I second that, I have many changes in my 21 years in Obs, and the current
situation is gratifying.
Helen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Colleen Bester (CI)" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 12:15 PM
Subject: RE: [obsnw] A thank you note :-)
Hi All
On a similar note , I'd like to thank James Cowley for all his support
& positive approaches to a situation I thought would escalate into me
moving from Observatory.
I've lived here for 11 years now (wow!!can't believe it myself!) &
have seen the rise & fall & rise again of a suburb I am proud to call
home.
James - thank you for always listening , always answering my calls no
matter what time of day or night & always having a positive
outlook.Many thanks as well to your wife & kids for supporting you
when you give so much.
To all Obs residents - hang in there...& do your bit...together we
really can make a difference!
Regards
Colleen
Donne str
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf
Of Jonathan Endersby
Sent: 21 January 2011 12:04 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [obsnw] A thank you note :-)
Hi Reinmar (is that your first name?)
Thank you for writing this email. I've actually wanted to write
something along these lines for ages but didn't because I'm involved
in the Obsid and didn't want to seem like I was patting myself on the
back.
But yes, I feel safer at night and I love the fact that the negative
nancies who told us that the taggers would "come back and tag your
freshly painted walls overnight" have been proven completely wrong...
To me this says more than anything that we've managed to subtly change
the atmosphere to something more positive and move civil.
It's still a long journey but we're heading very much in the right
direction!
j.
ps. The people involved in the Obsid do a very hard and often very
frustrating and difficult job. If anyone has time and energy and wants
to make Obs a better place I really would encourage you to get
involved.
On 21 January 2011 11:44, Reinmar <[email protected]>
wrote:
I know this will probably be a long read, but I thought about it
this
morning as I was lying in bed at 04:15 and couldn't sleep, and
thought
to myself that I had to write this
I would like to relay my story of what I have seen happening in
Observatory in the past 4 years since we moved into our house in
Oxford Street.
4 Years ago my (now) husband & I bought a house in Oxford Road and
we
were very excited about the purchase. We moved in, and from the
word
get go you would walk in the streets in the mornings before sunrise
and see litter, glass shards, broken car windows Graffiti were
everywhere and Obs looked untidy. I subscribed to the OBSNW & OCA
google groups and everyday would come to work and read of another
house, car or something else happening in the suburb, and was
wondering if this was really the right decision to move to
Observatory.
We prevailed and said things would get better. I remember standing
on
our balcony one morning and seeing a person break into a car right
in
front of me, and he looked up, laughed at me and walk away (luckily?
with nothing). I couldn't phone anyone, so I couldn't do anything.
We also had our share of attempted break-ins, which was luckily?
(again) stopped by our front wall creeper catching alight. The fire
was stopped by neighbours, which we are extremely thankful for.
Then things started to happen. Firstly the ADT Oxford Rd bicycle
patrol came and crime did get better for the affected area, but
things
were still bleak for the rest of Obs. Then one day I received a
form
in my postbox for the application for the OBSID. I signed
immediately
and hoped that it would go through Council. The OBSID formed and
more
things started to happen. Security came into the streets, streets
got
cleaned, graffiti got painted over. Plants started appearing on the
streets, pavements and gutters were clean, houses were clean, and it
started feelings safer.
Now, when I come into work and read the emails from the Google
Groups,
there are little or some days even no e-mails about crime, and more
about the betterment of the whole Observatory as a suburb. When
something happens in the streets, you know that you can immediately
phone Vetus Schola and the SAPS and someone will arrive shortly.
Yes, there are still issues, and there will always be, but the idea
of
this letter is to show what has been done in the past 4 years, since
I've been staying in Observatorty.
For that and that alone I have to thank everyone involved and all
the
residents of Observatory for making the suburb so special. Things
can
only get better.
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--
Jonathan Endersby
Connect. Share. Trust.
www.trustfabric.com +27 82 414 3129 www.arbitraryuser.com
tfid: arbitraryuser
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can
steer yourself any direction you choose. - Dr Seuss
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