OPENING: The regular meeting of the Alief Super Neighborhood Council was held March 27, 2018 at the Alief Community Park. Chairman Barbara Quattro called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. The first order of business was the Treasurer report from Doug Smith. The ASNC currently has a balance of $2911.00. The February 2018 minutes were approved as written.
Chair: Barbara Quattro Vice Chair: Noreen Smith Treasurer: Doug Smith – Secretary: Jesus Zamora.
Election of Officers: Karla Kessler and Dian Purvis reported on the slate of officers as being prior holders with Cynthia Young running for position of Secretary. Jesus Zamora, the prior Secretary, now resides in the Alief area but outside ASNC district so technically not eligible to run for office. The slate elected was Chair: Barbara Quattro- Vice Chair: Noreen Smith- Treasurer: Doug Smith- Secretary: Cynthia Young. Appreciation was expressed for the many contributions made by Jesus Zamora including his doing the minutes and work on presenting podcasts plus an idea resource. We all hope he will continue to be an active, contributing ASNC member as our future is our young people.
Alief Crime Update: Westside Command DRT Sgt. Tavis Parkerson briefed attendees on the current crime rates in Alief. Overall crime rate has significantly decreased. However, crime continues to be prevalent in high traffic or shopping areas on Bellaire and the Toll Road with jugging continuing. It was again emphasized to not leave anything valuable in a vehicle even for a few minutes.
DISCUSSION:
• Noreen Smith reported that the April meeting was going to be an Active Shooter presentation by HPD Officer Mike Prause from our Westside Station.
• Barbara Quattro reported coming events as follows:
o Empty Shelter Project on April 20-22 here at Alief Community Center which would provide FREE spay, neutering, micro-chipping and vaccination for residents. Sign up is online thru K-9 Angels website.
o Kite Festival on April 14th at Alief Community Garden which is on Beechnut at Dairy View (east of Dairy Ashford).
o IBC Bank parking lot is giving space for Free Shredding Event and Tag Sale by BPSOS. Fun for kids and adults plus sale items.
o Doug Smith, one of the representatives of the Alief Super Neighborhood Council #25 to the Super Neighborhood Alliance (SNA), requested permission from the group for Doug and/or Barbara Quattro to vote on issues that come before the Alliance. The permission was granted.
SPEAKERS:
Detective M. M. Wallace, HPD, Westside Command
Jeminia Lee, Psychologist
The Houston Police Department, Special Victims Division, has a specialized unit called the Family Violence Unit that investigates cases of family violence. Family violence is commonly known as domestic violence or domestic abuse. In 2004 the Special Victims category was made to include Family Violence cases. Detective Wallace addressed the issues around family violence and the impact not just on the family unit but also on the community. Policing is difficult since domestic violence usually does not occur in a public space until the crime has escalated. Detective Wallace stated there were 21,639 reported domestic violence cases for 2017 with 3,188 arrests. The Special Victims Division investigates cases occurring within the city limits of Houston in which the complaining witness is related to the offender through marriage and extends to: former spouses, family members and former family members, in-laws, girlfriends, boyfriends, intimate partners, roommates, or acquaintances. They investigate assaults, kidnapping, harassment, and other related crimes such as injury to a child or the elderly. The mission of the Family Violence Unit is to work toward ending family violence in our community. To accomplish this mission, the Family Violence Unit takes a holistic, threefold approach: train the police officers, educate the public, and investigate domestic abuse crimes.
Houston has a division for each sector of the city: north, south, east and west. If you need to speak with a counselor, please call (832) 394-5611 at Westside 3203 South Dairy Ashford Road Houston, TX 77082. Information on area and statewide agencies was distributed with Family Violence fliers on the signs of abuse. It was an emotional presentation for some as a couple of videos were shown of true incidents. The ending one of a child sitting on a stair listening to his mother being abused brought tears to many eyes as well as heart touching to the collateral effects of family violence.
UPCOMING EVENTS
• April 14, 2017 10:00 am – 1:00 pm Kite Festival & Farmers Market, located at Alief Nature Center 8409 ½ Dairy View. First 250 receive free kites, beverages and food for sale. More info at IMDHouston.org
• April 20-22 Empty Shelter Project at Alief Community Center. Sign up online
• April 28th Free Shredding and BPSOS Tag Sale at IBC Bank. Free and open to the public.
WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED BY: (Vice Chair) Noreen Smith
