See Something – Say Something

At the CV Town Council meeting last Thursday there were two items that sparked interest. The first was a proposed communications tower that was to be installed at the sheriff’s station. This proposed tower prompted debate – sometimes heated debate – between those who felt that the possible exposure to radiation emitted from the site was unacceptable and those who wanted a dedicated means of communication between safety personnel in the event of a disaster. After hearing all concerns, the town council made a recommendation to Supervisor Michael Antonovich to oppose the construction of the tower. (To learn more read Brandon Hensley’s story on page 4. The letter that was issued by the supervisor can be viewed on our website www.cvweekly.com.)

I want to offer a couple of thoughts. First, this project was not presented well to our community. Prior to any construction taking place at the station – and much of the work has already been completed – someone from LA-RICS should have held public meetings. Maybe it would have been able to address the concerns rather than react to them.

Secondly, when the county firefighters’ union opposed the installation of the towers at fire stations, citing possible health hazards, installation was pulled, I believe at the direction of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. How could LA-RICS fight that decision? And how could they sell the idea that installing the towers at the sheriff’s station was a good idea?

I’m not saying that I agree with the decision to pull the tower but the way the entire proposal was handled was poor. Hopefully LA-RICS will learn from this experience.

The second item on the CVTC agenda concerned the increase in crime, specifically burglaries (not to be confused with robberies), in the Crescenta Valley.

At Thursday’s CVTC meeting, the sheriff’s department was well represented. There were so many questions, in fact, that a meeting dedicated to just answering questions relating to local crime was held on Monday at the La Crescenta Library. CV Sheriff’s Station Capt. Bill Song fielded most of the questions on Monday night. The majority of questions focused on the increase in crime in the Crescenta Valley. I commend Capt. Song for the way he handled the standing room only audience, especially since he could only address crime in the unincorporated part of the Crescenta Valley. The area west of Pennsylvania Avenue is handled by the Glendale Police Dept. I think that another meeting with GPD and hopefully the sheriff’s department will be planned.

The thoughts I left Monday’s meeting with were that 1) criminals are aware of how long it takes law enforcement to respond to certain crimes in our area; 2) we citizens and residents need to report suspicious vehicles and persons; 3) neighbors need to be watching each others’ backs.

While we cannot control “bad guys” coming up here, we can make it known that we are on the look out for people who are up to no good.

To learn more read Mary O’Keefe’s story on the cover.

Robin Goldsworthy is the publisher of the Crescenta
Valley Weekly. She can be

reached at robin@cvweekly.com 

or (818) 248-2740.

  robin goldsworthy