North Second Street

Several Mailboxes were vandalized Tuesday night. The police were notified and information was given.

Code Enforcement Update

I checked with the town office and here is the basic status:

A code enforcer was hired in July to spend 2 to 4 hours a week on the job. It has been determined that our codes are not enforceable as they are currently written. Some legal issues I guess. So the town is in the process of rewriting the codes so they will be enforceable. There is no firm schedule to complete the update.

Codes cover a wide range of subjects from activities in public areas to care for private property. The focus/priority when enforcement kicks in will be on public area subjects such as street parking, curfew, etc and not so much focus on private property issues such as lawn care. Codes will still exist for private property but just don't expect the enforcer to take care of it on his own.

Since the codes are being rewritten it looks like an opportunity to get involved with the commissioners and change things. For example, I would like to replace my lawn mower with a couple goats but livestock has been prohibited since 1992.

October Update

What's the latest in the Woodsboro Area?
Please comment on any trends, activities or concerns.

Point of Rocks Interest

The neighborhood watch coordinator from Point of Rocks contacted the Woodsboro site administrator after seeing an article about our site in the Frederick News Post (9/23/2008). They hold quarterly face-to-face meetings and are using an e-mailing list of about 70 people. The coordinator thought the Woodsboro blog approach may work better and they are going to give it a try.

Code Enforcement

We've e:mailed a request to the town office for some information regarding the status of the town code enforcer. We'll post any responses.

Watch Activity

While this site has not resulted in earth shattering changes in Woodsboro, it has promoted some information sharing and dialogue. That's pretty much what it was designed for. Thanks to ALL who have participated.

We're still looking for regular representation from Copper Oaks I and II. We have had a couple nibbles but no one has taken the bait! Please contact the town office or commissioners if you are interested.

Happy Birthday America!

Thanks to all those participating in the Woodsboro Watch. We still need a couple more active participants to get solid coverage of all Woodsboro but so far it's going pretty well and feedback has been very positive.

All should feel free to comment on any problem activity in the Woodsboro area or on suggested improvements to this site.

Southern States

There had been vandalism accuring during the week of June 9 at Southern States. It appears that lights have been broken. Vents have been removed from the roof of the office location. Police were notified.

Theft

Last Monday night, June 2nd, a GPS unit was stolen from a resident's car on Scarlett Oak Terrace (Copper Oaks II).

Code Enforcement/ Sheriff Patrols

The town has acquired a Code Enforcer, a retired Frederick County Sheriff’s Deputy, who will be starting July 1st. This blog will try to get a link or somehow post the Town Codes so we will all know the expectations, “ I didn’t know you couldn’t ………..”. I'm sure they are available at the Town Office and may be on the web site but my quick check turned up empty.

The town will also be increasing the ’09 budget (starts July 1st) to support additional hours of active duty Sheriff’s Deputy coverage. Here are some specifics of the program that include this blog:

1. “He will keep a log of all stops and observations he makes. That log will be passed from deputy to deputy so we have consistency.

2. As he is beginning his shift, the deputy will review the past week’s blog updates posted by block captains so he can follow up/be where he needs to be etc.”

NORTH MAIN, SECOND AND ADAMS STREET

The Juveniles have set up shop at the old Flower Shop now and have also been seen starting a fire ring at the small park area that belongs to Rosewood Condos. Motor bikes have also begun to be a problem on both North Main and North Second Street. Curfews are not being observed during weekdays. Squeeling wheels and excessive speed have also started on North Second Street.

Woodsboro Action

Not much action that I'm aware of. Low crime activity makes for a boring website but a great town!

We're Linked!

The Woodsboro Town website now has a link to this site. Hopefully that will help spread the word about this site.

The most pressing near-term action is to get representatives from Copper Oaks I and II to round out geographic coverage for all of Woodsboro. We'll keep you posted.

The latest

The town website administrator will be contacted this week to link the town website to this site. It sounds like the town website will be undergoing some significant renovation in the near-term.

South Main Street

All is quiet on South Main Street. Police patrols are doing a good job managing traffic and speeders. Keep up the good work.

Downtown North and Adams Street

All has been quiet on these streets since there seems to be more police activity in the areas. I have noticed that any activity around the area of the flower shop that is not the norm to the juveniles that hang out there they seem to scatter. My thoughts are they believe these vehicles could be police.

Main Street

I would like to suggest Woodsboro Blog Watch set up a section called Main Steet, Adams Street and Second Street. This is an excellent service for our community.

Coppermine Activitiy

A Sheriff's cruiser and backup pulled a car over at the entrance to the Woodsboro Fire Company Activity Complex around 8pm tonight.

Town OKs the Site

This blog and the concept of an "electronic neighborhood watch" was presented at the Woodsboro Town workshop last monday, Feb 25th. You'll have to check town meeting minutes for the precise language but the commissioners approved three things, roughly paraphrased:

1. To support this site and provide a link from the town website to here.
2. They assigned a technical administrator for the site.
3. They designated the Woodsboro Park Commissioner as the park's block captain.

The need for block captains was discussed: Enough captains are needed to adequately represent the community. However, too many folks initiating posts on this site could get chaotic. It was generally agreed that a good sized group would include block captains for: Downtown North, Downtown South, Copper Oaks I, Copper Oaks II, and the Park. These folks will be supported by the technical administrator to teach them how to operate the site and help when troubles arise.

The block captains are expected to post discussions of their region. They can also communicate for those who don't have a computer or are unable or unwilling to participate directly. They will be granted administrative ability to initiate posts like this one titled, "Town OKs the Site". Any citizen will be able to comment on a post.

Recruitment efforts are underway. Please contact the town office or any of the commisioners if you are interested in volunteeering. Currently we have the technical administrator and the Park captain.

Update!

This month's town meeting was cancelled. The current plan is to discuss the site at the next town workshop, Feb 25th 7pm (4th Monday of each month).

Ready to Roll!

"The Watch" has received several e:mail and posted comments. All positive. We'll try to discuss this site at the next town meeting (Feb 12th, 7PM) and propose the following:

1. An electronic "neighborhood watch" can help address criminal activities in the Woodsboro area. Principally as a communication tool to law enforcement and town officials.

2. This Blog has functioned pretty well and is ready for implementation. No technical issues have surfaced.

3. "Block Captains" should manage the site content with one technical manager. Utilizing block captians will help ensure the content and dialogue better represent the scope of citizen concerns. It will also allow people not able or comfortable working with the blog to have their concerns included through their block captain.

4. The town will be requested to include a link to this site on the town web site.

5. Announcement of this site on town newsletters, such as those sent with water bills, will be requested to help maximize town involvement.

Beta Test

If you have comments on the structure, format and functional aspects of this site, please use this post for your comment. This site was conceived after the January 2008 town meeting. The plan is to share the results of the beta test with the town commissioners about a week before the February town meeting and then discuss the path forward at the meeting. Normally the meeting would be on Feb 12 , the second tuesday but that is primary elections in Maryland.

Block Captains?

A traditional neighborhood watch breaks a region into "blocks". A block is intended to be small enough that the captain can stay in touch with the residents. When the block captains then meet or communicate they can be pretty sure they are discussing the whole neighborhood. Back in 1994 Woodsboro had 12 blocks: the park, the industrial park, Copper Oaks Dr, Copper Oaks Ct, and the downtown region was broken up by streets and house numbers like "S. Main 200 & 300 blocks".

While the internet now allows everyone to communicate directly to The Watch, only an administrator can issue a new post, in other words, introduce a new subject which can then be commented on. Multiple administrators can be assigned to this blog. An administrator could be viewed as a Block Captain. They could make periodic postings commenting on the general state of things and they could bring up new issues. Just some food for thought as the potential of this site is discussed.

Sex Offender Registry tip

The Frederick County Sex Offender Registry (see the link on the right) is set up to search by zip code. It didn't work that way for me. I typed in 21798 and it listed the greater Frederick city region, several zip codes and lots of people! To narrow your search, once you have the long list of offenders up, hit Ctrl-F. That will bring up a word search window. Type in your zip code of interest to refine your search.

Sheriff Meeting

There was a public meeting with the Frederick County Sheriff last Wednesday, Jan 23rd. Here's a brief account: " The meeting went very well last night. There was approximately 30 people here and the first topic was the "little vandals". The Sheriff has agreed to have deputies in town more often and to also use unmarked and plain clothes deputies. There was also mention of possibly getting an officer on bike patrol once in a while. He encourages residents to call the Sheriff's Department with all complaints. He genuinely was concerned about the issue"

Other comments anyone?

Welcome to "The Watch"

...to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility..........

Woodsboro is generally a beautiful and tranquil place but we have our occasional problems. This site or "blog" has been established to promote communications about those problems and in doing so, help unite our people, our elected officials and law enforcement agencies in maintaining the Woodsboro we love.

This site is intended as an electronic "neighborhood watch". Anyone can post information or comment on postings. It can be done anonymously or "in the open". Anyone can read this, anyone. The site will be edited in an attempt to keep it at a PG or better rating.

Please note that posting information about a problem or crime does not constitute notifying law enforcement. You must, and are strongly encouraged to, do that directly yourself. The benefit of posting here is to share the information with other folks and to provide data regarding possible repeat offenses or other patterns of trouble. Welcome!