Warning: opendir(/home/wildwood/public_html/images/stories/2010/playground-after) [function.opendir]: failed to open dir: No such file or directory in /home/wildwood/public_html/plugins/content/jwsig.php on line 100
When the City of Manassas was chosen as the national pilot site for the 1 By Youth project, Neighborhood Services Manager Kisha Wilson-Sogunro chose the Georgetown South Community as a project site, partly because of their willing participation in a City-sponsored Neighborhood Improvement Circle in Spring 2009 and their resulting action plan.
This 12-minute video, “Georgetown South: Community at a Crossroads” was produced by Kayt Jonsson, a graduate film student and Casey Nitsch, an undergraduate student in Anthropology, for their Documentary Storytelling class, led by Professor Nina Shapiro-Perl at American University.
If you would like to participate as a business sponsor, neighborhood partner or community volunteer in the Week of Hope program this summer, contact Kisha Wilson-Sogunro at 703-257-8240.
If you would like to start a Neighborhood Watch or Business Watch, contact Officer Scott Stallard, City of Manassas Police Department at 703-257-8179.
By
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Published: January 11, 2010
MANASSAS, Va.—Members of the Neighborhood Work Group, which had its first meeting in November, are largely people active in neighborhood organizations throughout the city, but anyone may attend meetings held at the Georgetown South Community Center at 9444 Taney Road at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.
Group members from the Weems, Tudor Oaks, Wellington Condominiums, Georgetown South and Wildwood neighborhoods meet, talk and try to figure out ways to fix problems in their communities.
Leon Walker, president of the Wildwood board of directors, said he thinks the group will succeed in finding solutions to neighborhood problems. He said the group is working on issues that need attention.
“We tried to put together a list of mutual things affecting communities and then we tried to find solutions,” Walker said.
One of the first initiatives was to make people aware of the group’s existence, Walker said.
“We lacked a way of getting information out into the community,” he said.
In Wildwood, Walker and other group members went door-to-door to let people know that there was a way for them to get involved.
Walker said there was some response.
“The main thing is we got people out and talking,” Walker said.
They didn’t stop there.
“We established a Web site. We put up two what I call information centers. Whatever is happening is posted on two bulletin boards,” he said.
Walker said he’s gotten about 20 calls and e-mails from people interested in the group.
The organization grew out of cooperation between several communities and the city’s neighborhood services division, which helps community activists deal with issues facing their neighborhoods.
Kisha Wilson-Sogunro, neighborhood services manager, said the key to making the group’s goals become reality is action.
If the group is to succeed, it must figure out concrete things to do, Wilson-Sogunro said.
The group is still deciding how to establish a sense of community in the neighborhoods.
“They’re trying to grow it and start getting ideas about how to do things for themselves,” Wilson-Sogunro said of the group’s membership.
Cindy Brookshire, a member of the group who is also a member the Weems Neighborhood Watch, said the group’s immediate mission is to get people active in their communities to “bring people together.”
Walker said he hopes awareness of the organization will help grow the group and he expects a sense of community to evolve with the growth.
“I can see it working, but it’s baby steps.” Walker said.
Walker said the neighborhoods will see improvement as the baby steps add up.
“We’re just trying to give the communities identity and respect and give people a safe place to live,” he said.
Matt Stromberg, treasurer of the Board of Trustees in Georgetown South and member of the group, said he hopes the group will engender a feeling that isn’t found in many places these days.
He wants trash cleaned up and graffiti removed. He wants the neighborhoods to come together to solve problems that they all face. He wants to work with churches and civic organizations and he wants to put crime prevention measures in place.
He wants neighbors to know one another.
“We want people to feel at home again,” he said. “We just want that sense of community and pride that you would find in Mayberry if that would only be possible,” Stromberg said.
Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.
Ask the residents of Kingsbrooke subdivision, where the Prince William County Police Crime Prevention
Unit has awarded Irene Pospolita two certificates for her dedication and commitment to making the county a safer place.
Pospolita, a longtime member of Kingsbrooke's homeowners association, volunteered to become the Neighborhood Watch coordinator for the 949-residence community in Bristow.
The program is composed of nine neighborhood watches and various volunteers.
"When pesky nuisance crimes became thousands of dollars in damage to our infrastructure, we had to do something," Pospolita said.
But she took it a step further by educating other communities about Neighborhood Watch and what it has to offer.
When Pospolita heard the Crossman Creek community was experiencing similar crimes, she helped them form a watch group.
"As this is a very small community of 98 homes, they do not have meeting space, so they participated in our training meetings and general meetings," she said.
Crossman Creek now has an involved and successful watch group.
Working alongside county police, Pospolita also was instrumental in creating a police substation in Kingsbrooke.
The community began by hiring off-duty officers to serve as security, which Pospolita said made an immediate difference.
Next, she asked the association board to consider using the Kingsbrooke clubhouse as a substation.
Board members agreed, and then, working with retired Lt. Gene Bellando, she was pleased when the substation was approved by Police Chief Charlie T. Deane.
The Kingsbrooke field office opened in November 2008. Since then, on-duty officers have had restroom facilities, a secure building, a place to write reports and a telephone.
"Having a set-up such as this would save them from having to go all the way back to the Western District station," Pospolita said. "And it's a great way to give back to those who serve us."
This year, Pospolita also provided a donation to the Crime Prevention Council's fundraising golf tournament. Proceeds from the event help the council educate Prince William residents and provide handouts and giveaways.
"We here in my office truly admire Irene and are grateful for all her work she has done for her community and for Prince William County," said officer Jason Alicie of the Crime Prevention Unit.
Pospolita said she had no idea she was going to receive an award. She said she believes everyone should be involved in their communities, regardless of how much time they have to devote to a cause.
"I believe that the work of neighborhood watches and involving homeowners are a tremendous asset to any community, and that budget cuts should not affect those who serve and protect any community," said Pospolita.
News