Neighborhood News

Crime Watch Update!

Have you ever been on a walk in the the neighborhood and notice a street light not on and ask yourself I wonder who I call to have that light repaired? Well now you are in luck all you need to do is write down the Street Name/Corner or the # that is located on the pole and call IPL at 317-261-8111  or you can go online to IPL and fill out the online form to report the outage.

Thanks and lets keep Kensington Farms Safe!

2006 Kensington Farms National Night Out Summary

A delightful crowd of about 200 neighbors gathered at the pool area on Tuesday, August 1, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. to participate in the 23rd Annual National Night Out crime prevention event. As people arrived, they were greeted by Sharon Boison and Melinda Natal who manned a sign in table. Door prize tickets were distributed to each family and email addresses were gathered.

After signing in, a variety of activities were enjoyed by all. A bouncy tent and face painting, provided by Kendra Pfleidner, were set up in the parking lot. Thanks to Matt and Rachel Boison, Sandra and Dominique Timmerberg, and Charlotte Hattabaugh for supervising this area. The Lawrence Fire Department parked a truck on the side of the parking lot near the playground for kids to explore. Thanks to our neighborhood policemen, Eric Hench and Chuck Butler, for blocking off the parking lot so that these activities could be done safely. Free pizza, bottled water, and cookies were served throughout the evening. The swimming pool was the most crowded it has been all summer. Record sizzling temperatures made it a popular place to be.

Door prizes were given out by Jim Massel with the assistance of our Mayor, Deborah Cantwell. Other officials present that evening included State Senator Jim Merritt, Sheriff Steve Davis, the Lawrence Chief of Police and Fire Department Chief, and the Head of Public Safety.

Community sponsors of the evening included: Pizza On Call on Oaklandon Road, Funky Face Painting, The UPS Store at Sunnyside and Pendleton Pike, Sam’s Club on 96th Street, Ace Hardware at Geist, The Forum Credit Union, The Boison Family (Steak N Shake gift card), The Fashion Bug, Perkins Restaurant, IHOP at Ft. Ben, Subway at Ft. Ben, WIBC, Panera Bread at Ft. Ben, and Chick Fil A at Castleton Mall.

It’s nice to know we have neighbors who care enough to come out on a 90 degree evening in August to meet each other and take a stand against crime. Please view the photos to get a better idea of the fun activities. We hope next year is even bigger and better.

The Kensington Farms Homeowners Association


Upcoming neighborhood events:
Garage Sale—Saturday, October 14, 2006
Halloween Parade—Tuesday, October 31st at 5:30



Community Mulch Day A Huge Success!

April 23, 2006 – The Kensington Farms Volunteer Work Committee held their 1st annual “Mulch Day” on Saturday, April 22nd. Over 30 volunteer Kensington Farms residents were blessed with a perfect day and spread over 80 cubic yards of mulch. Go take a look at our common ground flower and shrub beds and the playground – the results are great! Read More!

February 28th 2006

Lawrence Zoning Board vote resulted in 4 to 1 to disapprove the trash transfer operation!
 

02/07/2006-
Waste Management Transfer Station
Review Meeting for January 31st was continued to February 27th at 7pm

Please review the following documents regarding Waste Management and their facility located at 56th and Mitthoeffer. Each document contains pertinent information regarding the transfer station. Please contact a Board Member if you have any questions.

Unfortunately, the January 31st hearing was not held because a continuance was granted. Apparently, when Waste Management was first denied in October 2004 they appealed the decision from the Lawrence Zoning Board. The appeal was filed through the Marion County Superior Court. Then the appeal was handed down by the Supreme Court to be heard by the Special Exceptions Zoning Board of Lawrence.

A board member left the Special Exceptions Zoning Board (moved out of Lawrence) and they needed to replace the seat. They informed the attorney for Waste Management but none of the residents were included. In turn, Waste Management's attorney put in a request for a continuance. The Supreme Court ordered the Zoning Board to issue a continuance based on not having all board members present. Not having that fifth person could hinder Waste Management's appeal.

As a result, there will be another appeals hearing in front of a 5 member board on February 27th at 7:00 pm. Please pass this info onto your neighbors and friends in the Lawrence area. Thanks to all who attended this hearing even though it wasn't heard. Your presence is what is the most important thing to get this denied!

Special thanks to the Watson Farms HOA for all of the following documents, the update on the meeting and support for this very important issue.

Kensington Farms HOA letter

Techniks Petition Page 1 2

Public Notice

Site History

Fact Sheet

Special Exception Commitment Contract

EPA Advice for Citizens

Letter of Support for station, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce

Crime Watch

The Kensington Farms Neighborhood Watch Program was started with the goal of developing community support to help one another prevent crimes in our neighborhood.

To learn more about the Crime Watch program, join our Crime Watch program, and/or attend a meeting, contact: Amy Heyman at 823-1423. All of us can do our part to make our neighborhood safer, not just Crime Watch members. If you see something suspicious or a crime in progress, call the police. Use 9-1-1 if a crime is in progress or about to happen, otherwise use 545-7575 for contacting the Lawrence Police.
 

One way you can start doing your part right now is by burning your outside house lights at night. This is a great deterrent to criminals. Criminals do not want to be seen. If they see every house on the block with outside lights on at night, then they will find a different block to prey upon. The cost is minimal to you; turn them on when you go to bed and turn them off when you wake up!
 

Articles

Don’t Take the Bait!

E-mail schemes called “phishing” are an attempt to trick consumers into disclosing personal or financial information. This is done by sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail will direct the user to visit a web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords, credit card, social security, and bank account numbers.

There was recently bait dangled in front of users regarding LaSalle Bank. An e-mail was sent out informing users that the bank has a new security system and in an attempt to ensure that security is met they needed updated information. The goal of this was to receive credit card information, ATM pin numbers, and Social Security Numbers. The web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s personal information.

It is relatively easy to make a web site look like a legitimate site by mimicking the HTML code. Phishing is a variation on “fishing”, the idea being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that while most will ignore the bait, some will be tempted to bite. Make sure you are always cautious before sending any Personal Identifiable Information (PII) or other sensitive information over the internet.

How To Avoid Being “Phished”…


• Never send sensitive information via e-mail. E-mail is not secure.
Only use a secure site for Web transactions involving Personal

• Identifiable Information (PII). An “https” in the browser’s address field indicates a secure site.

• Check your credit card, debit card, and bank statements each month.

• Check your credit report at least once a year.