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| Millennium Fears Addressed
at Community Meeting
Dear Community Member, Ingleside Police District celebrated Halloween without major mishap. Halloween is the traditional kick-off for what is always an extremely busy time of year for everyone. This year in particular will present additional concerns due to the Millennium. The guest speaker at the Oct. 19 meeting was Ms. Hashima from the City Attorney's office. Ms. Hashima addressed many of the safety concerns in her interesting presentation. In a follow-up telephone conversation she mentioned the increased in bank frauds which have also been occurring city wide due to the Millennium fears. Apparently, con artists have been telephoning bank customers requesting they furnish them with account numbers. This request suggests that they need the account numbers to protect the account from computer crashes. NEVER give any personal information about yourself or your accounts over the phone in response to telephone solicitations. Another scam has been for salesmen to come to the door to sell a "book safe." This is a locked book which one can secure money and other valuables in and place with existing books. The phony salesmen then return a short while later and take the book and it's valuable content during a burglary. Street robberies always increase at this time of year. We have already experienced an increase in the district. Being aware of your surroundings, trusting your instincts, crossing the street or going into an occupied store if you are uncomfortable and traveling with companions will go a long way toward protecting yourself. Avoid carrying large sums of money in your purse and leave valuable jewelry at home will lessen your losses in the event of a purse snatch. During the remainder of the year we will be operating undercover and uniformed operations directed toward preventing these types of incidents which mar this season. Sergeant Phil Fee has assumed responsibility for the Crocker-Amazon Park. He has, in concert with the community, arranged for the new signs which have been posted and is following up on the logs to protect the grassy areas. Sincerely,
Unsafe Pedestrian Crossings Near Middle School Following is a letter sent Nov. 15 by Principal Jim Dierke of Visitacion Valley Middle School to Bond Yee, deputy director of the San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic. Dear Mr. Yee, I am writing you as to the condition of the crosswalks, school crossing marks and stop sign paint marking in the area surrounding Visitacion Valley Middle School, Elliot Street, Visitacion Avenue, Raymond Avenue and Sawyer Street. Some of these areas need repainting and some need new installation of signs and markers. As you drive up Sawyer Street at Visitacion Avenue, the crosswalk markings need repainting. In the middle of the next block of Sawyer Street at Leland Avenue, the School Xing paint is almost invisible. Several of the school Xing signs are missing in this area. The School Xing street markings on Raymond Avenue in front of the school are not visible. Along Visitacion Avenue near our back gate there are no signs indicating a school crossing nor are there any street markings in either direction. This is a 40-mile-an-hour street, and we need to let drivers know that their is a school in the area. The same conditions exist on the Elliot Street side of our campus; no signage or markings are visible on Teddy or Arleta avenues. I would like to meet with a representative of your office to discuss what can be done to improve these unsafe conditions. It appears that no ongoing repair work or repainting of existing marking has been done in this area for a very long time. Your immediate attention is requested to assist in improving these unsafe conditions for the students who attend my school. Your staff has given me the phone numbers for missing signs and re-painting but I feel that a representative from your department should come out and review the problems with me so that all the concerns can be addressed. Thank you for your interest in the safety of our school children. James Dierke, Principal cc Emanuel Haile, TED
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