Forest Grove mulls ways to strengthen community bonds

Community Watch programs, emergency training, neighborhood gardens discussed at annual meeting

By John Schrag

The Forest Grove News-Times, Jan 28, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Forest Grove would be a friendlier, safer and healthier city if its residents got to know their neighbors better.

That was the consensus Saturday as more than 50 people gathered for the Annual Town Meeting to discuss ways to “build community through neighborhoods.”

Residents, city councilors and city staffers who attended the morning gathering heard from fire and police officials about ways that neighborhood groups can help boost public safety.

They also listened to a horticulturist who extolled the virtues of community gardens.

Keith Baas, a Forest Grove firefighter, explained that his department would conduct training this spring for people who want to join Community Emergency Response Teams.

The national program, launched in Los Angeles more than 20 years ago, is designed to teach residents how to prepare for and respond to a natural disaster.

“If this town is leveled by an earthquake or a major storm, there’s no way we could get to every emergency in time,” Baas said.

“History shows that after a disaster, citizens are going to be on their own,” he continued. “And history also shows that after a disaster, citizens are going to try and help in any way they can.”

Unfortunately, Baas said, well-intentioned would-be rescuers often endanger themselves and others.

CERT programs train participants to identify what needs to be done and how to do it safely, focusing on skills such as small-scale fire suppression, structural evaluation and emergency medical care.

Sharon Hartung, the police department’s community service officer, noted that up to 500 Forest Grove residents already participate in some kind of safety program.

She said about three-dozen neighborhood watch programs, organized with the help of the police department, sponsor events to encourage neighbors to get to know each other and quickly report suspicious activities and code violations, such as abandoned vehicles, that might be related to crimes.

In short, she said, the more “eyes and ears” focused on residential streets, the safer they will be. But, she said, the groups also have another benefit: building friendships, and pride, in neighborhoods.

And, there are other ways to bring neighborhoods together, according to Weston Miller. A horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, Miller energized the crowd with a presentation on community gardens. He said neighborhood garden plots serve a variety of purposes.

For starters, they offer a supply of inexpensive food – something that is particularly important as family budgets are strained during the current recession.

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