The next General Meeting will be January 20th at 6:30 P.M. at the Police Department on Creighton Avenue. With the "difficult" weather upon us, please remember to call one of the CCW officers if the weather happens to be inclement on the 20th. Make a New Year’s resolution to start attending our monthly meetings. You may get some very beneficial information to make your 2009 a great year.

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RESOLUTIONS -

You are bombarded with suggestions that you make some New Year’s resolutions at this time of the year and I am going to add my suggestions to your list. Suggestion #1 is to get your FREE annual credit report from one of the credit bureaus. If you start in January, it is easy to calculate the due dates of your next reports (4 months apart). You should keep a record of which credit bureau you used so that you do not use the same one within a year’s time.  You can register with the credit bureaus to "freeze" credit checks on your account by other companies and any applications for credit by anyone other than yourself, but decide for yourself whether the safety measures are worth any possible future problems with acquiring credit or loans when you may need them. From all reports that I have read, the crime of identity theft is increasing.  Not everyone will become a victim, and the gun is "not always loaded" either. The one thing I have learned from the reports is that identity theft indiscriminately can happen to ANYONE, even to someone that is not alive. You do not have to have money, have expensive property, or possess lots of credit. The reports show that all you need is a name and a social security number or identification number.  Please make the resolution to check your credit report.

Resolution #2 is for you to start a "neighborhood watch". Some questions you need to consider as you begin are:

"What do you want the neighborhood watch to do?" You should expect the goal to be to watch your house, your property, and your family. "Who is the most important person of this neighborhood watch going to be?"  There can be only ONE important person that maintains all of the essential knowledge of your house, property, and family and that is YOU!  Others can help you watch, but you will have to share some of your knowledge for them to know what to watch and when to watch. "So how many people do your need for a neighborhood watch that will protect you?" If you think about it, only one and that one is you. You may realize at this point that YOU cannot be watching your house and everything you have 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Conclusion - a neighborhood watch, to be effective and efficient, should have more members than just you. "Is the person at the far end of the neighborhood necessary to be included in your watch?" That neighbor cannot watch your property from his house, but he can let you know of incidents happening at his end that will probably be happening at your end in the future.  Shared information is very essential in a neighborhood watch.  The number of neighbor members is not a critical factor.  The more you have, especially around you, the more effective your watch will be. So, resolve to start a neighborhood watch by becoming its first member.  As conditions improve, include your adjacent neighbors. You may be very happily and beneficially surprised at the results.

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2009 CHANGE -

You will notice "Return Service Requested" printed on the front of your future newsletters. This is mandated by the Post Office and will return all undelivered newsletters - at a first class postage rates. CCW cannot afford that kind of expense so if your newsletter is returned, you will be DELETED from our mailing list.  You might keep a newsletter for your records, so that you can contact our organization or visit our Website if the letters help you in any way.  We will continue to skip distribution every other month for the neighborhood presidents (RED mail tab).