Crime alert: Mendenhall

From Cory Pratt on Peg Lane:

I had a confrontation with a man in a White PT Cruiser with a Coffee County license plate Friday around 1:45 who was stealing a bike out from under my neighbor's carport on N Peg lane.

He was a white male late 30s/early 40s with brown hair and he had a tattoo on his left shoulder/back area as he had no shirt on. He had put the bike in the back of the vehicle when I came out side and lit into him and it kind of spooked him. I made him take the bike back up under the carport as he was constantly trying to lie his way out of the situation.

He had another bike in the back of his car that was probably stolen too. He also had to climb thru the passenger side door to get back in his car which leaves me to believe that it was probably stolen. And he took off in a hurry. I called police but by the time I got thru I had forgotten the entire tag number but I did file a report.

Crime alert: Mendenhall

From Lauren Harkins:

I have heard about a white van on Mendenhall, south of Walnut Grove. This was at night, so they were not sure if it had sticker marks on it. My friends were walking and they live on Mendenhall near the curve. As they got closer to their house, a white van with a older BM was driving and a skinny young WF drove slowly past their home. They took a left onto Lake Dr. and the woman got out. She started walking to gate towards the house. She saw my friends walking towards her and she pulled out her cell phone and the van sped towards her and she jumped in and quickly drove off. They called the police. They had gotten the license tag #, but of course it was not registered to a white van. The officer said that they may have been casing the house and that the woman was probably planning to get in the home through the doggie door. A couple of days before, their alarm went off at 3 am. It makes you wonder if they had been testing ways to get into the house.

Neighbors looking for...

Minetry Apperson needs immediate help finding foster homes for pets:

• My friend, Evelyn, from Animal Adoption Center in Poplarville MS is having to evacuate to Memphis because of the approaching storm. She previously evacuated from Katrina with the animals she could take and we sent her back with body bags for the rest. They lost everything. Her husband Pete is very sick. They got a room at Embassy Suites on Shady Grove last night about midnight. Embassy Suites is not pet friendly. We have about 18 cats and 10 dogs: pit bull, Boston terrier, pug and a pug mix, Boxer dashund, lab and German shepherd mix, and more. I need foster homes for all these animals. The cats can be housed in their trailer which will be at my house. I will need volunteers to clean and feed and love. These animals will once again be so stressed. Please e-mail me at doggonegoodrealtor@comcast.net if you can help. We would appreciate donations as well.

Neighbors looking for...

Photographer Marci Lambert is looking to expand her business to include maternity shoots and she would like to find a volunteer to model for a session:

• Photos will include belly close-ups as well as ones with dad and other children in the family. I'm looking for someone around 6-8 months along who would be willing to pose for me. It'll take about 90 minutes, at your home (preferably in the East Memphis area), and within a few weeks you'll get a free disk of about 20 high-res photos. In return, I get to use the photos as a marketing tool on my website and blog. I shoot on weekends, and during the week from 8a to 1p. If you'd like to volunteer, please contact me at marci @ makearteveryday dot com (take out spaces and put in a real dot) or call 568-0211.

Lost: two dogs

Jenny and Danny Valle, on Lorece, have reported that their dogs are missing. One is named Ollie. He is an 8 year old mixed yellow lab, he weighs about 60 lbs. and does not have a collar on. The second one is named Stella, she is a lasapoo, which basically looks like a black/white poodle. She is 4 years old, weighs about 10 lbs., and probably does not have a collar on either.
If you see either of these dogs, please contact the Valles at 210-9673.

Found: two dogs

From Joy Madison, Lindseywood Cove

We have two dogs that have been in our yard and on our porch since around Thurs. evening or Friday morning. One is blonde and the other a tan color. They are the same breed, medium in size, have pointed ears, but no collar or tags. My husband says they don't seem to be mean in nature. If anyone has lost dogs like these, you can find them around Princeton and Lindseywood Cove. If anyone wants two dogs, you can contact Susan at susan500@juno.com and she will contact me.

Crime alert: Lynbar and Mendenhall

From a recent email:

We were out of town Sat. night. About 7pm a neighbor saw an old white panel van parked on Lynbar (facing west on south side of street) in front of the house closest to Mendenhall that is for sale. Said it was an old Carrier AC van, that letters appeared to have been removed, had an older white male inside. As she was closing the gate he pulled up by our house and just stared at her. She made her male friend go back outside the gate and the van left. When they went back out at 9pm the same van was down on Sequoia (across Avon) in front of another house that is for sale. Told her to get the license plate and call the police next time.

August Yard of the Month

Come meet your neighbors!

The kickoff to the 2008-09 year is the annual Wine & Cheese meeting on Sept. 16. Join us at 7pm, at the home of Laura Sherman, 31 Mary Ann Drive. You can join or renew your membership ($25, cash or check) and you can pick up a calendar of events for the year. Co-presidents Brooke Shannon and Stephanie Hubbard have a great year planned, and we'd love to see you.

Crime alert: Kirby and Poplar

From a recent email:

My assistant was robbed at gunpoint at a gas station near the intersection of Poplar and Kirby yesterday morning in broad daylight. She was at one of the gas pumps, saw the guy coming, and immediately locked her doors. Before she had time to do anything else, he busted through her window with the butt of his gun, held her back against the driver's seat with the gun to her head, and took everything from her wallet to her GPS to her kids' school uniforms to the necklace she was wearing. He then went and ran up over $600 on her credit cards before she could get them canceled.

Obviously, she was not in a "bad" part of town, but the police told her that it's happening often at that intersection, mainly because of easy access to I-240 and 385. As we all know, there are many other places in the "good" parts of Memphis where the same thing (or worse) is happening. Please be careful out there.

Normandy Meadows Yard Sale is Oct. 4.

Clean out your closet and empty your shed: Normandy Meadows Garden Club is sponsoring a Yard Sale on Oct. 4 (7am to 1pm). All neighbors are welcome to hold their own sales that day -- the Garden Club will purchase an ad in the Commercial Appeal to promote the event. We'll list the neighborhood boundaries in the ad; all you need to do is set up your sale and tie some balloons to your mailbox.

Here are a few tips for holding a successful sale:

• Start now looking through your home for unwanted items. Put price tags on your stuff as soon as you put it into boxes or bags so you aren't trying to price things that morning.
• Price your items fairly; people are looking for bargains.
• Get $20 or so in dollar bills the day before so you can make change during the first few sales. Get $5 or so in coins.
  
• Keep your money in your pockets or a fanny pack; cash boxes can be stolen when you aren't looking.
• Be willing to negotiate your sticker price.
• Consider having a box of freebies (like fast food toys). Offer one to kids who come through. Or make it "free with purchase".
• Ask your kids to look through their toys and see if they have anything to sell. Let them keep the money as an incentive.
  
• Think about offering everything for half price during the last hour or so, if you don't want to haul a bunch of things back in your house.
• After the sale, take unsold items to Goodwill or leave on your curb (marked "free").

Neighbors looking for...

Looking for something? Maybe one of your Normandy Meadows neighbors can help you out. We'll post requests on this blog as soon as we get them. Send them to marci@makearteveryday.com and include a contact phone number.

Brooke Shannon is looking for:

• A teenager to babysit a few hours at a time.
• Any Thomas the Train items that you may be planning to sell at our upcoming Yard Sale (Oct. 4). Call 752-5767.

Melanie Suria is looking for:

• Little Tykes or similar outside play sets no matter how little or big (used, not new). Willing to pay reasonable prices. Call 496-8949.

Minetry Apperson is looking for:

• Donated stuffed animals, blankets, towels, twin comforters, wash rags (not sheets) for animal rescue. Please call 767-5378.

Lauren Harkins, your neighborhood realtor.

Lauren lives in the neighborhood and would be happy to talk to you about real estate needs. Call her at 859-3565 or email her at lauren.harkins@crye-leike.com. You can also visit her website by clicking here.

List your business here.

Are you a Garden Club member with a business? Let us promote you here. Just send a short write-up, link to a website, photo or logo to marci_lambert@comcast.net and we'll do a short post and provide a link to the right. And it's absolutely free.

Save the date!

Our first meeting of the 2008-09 year will be 7pm on Sept. 16 at Laura Sherman's house at 31 Mary Ann Drive. Please be sure to bring your $25 dues and any of your neighbors. We'd love to tell you all about our plans for the coming year. Hope to see you there!

Precinct Meeting

From a recent email:

On Tuesday evening, January 30th, at 7 PM, there will be a meeting at Tillman Station, 426 N. Tillman St. The guest speaker will be from the Emergency Management Agency.

While Mary didn't go into the subject matter of the meeting, the fact that the Precinct is calling a meeting indicates the topic will be current and informative.

This is a great opportunity for members of our Neighborhood Watch group to go to the Precinct and meet the directors of the Precinct. We all have our different agendas in life, but this would be a time when we could come together for the common good of our community, to learn about the EMA, Neighborhood Watch and get an up-date on what is going on to prevent crime in our area.

The East Memphis Precinct is now known as Tillman Station. Last year, all the Precincts were re-named for the street they are on, with the word "station" added to the street name. Thus, we are served by Tillman Station, phone number, 528-3000.

The Station is easy to get to. Go west on Walnut Grove Road to Tillman. Tillman will be the next traffic light west of the Memphis Library. At Tillman, turn right [north] and proceed until you come to the Station, located on the right. At night, this is an extremely well lit area, with secure parking; very easy to get to!!! I encourage the members of Sycamore Grove Lane Neighborhood Watch group to be there. Having a friend or acquaintance in the Station might prove useful someday.

Dog Gone Good Realtor

If you're looking for a realtor, Minetry Apperson is available to help. She lives in Normandy Meadows and knows this area better than anyone. Give her a call at 901-767-3599 or e-mail her at doggonegoodrealtor@comcast.net.

Crime Alert

From 12/12:
Just a heads up on suspicious activity this morning. At 6:45 this morning, there was a two toned Grey and Silver conversion van from around the 80's checking out a house on East Erwin. There were two guys sitting in it and staring at the house...they had the motor running, when Monica turned on a light in one of her front rooms, they sped away....the motor is loud as if there is a hole in the muffler and there is a ladder affixed to the back of the van (the kind you climb to the top of the van, NOT a construction ladder). Monica has informed the police, but we can all keep our eyes out!!

From 12/14:
I wanted to let all of you know that someone tore through Brandon's Tahoe last night (5095 Norich). He left the doors unlocked last night, so they didn't have to break windows, but they did rummage through the vehicle completely. They walked right up and into our carport. It doesn't appear that anything was taken, however. I'm sure they were after money and were disappointed. They also broke into our neighbor's car. Some of you may have also had break-in experiences last night? I hate to say it, but we have gotten to the point that we leave our cars unlocked so we don't have to replace windows. I know many of you have said you do the same. It's so unfortunate that we have to deal with this problem, but hopefully our reports to the police will start helping soon.

I would also like to remind everyone to please, please install home alarm systems if at all possible and if you do not have one already. These criminals are extremely brazen and will not think twice about entering our homes.

Also from 12/14:
Bradie Schall's Lexus was broken into on Saturday night on Mary Ann. Window broken, IPod taken (my fault for leaving it in the car!). I haven't heard of anyone else right around me that's had a a problem lately. It just feels like Memphis and its crime problem are beginning to spiral downward.

Crime Alert

We received reports of more crime in our area this week, so please be vigilant. Here are excerpts from the emails:

• I was leaving home this evening and saw 2 police cars down the street at 400 Avon. I stopped to ask if there was another break in and they said "yes". You will probably want to send this out to everyone but I did not know how much information to include. The police said they came in through the back sometime today. The owners discovered it after work. Apparently they stole about $30,000 worth of stuff. The police were thinking that they will be able to get the fingerprints of the criminals and were working on that when I saw them.

• We had an attempted break-in today and thought you might want to share this with others. We live at 4661 Chickasaw at the corner of the cove. Honeywell called my husband at work and told him they had an alarm and were calling the police. Walt headed for home and got there while the police were there. The window in our dining room was broken to unlock it and raised about 8 inches. This is a FRONT wondow, right on the street! They had taken the storm window off and broken the other window. Apparently they ran at the sound of the alarm. The police said they could tell the leaves on our patio had been walked through, but we have bars on the back windows and I guess that forced them to the front window. Thank goodness for alarm systems!

• A house on Green Glade off Yates was broken into between 7a-12 Thursday. TVs are gone, apparently came in throgh the rear of house. The car seems to be a Toyota Highlander with no plates. Call the police ASAP. He was spotted on Collingswood at Oak Grove and then off of Yates where the house on Green Glade was broken into.

Crime Alert

If you hear of crime in the neighborhood, let us know. This is from emails we received this weekend:

From Clay who lives on Peg Lane right off Fernway - On Monday night Clay's roommate was out on their deck around 10:30 or 11. He heard a car and door open. When he walked from the deck to the carport, a middle-aged white guy was approaching the carport near Clay's car. John confronted him and asked what he was doing. The guy said he was looking for cans! He then said he was a scrap metal collector. John told him they had no cans, only bottles. I suppose that stern voice scared the guy back to the passenger side of the truck where he and his driver sped off. Very suspicious. John did not get a license but the truck was turquoise-colored.

Later, John's Honda Pilot was broken into last night/this morning parked on the street. The only thing stolen was his iPod (worth several hundred dollars). It was showing on his tripod set up in his dash. You are right to hide things in your car when you leave. I keep all my expensive stuff like that in my console and will try to hide my CD's better. Guess it's that time of year where crooks start stealing for Christmas. Anyway, cop took down the info and gave John a copy of the report so he can file with insurance for broken glass etc.