
The woman quickly dialed 911, which helped authorities catch the suspects.
During the 911 call, the woman can be heard telling the dispatcher that the suspects were driving a white Cadillac.
Minutes later, a deputy responding to the scene spotted the vehicle and pulled it over.

All three men now face multiple charges. Authorities arrested Carlos Jones, Jameel Ray and Michael Pullium. Although he was listed in court document as “Michael Pullium,” investigators said his name is actually Mark Travers.
Ray was previously charged with murder and was out on bond awaiting trial.
Authorities believe the men were responsible for other break-ins in the area.

Neighbors said they believe the community is still safe. Although, now they are a bit more inclined to take the neighborhood watch more seriously."

Although there have been no recent break-ins in Grande Park, to my knowledge, Hallmark Rd. is right around the corner.

Please contact your neighborhood watch block captain and be sure that your contact information is up to date! And please, keep an eye out for anything suspicious in the neighborhood --- and call 911!



Monday, December 24, 2007

AND THE WINNER IS...

The Matthews family of 5402 Carey Place is this year's winner of the 1st Annual Grande Park Holiday Decorating Contest! Check out their festive lights and animated decorations!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

FIRST ANNUAL GRANDE PARK HOLIDAY DECORATING CONTEST

Please join in the festivities this year for the FIRST ANNUAL GRANDE PARK HOLIDAY DECORATING CONTEST! Show off your decorating style, in lights, garland or anything your heart desires to show your holiday enthusiasm.

Be the most festive house decorated in Grande Park and
win a $25 gift card to Lowes!

The social committee will judge decorations on Sunday December 23 and award the most festive and best decorated house in the neighborhood with a $25 Lowes gift card!
Drought snuffs Durham luminarias

Unfortunately, due to the drought and dry conditions in the area, we will not have the annual Luminaries in Grandee Park. Luminarias, were banned Monday by the Durham fire chief. Something about open flames inside paper bags next to tinderbox front yards made Chief Bruce Pagan uncomfortable. He cited a state ban on candles placed more than 100 feet from a home.