PSA: “Taping, hanging, or placing any items, including flyers or advertisements, on or inside a mailbox by anyone other than a USPS carrier is illegal. Mailboxes are considered federal property, and violating these restrictions can result in fines up to $10,000 per incident for individuals or up to for organizations. This includes lawn care, housekeeping, tree removal, gutter cleaning, power washing, etc. companies.
Thank you
A Car in our neighborhood was recently robbed of some loose change, maybe looking for more. The owner had left the car unlocked.
A reminder to all to please keep your parked cars locked and stay alert. If you have not invested in a motion detector camera, would strongly recommend as ours works great and covers the driveway and front yard / porch.
Hello neighbors. You are invited to join us in the Durham Big Sweep to clean up our streets. See the link below:
Howdy all neighbors, please enjoy the following blog article from the Durham County Master Gardeners on gardening in October in our area of NC:
Enjoy the month, the color changes and Happy Halloween!
Jeff, Durham County Certified Master Gardener
As we begin the change of the season from Summer to Fall we just wanted to remind neighbors that this is also Copperhead breeding season and Copperheads will be more active this time of year.
Copperheads are mostly nocturnal but they can be active day or night. To humans their bites are serious though rarely life threatening. To smaller pets they can be more serious. As the day light hours are shortened and many of our neighbors like to get their walks and runs in the early morning or late evening it is highly suggested to use a headlight or some sort of illumination that will allow you to keep an eye out for a Copperhead that may be in your path. We know a neighbor in the Yorkdale area recently experienced an encounter while walking their dog and it was good to hear the dog will recover.
There is no need to exterminate the snake since these snakes do play a vital role in keeping the population in check for other vermin such as rodents. Simply give plenty of space between you and the Copperhead.
If you find one in your yard in an inconvenient location you can use a jet stream of water, from a distance, to move it in another direction.
They are obviously also well camouflaged so stay aware in any areas where grass or shrubs may not be as well maintained.
Unfortunately due to a lack of interest, our annual NNO gathering will not happen this year on the 06 August 2018. This would have been our 9th annual celebration.
Many factors, but primarily an overall lack of interest in having the event, have resulted in the event being cancelled. It takes time and participation in order to plan and coordinate for those who have worked on NNO event committees the past 8 years.
This national celebration is also celebrated during the hottest time of year for us and on a Tues evening as well.
All is not lost however. We were thinking of having a neighborhood picnic in early October perhaps when the weather less hot and on a Friday or Sat evening. Feel free to comment with thoughts, interests and suggestions.
Stay cool and enjoy the rest of the summer.
UE Durham Community Watch Team.
Honored to announce that University Estates Durham has been awarded as a National Night Out award Neighborhood/Community winner for 2017.
This is our 7th successive award recognition which goes to show that we have one of the best communities because we have the best involved neighbors that want a safe and friendly place to call home. A round of applause to all our participants, contributors and attendees as your involvement is what makes this honor possible. Thank you!
If you missed our NNO Round-Up or just wanted to relive the event then this video is just for you. We see many smiling faces on our little cowgirls and cowboys which thrills the heart to see having a good time. To all our neighbors, the band wanted to let you know that you all can really cook up some great food.
A huge (and well overdue) thank you to all the volunteers that helped with the NNO event setup, greeting table, food table setup and clean up. This is a community event so one person alone does not make this a success without our volunteers input and hard work. A special recognition to all the financial donors for their generosity and support to the annual event.
This is part of our submission to the National Association of Town Watch. We hope you enjoy.
Hello Neighbors,
The Rosen Report on NBC this morning interviewed an incarcerated home burglar who gave some great tips for homeowners on crime prevention:
> He and other burglars usually make their hits during the day between 8 AM and 2 PM . Usually by 8 AM adults are off to work and kids off to school, so no one is at home. By 2 PM or later the risk increases that homeowners will return home. Most burglars do not want to get caught. However, there are those fewer cases where thieves may break in to an occupied residence.
> Homes that have visible uncollected mail, packages, or newspapers and no car in the driveway are prime targets as they indicate no one is home.
> Keeping lights on timers always good and may deter but do not make much difference during daylight hours, when many burglaries occur.
> Homes often found to have open and/or unlocked windows, sliding doors and even main entry doors. This burglar said he frequently gained easy entrance without any ‘tools.’
> Homes with video cameras may be considered more attractive as they indicate there may be something more valuable in the home, and the burglar would put on a mask to be unrecognizable.
> Homes with an alarm system may help deter a break-in, or speed up the time a burglar ransacks the home. However, this burglar burglarized homes with alarms activated. Usually a thief hits and runs, getting in the house, moving quickly, seeking items of value and getting out within 1-3 minutes, and are long gone before the police arrive.
University Estates Durham has received the 2016 National Night Out Neighborhood/Community award. UED was one of 7 communities in the entire United States to have this honored bestowed. Despite the weather challenges and setup challenges this community was able to come together when needed most and have a most successful event. I am so proud of all the volunteers and organizers.
We will certainly need to celebrate the accomplishment.
We would also like to recognize the Durham community of Earl Road which also was honored for 2016. (See the complete list of communities awarded below.)
