Thanks to everyone who attended the Alert Neighbors meeting last Thursday! It’s great to see so many new faces coming together to better our community! Many thanks to Major Williams and Tom Hutchinson for volunteering their evening to speak to us. Thanks also to new neighbor Tony Gervasio who is the new chair of our Alert Neighbors Committee.

This Saturday we will be having our general meeting at 10am in our regular spot at Centenary United Methodist. We won’t be meeting too long this month since it’s Mayfest/ Blue Dome weekend, and many of us just met last Thursday. We’ll be discussing some of the major points from the Alert Neighbors meeting for those who weren’t able to attend. I also have extra Alert Neighbor booklets and decals for those interested. We’ll also be going over our active committee groups. Sign up sheets will be available for those who would like to volunteer their time by serving on a committee.

If you have a little bit of time on your hands, please consider voting for your favorite Tulsa places in Urban Tulsa’s Absolute Best of Tulsa. I don’t want to sway anyone’s votes, but do remember our neighborhood business owners, as well as businesses and people who help to support Brady Heights! There’s a category for Best Public Art AND Best Neighborhood. . . so vote your conscience

Also, please take a moment to give feedback about the different PlaniTulsa proposed scenarios.

This Thursday, May 7th, at 6pm The Brady Heights Neighborhood Association will be holding an informational meeting on the Alert Neighbors Program. We will be meeting in our regular location at Centenary United Methodist.

The meeting will be conducted by a representative from the Tulsa Crime Commission who will be offering us training and advice as we begin our Alert Neighbors program. There will also be a Tulsa Police Department patrol officer in attendance to answer specific questions about our area. If you missed the April meeting with Capt. Tipler, or if you’ve thought of new questions, here’s a second opportunity to have your concerns addressed by the TPD! The Crime Commission will also be providing Alert Neighbors stickers and pamphlets to those in attendance.

Since we’ll be starting at 6 pm, we’ll be serving pizza to keep everyone from starving.

Please tell your neighbors about this meeting! There will be a lot to learn and share. I’m sure that everyone in this community has something they can add to the discussion!

This Saturday, April 18th, is the Brady Heights Neighborhood Association general meeting. As usual, we’ll be meeting at Centenary United Methodist at 631 N. Denver. The meeting begins at 10 am and a sitter will be provided.

This month we will be forgoing regular business in order to welcome two special guests.

Laureen Gilroy, the Recycling Coordinator for the City of Tulsa, will be giving a presentation on the disposal of yard waste and recycling. Our second guest speaker is Captain Karen Tipler of the Tulsa Police Department. Capt. Tipler will be presenting a crime report for our neighborhood as well as responding to questions & concerns from the neighborhood. Both presentations will be incredibly valuable during the coming warmer months and I hope to have a large turnout! Please encourage your neighbors to attend.

After the meeting, at around 11:30, we will be holding the Annual Plant Swap at the Community Garden. Bring your extra plants, seeds and sprouts to exchange with others! Both indoor and outdoor plants of all varieties are welcome. All plants will be free to good homes, and you don’t need to bring a plant in order to participate. We will also be grilling and providing a casual picnic lunch. Although not at all required, please feel free to bring a dish to share.

Here’s hoping for good weather, and I’ll see you all on Saturday!

Last Thursday’s Tulsa World featured a story about the Tulsa Police Department’s new CompStat Crime Tracking (Tracking Tulsa’s Crime). Those reading closely may have caught a mention of our car vandal by Major Williams.

Gilcrease Division, north-central and northwestern Tulsa: Maj. Paul Williams noted minimal change in the total number of Part 1 crimes during the evaluation period in the Gilcrease Division, which he commands. During last month’s time period, 423 such crimes were reported, compared to 422 the month before.

The statistics also showed that officers in the division made 14 more arrests for Part 1 crimes during that time period, increasing from 64 to 78.

Major Williams confirmed to me today that the TPD did in fact bring our car vandal into police custody on March 26th! Thank you to everyone who made calls to the TPD and provided information that lead to the arrest of this criminal! If you continue to experience car break-ins, please let me know.

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At our next neighborhood meeting, April 18th, we will be foregoing regular business to welcome Captain Karen Tipler from the Tulsa Police Department. Capt. Tipler will be giving us a crime report for our area as well as answering questions. If you have any questions that you think might need researching, please let me know and I will forward them on to Capt. Tipler. Please plan on attending this informative presentation! After the meeting we will be hosting the Annual Plant Swap in the community garden.

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The Brady Heights Alert Neighbor program will be launched 6:00 pm on May 7th at Centenary United Methodist. A representative from the Tulsa Crime Commission will be leading this presentation and teaching us how to begin. Come and get involved!

Look for more details on these events in April’s issue of the Brady Heights Newsletter

From Captain Richard Alexander:

I’m a captain on the Tulsa Police working on a research project through the University of Tulsa’s police leadership program (PEDAL). As part of this research, I’m conducting a brief survey on citizen receptiveness to alternative police responses. As stated in the survey, it does not represent the views of the City of Tulsa or the Tulsa Police Department. The survey is for research purposes only.

I would appreciate your assistance in forwarding this survey to Tulsa residents in your neighborhood. The survey will close to new responses on September 22.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Richard Alexander