Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
COMMUNITY NEWS
Guest Speaker, Chief of Police, Norfolk, VA, Bruce Preston Marquis, Ed.D., At This Month's Meeting
NEXT BOARD MEETING will be May 17, 2004, at 7:00 pm.
DEADLINE for the June issue is Tuesday, May 25, 2004.
THIS MONTH'S MEETING AGENDA: Monthly police report - Code enforcement update - May Speaker: Chief of Police, Norfolk, VA, Bruce Preston Marquis, Ed.D.
Judging by the volume of stuff in the dumpsters on Saturday, you would have to call the Neighborhood Clean-Up a success. I would very much like to THANK all the volunteers that spent their valuable time helping out to make sure this event went smoothly. The Civic League works because people are willing to donate their time, which helps to make our neighborhoods a nicer place to live. I would urge each of you who has not volunteered in the past to volunteer to help out for a future event; you will be glad you did.
I would like to remind everyone about the Healthy Neighborhood Summit that I wrote about last month. This is the program to inform the citizens what can be done to better expedite a meaningful code enforcement strategy across the city. We can expect to hear solutions to problems that were reported during a “Call to Action” in April. The report to City Council is now slated for presentation at the informal session on May 4th when the Summit will be finalized. As of the deadline for our Newsletter, The Healthy Neighborhood Summit is scheduled for May 22nd, 2004, from 8 A.M. till noon at Lake Taylor High School. I will announce the final information at our May 10th meeting or you can call 664-4510 for the latest updates. Be sure to attend if you can.
Our meeting on May 10th will give us an opportunity to meet one of the newest members of the Norfolk Police Force. We are very excited to have as our guest speaker this month the Chief of Police, Bruce Preston Marquis. Chief Marquis has affirmed his commitment to our PACE (Police Assisted Community Enforcement) Program. This partnership between the police and our communities has been very successful in making our neighborhoods safer places to live. It is a good feeling to hear that the citizens’ quality of life and safety is the Norfolk Police Force’s number one departmental priority. I hope all of our members will attend this meeting to welcome aboard our new Police Chief.
In closing, I must say a final good bye to Michael Fitzgibbon, a member of our Civic League that recently passed away. Michael was instrumental in coordinating our Neighborhood Charrette last year. In addition, he was always ready to volunteer his time, energy and efforts to make our city a better place to live. Michael will truly be missed!
Your Neighborhood Watch committee sends this friendly reminder as spring home-projects begin blooming all around us. While we should always be aware of visitors to our lovely neighborhood, in the springtime especially we must pay particular attention to visiting builders, construction companies, pool crews, landscapers, gardeners, roofers, tree surgeons, etc. Most of the time these individuals are friendly, trustworthy professionals who are making our homes and properties more beautiful. However, there have been recent instances where certain other individual members of crews have been spotted wandering uninvited through other properties.
Please be aware of the actions of all visitors, and use the phone! Call your neighbors to discuss your feelings, call the police non-emergency number [441-5610] at the first sign of any misconduct, or, if you feel the situation urgent, please call 9-1-1. Our PACE officers repeatedly emphasize the importance of calling the police whenever you are in doubt. They state that nine out of ten times your suspicions are correct! Those are pretty high odds!
Remember: Some visiting crews hire “day employees” and take no responsibility for the actions of these individuals. Day employees are often individuals down on their luck making ends meet day to day. Please note that our meeting this month has been changed to May 24, 2004, at 6:30 in the Stuart Cafeteria. If anybody should have any questions, please call Malcolm Martin at 625-8525.
(Source: Norfolk Police Department Web Site)
Bruce Preston Marquis, Ed.D., joins the Norfolk Police Department after 28 years of diverse law enforcement experience. As Norfolk’s Chief of Police he will be responsible for leading a department of 757 sworn and 128 civilian personnel with an annual budget of approximately $53 million. Prior to his selection as Norfolk's Chief of Police, Chief Marquis was the Chief of Police in Connecticut’s Capital city of Hartford from December of 2000 until January of 2004 and he was credited with bringing stability to its police force through his strong leadership. Chief Marquis previously served as the Chief of Police of the Houston Independent School district, a post he held from January of 1994 until November of 2000.
Chief Marquis was a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1984 until 1994. He investigated violations of federal statutes such as white-collar crime, violent crimes, crime committed by organized street gangs, and was a member of the Fugitive Task Force. He also served as Regional Recruitment Specialist, Equal Opportunity Counselor and Community Outreach Liaison for the FBI. Before joining the FBI, Chief Marquis was a member of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Committee. He served as a senior security manager and was directly responsible for managing the activities of more than 1400 employees, and coordinating security with local, national and international law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of Olympic athletes and visiting dignitaries. Chief Marquis was commissioned in the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in June 1974 and was assigned to the Air Force Security Police. He rose to the rank of Captain and was the Chief of Police of the Air Force Security Police Squadron at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in California from 1981 to 1983. He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for meritorious service and honorably discharged in 1983.
Chief Marquis was born on December 10, 1951 in Oakland, California, and graduated from Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco in 1970. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Portland, a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University, and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Management from Sam Houston State University. In 1991, Texas Southern University conferred the degree of Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration upon Chief Marquis. He is also a graduate of the FBI's National Academy.
Chief Marquis, a tennis and movie enthusiast, is married to Traci B. Marquis, Esquire. They have two school-aged children, Preston and Prentiss.
I am happy to report that the first official meeting of the Colonial Place/Riverview Traffic Committee was a success! Carol Wilson-Glenn, Steve Brown and myself were in attendance on April 1st. We spent the meeting marking the neighborhood traffic concerns onto maps of the neighborhood. We marked not only our concerns, but also the concerns received from residents. Now that we have something to show our City Traffic representative, we are planning to meet with him to discuss our maps at the end of April. The maps show the concerns received including (but not limited to):
Spring is here and our lawns are starting to flourish again. Curbside appeal is what makes our neighborhoods attractive to new and old homeowners. Let’s all put in a real effort this year to keep the curbside grass from growing into the streets in front of our homes. A quick trim on mowing day is all it takes to give our area a more "manicured" look. Reasonably priced local lawn services are available for those who are unable to do this on their own. Let's be proud of our new status as an historic district. I would also like to thank all of you who are saving your newspaper bags for use in the dog park by dropping them off on my front porch at 4213 Gosnold in Colonial Place. We can use all newspaper bags that are contributed. Woof!
We are glad to announce the date for the 6th annual CPRV Front Porch Art Walk is Sunday, October 10th, 2004. All neighborhood resident artists are encouraged to mark their calendars and plan on participating in this exciting event. We had record numbers at last year's show (despite Isabel's efforts to slow us down!) and look forward to another great experience this year. A big thank-you goes out to Sheila Robinson for her ingenuity and years of dedication in creating and nurturing this unique event. Keep your eyes open, as artist registration information will be posted this summer. We'll also be needing volunteers to help with supplying snacks, publicizing the show, manning our guest registration table, and general go-for duties. In the meantime, any questions, comments or suggestions should be directed to either Kristin Bourcier (622-5324 or MosaicArt@cox.net) or Theresa Nock (625-2036 or theresanock@williamewood.com). This event is a great opportunity to promote our fantastic neighborhoods, so please consider how you might participate!
You can help “Take a Bite Out of Crime”® in your neighborhood. How? Try picking up that empty can lying in the street. According to national studies, communities that look uncared-for are more likely to experience crime. Just as a house with one broken window is likely to have others broken out, a neighborhood with litter, dilapidated buildings, waste dumping and other eyesores can attract more serious crimes. An unclean area can indicate that no one is taking care of a neighborhood, or worse, that no one cares. Crimes are more likely to occur in neighborhoods where the residents do not take ownership of their community. (Click here to access links in list below.)
The Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
P.O. Box 6130
Norfolk, VA 23508
E-MAIL: president@cprv.org (checked weekly)
WEB PAGE: www.cprv.org
Community News Editor: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Community News Distribution: Margaret Bright, Phone 627-2815
Advertising: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Please deliver typewritten newsletter items to:
Kelly Sorensen
Phone: 622-0437
e-mail: cprvnews@cox.net