Neighbors can get some great freebies, meet local firefighters and members of several police units, get information from various state and local agencies and meet elected officials on Saturday, May 19, during the 2nd Police District Advisory Council’s eighth annual Community Day.
Anyone with documents that need shredding can get that job done at Community Day in the Target parking lot, 7400 Bustleton Ave., Larry Genetti, PDAC treasurer, said during the organization’s April 10 meeting at the Philadelphia Protestant Home.
Also, with support from state Sen. Christine Tartaglione, there will be free child fingerprinting, bike registration and VIN etching, Genetti said.
The Rotary Club of Northeast Sunrisers, Frankford Northeast Rotary Club, Life Cycle Solutions and the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation will accept unwanted electronics for donation or recycling.
Pet food donations also will be collected.
Representatives of the police K-9, crime scene, marine and counterterrorism units will be on hand, too.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but those with bikes can start at 9 a.m. for a 12-mile ride through the 2nd district, Genetti said.
This year’s cycling event has been named the Ken Hyers Memorial Bike Ride to honor the memory of the longtime civic activist who died last year. Hyers, who had been the group’s vice chairman, had been elected chairman in late 2010. He found out he was ill and never took office.
Genetti said the organization was still looking for volunteers to help with Community Day and for Officer Appreciation Day, which is scheduled for June 9 at the 2nd Police District headquarters, at Harbison and Levick streets.
Volunteers can call 215–342–8946 or e-mail 2ndpdac@gmail.com
Capt. Michael McCarrick, the district’s commander, said there had been a rise in burglaries in the district, but crime’s stats have come into line with last year’s numbers.
He warned residents that con men impersonating utility employees have been working the area, usually targeting senior citizens. The criminals get into homes under false pretense and then burglarize the residence or rob occupants. They target older people because they quickly move on, sometimes to other states, before returning to an area, and feel seniors either might prove unreliable witnesses because of failing eyesight or hearing or, even worse, the victims might have passed away.
This crime seems to crop up every spring, the captain said, and the criminals working this year “are more aggressive than the previous groups.” ••
