WADENA — It’s been said that good fences make good neighbors. One local group of neighbors is finding that good communication may be even better.
Bill Hess, a resident of Wing River Township in Wadena County, is hoping to expand exposure of a community watch program that has been formed in his area. He took part in forming a community watch group last winter after numerous incidents had his neighbors sharing concerns. Reports of a peeping tom, unknown vehicles driving slowly past homes and a general lack of knowledge about who the neighbors really are led the group to start talking to each other and meeting to get to know each other.
“We are constantly having new neighbors coming and going,” Hess said. “We never get to know our neighbors.”
That’s slowly changed over the months as they start to gather together more often. As they get to know each other they start to find out how they can help each other.
“The best way to start is just get together with close neighbors,” Hess said for others looking to do a similar thing. While they have cut down on some of the criminal type behavior, they’ve had other good come from the gatherings.
“The longer term benefit is that we have gotten to know each other better,”
“We were wanting to make that group more public so criminals would notice that and think twice about coming into our area,” Hess said during a Wadena County Commission meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
He wanted to get the word out by getting their names on signage such as “Adopt a Highway” signs. He brought up concerns about the cost of adding these signs in the county for county highway signs. The Wadena County Board members agreed that it was worth looking into further. Hess found and shared some information about a county based adopt a highway program in Otter Tail County. The board also briefly discussed adding neighborhood watch signs in those areas within the watch zone. Hess said their group was mostly focused on County Road 7 and 23, an area north of Verndale. But it’s a plan that could work anywhere that neighbors are willing to work together.
If you’d like further information on crime prevention in your area, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension suggests these tips:
Get more information and tips regarding specific crime prevention issues from the National Crime Prevention Council .