COPPSBlog

National Night Out is over and time to move on to the next events.  The Citizen’s Police Academy starts on September 1st, so we are busy getting the schedule finalized for this.  Please let me know if you are interested in attending.  I know every years I get such good feed back from the participants.  We are also working on getting donations for Christmas Cop (Formerly Shop with a Cop).  Our 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off fundraiser is scheduled for November 4th and we are hopeing to be able to add a silent auction to this event.  I have heard from several people around the community how excited they are for this event.  Please let me know if you have a great chili that you want to enter into the Cook-off or have an item you would like to donate for the silent auction.

For those of you who don’t know, I am pregnant and due in October. So all the events we have coming up I am working on a little early to make sure that they happen.

It is already almost July, the College World Series is over and National Night Out is just around the corner.  June has been a crazy month.  We have had some bad weather and all eyes are on the Missouri River, you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter and we will keep you as updated as we can on the river and flooding.  The 4th of July is this weekend, please be safe we don’t want any fireworks injuries here in Bellevue.  The National Council on Fireworks safety has some great safety tips. 

We are working on getting things ready for the National Night Out.  It is planned for August 2nd.  Please let Jayme Krueger know if you are interested in hosting a party.  You can call her at 402-293-3071 or email her at jayme.krueger@bellevue.net. We will provide some food as usual and have some great prizes. There will be drawings among the Party hosts.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Although the stop sign violation seems to be a very simple explanation many motorist are guilty of violating this statue. Stop means that the entire motion of the car must come to a complete stop. If you are approaching a stop sign you must stop your car prior to the stop sign. If you approach a stop sign where there is a crosswalk prior to the stop sign then you must stop your car prior to the crosswalk. Once you decide that there are no pedestrians waiting to cross then you can move your car forward to make sure the intersection is clear before proceeding. If you are coming out of a private drive or business and there is a sidewalk then you must stop your car prior to the sidewalk to make sure it is clear of all traffic.

Last Fall the DEA with the help of more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners collected more than 242,000 pound (121tons) of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 sites. Next Saturday, April 30th is the second DEA sponsored Prescription Drug Take Back Day. We will be set up at the Bellevue Shopko at 601 Galvin Street South from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please bring any unwanted or expired medication to us at Shopko during this time and we will dispose of it appropriately.  We will be set up just North of the entrance doors. We will not accept needles and other Sharps.

I thought this month I would go a different route and talk about something that is very important to me.  I have been a police officer for roughly 12 years.  Every year I hear about the officers that pay the ultimate sacrifice to keep the public safe.  This year we have lost 50 officers since the start of the year.  This is an issue that most people don’t know about because it doesn’t make the news.  Florida has had the most in the line of duty deaths with 10.  As of today 22 officers have been killed by gunfire and 16 have been killed by vehicles or crashes.  On average we are losing an officer every two days.  This is on track to be the deadliest year for law enforcement.  The reason I bring this up is so people understand that this is an issue that needs more attention.  We are fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters that go out everyday to protect the citizens of our communities.  So next time you see an officer, deputy, trooper or any other law enforcement officer, thank them for what they do and tell them to be safe.

Spring is just around the corner and with the beautiful spring weather; we also get Thunder Storms, Tornado’s, Hail, Flooding, and lots of Wind here in Nebraska.  Tornado’s and Flooding are the two more dangerous weather conditions that we have to worry about here. 

We had a Siren Drill this morning to make sure that the Siren’s were working correctly.  Make sure you pay attention when the Siren’s go off, that means we are in a Tornado Warning.  Do you know the difference between a Watch and a Warning? A Watch means the conditions are right for a Tornado to occur.  A Warning means a Tornado has been spotted and is on the ground. Know ahead of time where the best place to go in your house is.  You want to get to a lower level with no windows. 

Bellevue Emergency Management is hosting a Tornado Spotters Training on Thursday, March 24th, at the Fire Training Site, 3100 Cornhusker Rd. at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm.  This is a great training for anyone interested in learning more about what to watch out for during Tornado Season. 

As far as Flooding goes,  Flooding can be caused by several reasons, lots of rain or ice jams are the main reason we see flooding. If you come across a street that is flooded, don’t try and cross it. It doesn’t take much water to wash your car off the street. 

Check out The Weather Channel , it has some great tips for severe weather situations.

N—Never be afraid to check into something that does not look or feel quite right.  Better safe than sorry.

E—Even the calmest of neighborhoods can fall victim to crime. 

I—Ignoring suspicious behavior can result in unnecessary damage to property or persons.

G—Get together often.  We are only required to meet once a year, but get together for fun, fellowship and to exchange ideas more frequently.  It builds stronger bonds for our entire community.

H—Help our dedicated and well trained Bellevue police officers by being their eyes and ears for our neighborhoods.  They can’t be everywhere at once so lessen their load by coming together to keep everyone safe.

B—Be proactive.  While my neighborhood has always looked out for one another without forming a formal group, having “Neighborhood Watch” signs posted in the neighborhood and window clings on our houses takes our belief in public safety to the next level.

O—Offer to get your neighbor’s mail or pick up their paper when you know they will not be home.  It makes it look like someone is there, even if they aren’t and can possibly deter a burglary.

R—Reduce the number of incidents in your neighborhood by having Neighborhood Watch in place.

H—Have fun together!  You may have problems with your neighbors from time to time, but realize that you are all in this together to keep our neighborhoods and community safe.  Respect each other’s differences and put them aside for the sake of safety!

O—Organize a Neighborhood Watch group today by contacting Jayme Krueger at jayme.krueger@bellevue.net or call (402) 293-3086.

O—Offering to be a block captain is a rewarding experience.  Help make Bellevue the city that all of us like to work, play and live in!

D—Don’t take suspicious behavior for granted.  When in doubt, call 911, or the non-emergency Bellevue Police phone number 402-293-3100.  They would rather have it turn out to be nothing than to have a burglar or rapist break into a home.

W—When are Neighborhood Watch groups required to meet?  Only once per year, but as often as you would like to.

A—Always remember.  You can never be too careful. 

T—The more eyes watching your Neighborhoods, the better.

C—Contact Jayme Krueger, the Bellevue Police Community Coordinator today to get your group started.  Her eEmail address is jayme.krueger@bellevue.net, or call Jayme at (402) 293-3086.  She is wonderful to work with and very, very helpful!!!

H—Have fun getting to know your neighbors!

Everyone understands what the Red and Green light stands for. Red means to stop and Green means go. Most people do not understand the meaning of the Yellow light. When the light changes to Yellow you must stop your vehicle prior to entering the intersection. The only way you can enter the intersection on a Yellow is if you have already started in to the intersection when the light changes, or if by the time your car comes to a stop it would end up in the intersection.  Accelerating your vehicle in an attempt to make it through the Yellow light is a violation and you can be cited for failure to obey a traffic control devise.

We have had 2 daytime burglaries over the last couple days near Falcon Forest and the 4500 block of Anchor Mill Rd.  They did not get anything from Anchor Mill, because someone was home at the time and scared them off.  The Suspect Vehicle is faded Red or Orange in color, Older, boxy style four door car,Possibly a Toyota. The back bumper was “funny” or damaged and it had a loud engine or exhaust.  They got in the house by breaking a window.  Please keep an eye out for this vehicle and call the Police if you see it.  If you are home during the day pay attention to people in your neighborhood.  If you don’t recognize them and it just seems “weird” to you, call us.  We will be happy to check the area and contact the person to make sure they have a legitimate reason to be there.