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fiat22turbo
fiat22turbo SuperDork
2/27/09 12:12 p.m.

Bob Costas Trained Monkees

Laurel Lane residents say teens harassing them, leading to 47 police calls in two years By Matthew Graham The Oregon City News, Feb 26, 2009 The residents along the last block of Laurel Lane are tired of the anxiety they’re forced to feel every time they come home. They’re tired of wondering what kind of obscenity-strewn verbal barrage they’ll be subject to when driving down their road, tucked between a middle school and a cemetery and just a couple blocks from city hall. They’re tired of wondering what new graffiti they’ll find, whether their house will be egged. They’re tired of simple things like bringing in the groceries turning into a struggle not to be victimized. The spark that caused the blaze seems minuscule given the outcome; two and a half years ago some young men in their late teens and early twenties were skateboarding on Laurel Lane, which backs up to the Oregon City Terrace Apartments, with younger and lower income inhabitants. “There were two of them out there one day and my wife and I were trying to work in our front yard and these people were 50 feet away from us and their language was incredible,” said one resident, who wanted his name withheld for fear of retaliation. “It’s as if they can’t speak without using bad language. So I walked over and I said, ‘hey, can you guys do me a favor? Would you please not cuss.’ And the one guy was fairly accepting, but the other one completely went off the deep end.” The skateboarders hanging out there wasn’t uncommon, the residents just wanted a little less profanity. “We were dealing with six or eight kids coming over into our neighborhood, skateboarding for hours on end through this gate that separates us from these apartments and because we had a brand new street, they thought that was an ideal place to skateboard and they’ve kind of adopted it as their home away from home/gang hang out/skate park,” he said. After that initial incident, though, things have gotten progressively worse. It’s gone from six or eight of them to 15. They started screaming profanities at the houses. The resident claims they do drugs and have sex on the path between the neighborhood and the middle school. When he finally called the police, they egged his house. “They made an attempt to injure my cat by kicking it,” the man said. “Fortunately the cat got away … When we bring our groceries in from the store we back into the garage because we’ve had neighbors have things stolen out of their car as they were unloading or loading them … Three in the morning the neighbors dog starts barking, I get up, because vehicles on our street have been broken into.” The police have been called more than 45 times since March 2007. Most of those calls are for juvenile problems or criminal mischief, but they also include theft, reckless burning, breaking into a vehicle and drugs. “We on the street have lived in fear and anger for two-and-a-half years and the weight of that is just incredible,” he said. “You go to work, the street’s really nice. You come home, but you know before you even get there that you’re going to be facing something terrible and so you’re just completely apprehensive before you even turn on the street.” Three families along the block finally turned to the city commission last week, begging for help. They’re convinced that by closing the gate from the neighborhood to the school, they’ll cut off the kids’ access and reason for coming over onto Laurel Lane. “When the mayor said they were unanimously in favor of closing the gate, I almost cried,” the man said. “It was a giant weight that’s been lifted off us. Two and a half years we’ve been dealing with these kids.” City leaders acknowledged that something needed to be done. “This is a situation that I think if we do not get a remedy, somebody’s going to get hurt out there,” said City Manager Larry Patterson. But they weren’t all convinced that closing the gate would do it; Police Chief Mike Conrad is worried they’ll just migrate somewhere else. “We are somewhat limited in what we can do,” Conrad said. “There are no loitering laws in Oregon. We have taken a zero-tolerance policy … but we can’t be there all the time. These teenagers are going to congregate somewhere.” The city has already taken a number of steps in that direction: the “ringleader” was evicted from the apartments and isn’t allowed back; police have installed a security camera that officers can check from their squad cars; police have increased patrols of the area; and more. But it hasn’t been entirely effective. When the Oregon City News called one resident Friday, she was on the phone with police. She said they arrested a young man that night. Mayor Alice Norris said the city needed to help the residents of Laurel Lane, and quickly. “We can’t have a neighborhood being held hostage by juveniles,” she said.

What a bunch of Bob Costas! Grab a kid, have them call their parent(s) and get it dealt with. I know that parents in my neighborhood did that whenever my friends and stepped out of line.

BBsGarage
BBsGarage HalfDork
2/27/09 12:33 p.m.

Assuming there are parents, they more then likely dont want the kids near them either.

Jensenman
Jensenman SuperDork
2/27/09 12:45 p.m.

My dad would have stood for that kind of crap for, like, 4 seconds. I'm the same as he is.

CrackMonkey
CrackMonkey Reader
2/27/09 12:45 p.m.

Bob Costas Trained Monkees? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

ManofFewWords
ManofFewWords Reader
2/27/09 12:55 p.m.

This has alot to do with an ineffective police force. A good force with a good police chief goes a long way towards keeping the peace.

MrJoshua
MrJoshua SuperDork
2/27/09 12:58 p.m.

Here in FL you can hire a off duty officer in uniform to work security in your grocery store. I would think the neighbors could have arranged a sweetheart deal with the local PD to have one hang out in the neighborhood.

Strizzo
Strizzo Dork
2/27/09 1:02 p.m.

well at least soon enough they'll be safe from greenhouse gasses because oregon won't let them buy aftermarket parts.

JFX001
JFX001 HalfDork
2/27/09 1:06 p.m.

Shoulda called the A-Team.

rebelgtp
rebelgtp HalfDork
2/27/09 1:08 p.m.

here is what that neighborhood needs

MrJoshua
MrJoshua SuperDork
2/27/09 1:11 p.m.

If Clint wasn't available, all the neighborhood needed was a sprinkling of gravel.

walterj
walterj Dork
2/27/09 1:36 p.m.

I can solve this problem by driving too fast thru their neighborhood!

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo Dork
2/27/09 1:46 p.m.
MrJoshua wrote: If Clint wasn't available, all the neighborhood needed was a sprinkling of gravel.

Ya beat me to it.

Strizzo
Strizzo Dork
2/27/09 3:28 p.m.

what these folks need are a few paintball guns. kids start mouthing off, "F--- me? F--- me? POP POP POP F--- you motherberkleyers!"

and if these people know about people fornicating along the path between the houses, why haven't they turned the hose on them?

Mental
Mental SuperDork
2/27/09 3:35 p.m.

I'd be willing to bet the first kid that turns up duffle bagged, ducked taped after beaten within an inch of his life would solve a lot of these problems as well.

rebelgtp
rebelgtp HalfDork
2/27/09 3:41 p.m.
Strizzo wrote: and if these people know about people fornicating along the path between the houses, why haven't they turned the hose on them?

To heck with a hose and water. Spray them down with a couple cans of bear mace I bet that would get their attention lol

cwh
cwh Dork
2/27/09 3:47 p.m.

Too many people are afraid to stand up for themselves and their homes. I live in a "Changing" area, and there are several people here that will not take crap from any of the area thuglets. Including a pair of Queens that live across the street from me. No, we don't have that problem here, but we certainly could.

Jensenman
Jensenman SuperDork
2/27/09 3:50 p.m.

Way back when a guy I knew (won't call him a friend) had a YZ125 with no silencer. This twerp used to ride it at all hours of the day and night; he was particularly fond of cutting across one guy's back yard on his way to some pothead buddy's place. The homeowner came out one night, flagged him down, words were exchanged. The kid took off and dug a trench in the back yard. A couple nights later, the kid came down the road and cut through the guy's back yard again but this time he got a 2x4 across the chest. No more problems. I heard through the jungle telegraph that when he told his dad what happened his dad just looked at him and said 'Serves you right'.

Keith
Keith SuperDork
2/27/09 3:51 p.m.
EastCoastMojo wrote:
MrJoshua wrote: If Clint wasn't available, all the neighborhood needed was a sprinkling of gravel.
Ya beat me to it.

Me too. That was my first thought - a bit of gravel, no more skateboards.

DILYSI Dave
DILYSI Dave SuperDork
2/27/09 10:35 p.m.
Mental wrote: I'd be willing to bet the first kid that turns up duffle bagged, ducked taped after beaten within an inch of his life would solve a lot of these problems as well.

+1

neon4891
neon4891 SuperDork
2/27/09 11:29 p.m.

Sounds like the societel(sp?) collapse that lead to the establishment of the gov. in Starship Troopers.

Sorry for the flounder

Luke
Luke Dork
2/27/09 11:30 p.m.

I think flounders are excepted if they involve anything even remotely related to Starship Troopers.

Osterizer
Osterizer HalfDork
2/28/09 8:25 a.m.

+

Problem solved.

curtis
curtis New Reader
2/28/09 10:30 a.m.

I would intentionally leave my trunk open with food and stuff and hide in the bushes with a shotgun. Then we play the waiting game.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo Dork
2/28/09 10:39 a.m.

I think if I'm going to be shooting at a target standing next to my car I would choose a rifle.

Wally
Wally SuperDork
2/28/09 10:45 a.m.

The waiting sucks. Let's play hungry hungry hippos

Fill the shotgun shells with rocksalt and it becomes like paint ball, but funnier.

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