KELSEYVILLE — It started at a town hall meeting in February; Nancy Rhoades stood up and asked law enforcement personnel about forming a neighborhood watch program.
“They took me up on my challenge,” Rhoades said. “We got the ball rolling.”
Now, she is part of a 20-member neighborhood watch in Kelseyville and helped organize another town hall meeting at Kelseyville High School Monday evening.
For nearly two hours, personnel from the Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) and the Lake County Probation Department (LCPD) gave presentations on crime prevention and answered questions from the audience, Rhoades, a retired probation officer, said.
Brian Martin of the LCPD spoke about the conditions at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Martin mentioned Assembly Bill 109, which shifts the responsibility for incarcerating inmates from the state to counties and has caused some overcrowding at the Lake County jail. The budget is another issue the jail faces, Martin said.
Jose Martinez of the LCPD, LCSO Undersheriff Patrick Turturici and Deputy Cynthia Radoumis were also present at the meeting.
LCSO Sgt. Gary Frace gave a presentation about gangs in Lake County and their history, including the role graffiti plays claiming territories.
The first town hall meeting earlier this year was in the wake of the murder of Forrest Seagrave on Jan. 18 at the Mt. Konocti 75 Station, Store 24 in Kelseyville”s Main Street.
Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown hosted the event and helped coordinate Monday”s town hall meeting as well, Rhoades said.
She said that since the first meeting, several neighborhood watch programs have sprouted up in Kelseyville.
Members of a neighborhood watch in Clearlake Oaks that is 20-years strong were at the meeting for support and guidance, and residents of Spring Valley who want to start their own program also attended.
“It”s all still in the early stages,” Rhoades said, “but we really have some momentum.”
Other areas of the neighborhood watch program Rhoades wants to look into is emergency preparedness and fire safety.
The Kelseyville Business Association also recently purchased neighborhood watch signs.
To form a neighborhood watch program a person should register with the area”s police department and compile a list of members, Rhoades said.
There will be a Kelseyville neighborhood watch meeting on Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Methodist Church on Main Street.
For information, call Rhoades at 279-9119 or email nrhoades@pacific.net.
Berenice Quirino is the assistant editor for Lake County Publishing. She can be reached at 263-5636, ext. 42 or at bereniceq@record-bee.com.
