Stratford Landing Citizens' Association

Annual Meeting and Candidates’ Night Set, October 26, 2011.

BE OBSERVANT!  REPORT SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR.

Over the past several months, there have been incidents of property damage and/or vandalism within Stratford Landing.  While these incidents are certainly not the norm for our community, it does underscore the need for all of us to maintain a keen awareness of our surroundings.

Fairfax County police monitor the neighborhood as much as possible.  They log  citizen reports, compare like incidents, and often apprehend offending perpetrators.  However, there are only so many officers and they can’t be everywhere at all times. 

Stratford Landing residents, as a group, can help to prevent crime by simply keeping  our eyes open and reporting to Fairfax County police unlawful behavior such as graffiti and defacement of property.

Executive Committee Positions Open Soon!

Your association executive committee will need at least a president and vice president and recreation committee chair (see the additional note below) this coming election cycle.  There may be others who would be willing to step aside for the right ‘offer’.  And, a number of delegates are also stepping aside due to moves, etc.  So, if you have any interest at all in working for your association, please contact our Secretary, Claire Kluskens, ckluskens@verizon.net (703) 780-3282, to enter your name and we will get you in touch with our nomination committee and get you all the answers you need to make a decision as to whether joining our fun is something you would like to do.  If you wish to nominate someone, the same procedure will work and we need the nominations by 15 September to prepare properly for the annual meeting the last week of October.  Please give it great thought and support your association.  Thank you all.

The Neighborhood Needs Recreation Committee Members for the Upcoming Year! 

Do you enjoy all of the events the SLCA puts on for the community?  Organizing the events in particular, and being part of the SLCA in general, is an excellent way to meet your neighbors and be involved in your community. The current co-chairs have had a great time doing it over the past few years, but it’s time to get some new members with fresh ideas.  Grab a friend and sign up!  Please contact Heather, Dana, or Angela for more information.  All of our contact information is at the Administration tab of this website. Thank you! 

The General Assembly split more than 40 Fairfax County precincts as part of the decennial redistricting process and as a result, the Office of Elections has made recommendations for proposed precinct boundary and polling place changes that could impact Mount Vernon residents.

Supervisor Hyland invites you to review and discuss these recommended changes with staff on Wednesday, June 8 at 7 pm at the Mount Vernon Government Center (2511 Parkers Lane) in Community Room 3.

Route 1 Transportation Improvement Petition

Suspicious Persons & Vehicles - Possibly Connected to Recent Residential Burglaries
posted 4/19/11
Hello Everyone,

In the past few weeks we have seen several daytime burglaries in communities along the Ft Hunt Road and Mt Vernon Memorial Highway corridor.

Please put out the alerts to your residents/neighbors (even if you don’t live in this general vicinity mentioned) Those who are home during the day should be encouraged to watch out for suspicious persons, vehicles and events.

·        In many of these incidents witnesses have reported hearing someone pounding loudly on a neighbors door – to later find out their neighbors home was burglarized. We believe the loud pounding is to make sure no one is home, before they force entry.

·        Homeowners have reported persons knocking on doors and when the resident answers, asks for a person who does not live at the address or states they are a tradesman/deliveryman (plumber or other service) there to fix a problem/deliver a package.

·        We also have reports of meat salesmen back in the area going door to door, and in some cases knocking on a door saying they have a delivery when the homeowner has not ordered any product.

If more specific information is developed I will put it out in another Information and Tips e-mail.

Please call the police if you witness any suspicious activity/persons/vehicles. Call while the activity is happening.

Police Non-Emergency – 703-691-2131

Emergency / Crime in Progress - 911

Don’t assume someone else is calling in the activity you are observing – If You See Something – Say Something.

Calling The Police 

In addition to calling the police, if you witness crime occurring please consider the following Do’s and Do Not’s:

DO call the police immediately when witnessing a crime or suspicious event

• DO get as good a description of the perpetrators and vehicle, if applicable, as possible
• DO stay on the line with the call taker for as long as needed, providing updates on location or direction of travel
• DO NOT allow the suspects to know they have been detected ***
• DO NOT tell suspects you are calling the police ***
• DO NOT confront individuals committing crime. ***

*** - These are very important point to touch on. Alerting/Shouting/Chasing/or Confronting Criminals or Suspicious Persons greatly reduces the chances of the police getting to the area in time to catch them. It also greatly increases the chances of injury to the intervener or a repeat visit to your home or community.

Please be the best witness you can be in these situations and call the dispatch center as soon as possible. Best Case – call while the event is happening.

Be Safe,

Greg

MPO Greg Kottemann

Crime Prevention Office

Mount Vernon District Station

703-360-8928 x 1

gregory.kottemann@fairfaxcounty.gov

I was privileged to attend the Annual Recognition
>Dinner on May 6^th sponsored by the INOVA Blood Donor Services recognizing over 1000 blood donors who had attained goals of from 3 to 23 gallons (yes, 23!) during 2009. It
>was an honor to be among the over 400 of them who were present. We heard
>inspirational accounts from blood recipients (both adult and little children) whose
>lives were saved or maintained through the donations of these wonderful people
>and it challenged us all to do even more in the future. One told us that
>statistics show that, in spite of the rigid but necessary requirements that have
>eliminated many of us as donors in the past, over 38% of Americans are still eligible
>to give, but only 5% actually become donors. What easier way is there to
>become a hero than by giving some grateful recipient the gift of life?

I was proud to see that donors from our Stratford
>Landing program were very well represented. There were eight in all—one at
>the 3 gallon goal, 2 at the 4 gallon mark, one at 6 gallons, three at 7 gallons,
>one who attained the amazing level of 13 gallons. I would like to name names,
>but privacy rules frown on my doing so. But you can certainly extend congratulations
>and gratitude to a gracious lady who lives at the south end of Bluedale.
>Just think, that is 104 pints, 104 donations, 104 trips to INOVA Mount Vernon
>Hospital just to give for us!

I will be gathering our heroes for the next drive
>at the hospital on June 5^th. Won’t you join us, or at least try to see if you can give?
>Call me, Jack Shawn, at 703-780-4752 if you have questions or want to schedule
>a time on that Saturday morning. The drive following is on August 7^th. Mark it down, please and thanks again to all our donors!

1. Make Sure Our Doors (Home & Car) Are Always Locked!  Double and Triple Check!

2. Always remove valuables from your vehicles and consider removing valuables of this type from the view of first floor windows, and drawing blinds or shades when possible.

3.  Please use exterior lights all night long.