Below are safety tips sent to us from Sharon Rastatter, the 15th Precinct Community Relations Coordinator. She has asked us to share them with the neighborhood.
ARRANGE FOR SNOW REMOVAL WHEN AWAY FROM HOME
It's easy to remember in the spring and summer to ask a neighbor or friend to water your plants and mow your yard, depending on the length of your trip, so it looks like you're home, right? But did you know the same goes in winter, with snow removal? A few years ago, a home in Westbrooke was broken into after it snowed while the homeowners were out of town. Police attributed the break-in to the lack of snow removal or even footprints several days in a row (until the only footprints led to the window the burglars used for access to the home). Neighbors didn't know the homeowners were out of town, either, to know to check on the house.
If you're going to be out of town this winter, please let a neighbor or two know and make arrangements (with them, a contractor, or whomever) to clear your driveway and walkways so it looks like someone is home. You can also ask Columbus Division of Police for a house-check when patrol officers have a chance to visit while you're gone -- make arrangements through the dispatch center: 614-645-4545.
THE DANGER OF RETENTION PONDS
Please remind your children – and adults, if they're not aware – to stay off the "frozen" retention ponds throughout central Ohio. Unless it's a designated ice skating pond, such as the one at Battelle-Darby Creek Metro Park, they don't freeze completely and aren't safe! Between their depth, fluctuating temperatures and new water coming in through the drains, the ice is often thinner than it appears or breaks easily and quickly.
Please don't assume that your kids know that they're dangerous. When this was a big issue a few years ago (girls from what turned out to be Westbriar were on the pond behind Lake Hollow repeatedly), I posted about it on my personal Facebook page, and a high school classmate thanked me. She was talking to her middle school-age son about his day (no school that day), and learned he'd been playing on a "frozen" retention pond near them (other side of town). He didn't realize the danger, as neither of his parents had talked about it. They assumed he knew. Thankfully he now knows and nothing bad happened, but it doesn't always work out that way. Emergency crews have very limited time to be able to save a person from freezing waters, not to mention the danger of someone going under the ice -- and that's if they can even reach them.
Stay safe!
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