While perusing Los Gatos Patch, among other things, for apprehending four bad guys who were burglarizing a home. Particularly cogent is Knowles' call for people to get involved.
This past summer on our street, in broad daylight, several criminals were hauling off pillow cases stuffed with looted items and putting them in a pickup truck with paper license plates.
A neighbor witnessed the burglary, but did not call the police. When, responding to a later call, the police arrived it was too late. So, minutes matter. Involvement matters.
We have good laws on our books. Our town municipal code serves us well as a document that was designed to safeguard our public health, safety and welfare. Without enforcement, however, it is a dead and meaningless document. Very much like a mailbox full of letters without a postal service to deliver them.
In our community we have an exceptional police force, under outstanding leadership, who are doing a phenomenal job. Our police can work most efficiently and effectively only if they have the full support of the town’s administration, particularly the town attorney’s and manager's offices but, most importantly, our individual commitment to get involved.
Sometimes when we see or experience the abuse and, often repeated, violations of the laws and ordinances that are designed to protect us, we tend to look away and hope that someone else will call the police. This task of calling the police is particularly odious if the repeat offender is our neighbor.
We have to get involved if we want to maintain the quality of life in our community that we so often take for granted. To that end, I want to thank my neighbors who signed the petition that led to multiple convictions of a chronically barking dog owner who, for more than two years, had repeatedly
violated the town’s animal control and noise ordinances.
Special thanks to our town attorney's office for supporting officers Dan Accardo, Glen Young, Erin Lunsford and Kalipo Kauweloa in their exceptional police work that led to the above convictions.
I can’t imagine what life in our fair town of cats would be like without our fine police force. Our town would simply go to the dogs. Especially barking dogs, I might add.
