Sharing The Good Stories

 A WONDERFUL IDEA
This evening Diane Hill - shown where with her husband, Paul, who passed away a year ago - who publishes the United Neighbors newsletter in Costa Mesa and does so many other volunteer activities in town, sent out a special issue with a very, very special idea that I felt should be shared with those of you who read this blog.

SHARING GOOD STORIES
I've presented an image of her message below.  If you're having trouble reading it just click on the image.  I think this is a terrific idea.  Thanks to Diane for proposing this idea - a way to say thanks to the diminishing number of loyal Costa Mesa employees.

Paul L. Hill - 11/24/35 - 11/17/12

PAUL HILL PASSES AWAY
While we were away this past weekend our friend, Paul Hill, died suddenly.

HE WILL BE MISSED
We here at A Bubbling Cauldron only knew Paul for a couple years and greatly admired the work he and Diane -  his wife of more than a half-century - have done in the community.  He will be missed.

INFORMATION
The following is the information provided by his family:

Beloved husband, father and grandfather, Paul Letterman Hill passed on Saturday, November 17. Paul was an enthusiastic participant in many activities to help the city of Costa Mesa. He was a member of Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT), Mesa Emergency Services Amateur Communication (MESAC) and president of the board at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Costa Mesa. He was a founding member of the CPR and Safety Training Team and taught American Heart Association CPR and First Aid with a full schedule both in class and by appointment. He was the Communication Director for the UCLA Alumni Band and had been a member for 37 years.

Paul and Diane’s mothers were Alpha Delta Pi Sorority sisters at UCLA and in each other’s wedding party, so Diane and Paul knew each other all their lives. He was born Nov. 24, 1935 and married Dec. 27, 1958. Their oldest daughter, Robin lives In FL with oldest grandson Sam, Don and wife Jen are in VA with grandsons Ben and Dan and Barbara and husband Bob are in PA with grandsons Jack and Mitch.

A celebration of life will be held in Paul’s honor on Wednesday, November  21, 11 AM, at First Church of Christ, Scientist, Costa Mesa, 2880 Mesa Verde Drive East (just north of Adams Ave.) Pot Luck refreshments will be served after all have shared their memories.

Instead of flowers, you are welcome to make a donation “in memory of Paul Hill” to the Costa Mesa Community Foundation, PO Box 10268, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group Hosts Safety Meeting

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
My friends in the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group are hosting a Neighborhood Watch meeting on Monday, July 23, 2012 beginning at 7:00 at the Lighthouse Church, 301 Magnolia Street.  The flier for this event is below.  Just click on the image to enlarge it for easier reading.  I've also provided a map to help you locate the venue.

 RISING CRIME RATE
The reason for this event is the rising crime rate in the city and, on the Eastside in particular.  Representatives of the Costa Mesa Police Department will attend to provide current statistics and helpful information for us all.  Diane Hill of United Neighbors will also attend to advise us about her group activities.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME
While targeted at the Eastside, anyone is welcome to attend.  Please tell your neighbors because in these days of limited law enforcement resources we all need to be more alert to things going on in our neighborhoods.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS...
If you have questions there is a number at the end of the flier that you can call.  See you there.

Another Successful Town Hall

THE LATEST IN HER SERIES
Wednesday evening Costa Mesa councilwoman Wendy Leece hosted another in her series of public safety Town Halls, this time at College Park Elementary School. This successful event found 50 College Park residents gathered to hear from Leece, members of the Costa Mesa Police Department and community volunteers from emergency response and neighborhood awareness organizations.

LIEUTENANT BOB CISZEK
Leece kicked things off, then handed the baton to 28-year veteran CMPD Lieutenant Bob Ciszek, Area Commander of Area 2 - the administrative sub-division in which the College Park community is located. He spoke about Community Oriented Policing, partnership between the police and community and community events such as C3 (Cops, Church, Community), National Night Out and Neighbors to Neighbors - all events designed to tighten the bond between the community and the police officers who provide for their safety.

CRIMES OF OPPORTUNITY
Ciszek spoke of the types of crimes they're seeing in our city, focusing on "crimes of opportunity" - unlocked cars, open garage doors, etc., and stressed that residents shouldn't have things in plain sight in their cars. He also spoke of the "Broken Window" concept, where a home that looks unmaintained may be a more likely target for burglaries than others.

NEW SCHEDULE
He talked briefly about the recently-implemented "hybrid" scheduling, which combines 4/10 and 3/12 shifts to provide coverage in the city now dealing with 30 fewer sworn officers than just two years ago. At one point he said, "We're working as hard as we can to keep you as safe as we can."

CORPORAL DOUG JOHNSON
Corporal Doug Johnson, 19 years on the CMPD, then discussed issues like the Neighborhood Watch program and the Citizen's Police Academy and gave an overview of how the city is broken up into sub-areas within the two major reporting areas. He gave a breakdown of major crimes for the past 12 months in the areas that form the College Park community, then compared those numbers to areas within the Westside of the city that have three times the number of calls for service - an eye-opener for the audience.

FEWER POLICE = SERVICE DELAYS
Johnson also spoke briefly about how the CMPD deploys its resources now with fewer officers. He mentioned that some of the specialty units - the Narcotics unit, for example - have been disbanded and those officers folded back into other operations, and that the Gang Unit has been reduced from 6 to 4 members. He also spoke of the delays in service responses on busy nights - Fridays, in particular. He also addressed solicitors and scavengers. Residents should call the CMPD if they're concerned about solicitors in their neighborhoods because most do not have permits. Scavengers are not permitted in the city, so residents should call when they see them.

SERGEANT GREG SCOTT
Traffic Bureau Sergeant Greg Scott - a 20-year veteran - then spoke to the group. He compared his motorcycle officers to police helicopters in that they are "force multipliers" - because of their quickness they can cover more ground. He spoke of the CMPD DUI team, each member of which is award-winning for their performance taking drunk drivers off the streets. He referred to one member of the team who will receive an award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for apprehending more than 430 drunk drivers last year and mentioned that all the other members of the DUI team will be members of the coveted "Century Club" - those who apprehend 100 or more drunk drivers.

CERT
Cindy Brenneman and Diane Swarts of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), HERE, briefly gave an overview of their organization and encouraged residents to sign up for the next class in April.

UNITED NEIGHBORS
Diane Hill who, with her husband Paul, runs United Neighbors, HERE, also spoke briefly, introducing her organization and encouraging College Park residents to sign up for her email alerts and consider forming neighborhood groups to facilitate responses in the event of major emergencies.

LONGER THAN PLANNED, BUT WORTH IT
The meeting, scheduled for 90 minutes, stretched to nearly two hours because of the excellent presentations by the CMPD and the enthusiastic participation by residents, who asked many relevant questions. All in all, this was yet another excellent community outreach by Leece and the CMPD, with more to come. I just hope they'll advertise the next one a little more and get an even larger response from the neighborhood.

Please Help Find Jim Halaszyn - DONE!

JIM IS FOUND!
Shortly after 9 tonight word was received that Jim Halaszyn was found this evening, was taken home and has received his medications and food and is doing well. Thanks to all of you who kept your eyes open for him today. Good job!

LOST MAN
I don't consider this blog a venue for "lost and found", but a very serious situation exists in our city and some of our neighbors need your help.

PLEASE READ AND BE ON THE LOOKOUT
The following is a message from Holly Peterson requesting help locating her former husband, Jim Halaszyn. The message is self explanatory.

Jim Halaszyn

From: Holly Petersen [mailto:hollyhpetersen@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 4:42 PM
To: SSJ
Subject: Jim Halaszyn is missing. Please pass the word

Hello, My name is Holly. My former husband Jim and I were parish members 11 years ago. At that time Jim sustained a traumatic brain injury. I am sending you this email to ask for your help. 2 nites ago Jim crawled out a window at his group home and has been missing since then. I have been send this discreption to the local papers and news out lets.

Sunday 7/24/11 12:30 pm A family member named Jim Halaszyn (Pronounced Halashin) with a traumatic brain injury and short term memory loss walked away from his group home in Costa Mesa in the middle of the night,2 nights ago and is now missing. He takes anti- seizure meds 3 times daily. Without these meds he will probably have a grand mal seizure. He is confused and doesn't remember where he lives. He has no money with him. He does have I.D which reflects his old address In South Huntington Beach. The police in Orange county have been notified. There are no recent pictures of him. He is 60 years old, 5'11", Weighs 130. He has brown with some gray, thinning collar length hair. Gray beard. Sunken eyes. There is a large dent upper left side of his forehead due to brain surgery. He knows his name. He is wearing Levi's, an unknown color tee shirt,and old brown topsider shoes. He was last seen In the area near Fairview and Adams across from Orange Coast College. This is where his group home is located. Please could you put the word out his family is looking for him. If anyone sees him please contact the Costa Mesa Police Dept. Call Lucy at 949-720 -1887 or cel. 949-468-5557 for further information. Please help us find him. Thank you.

If you could let people know from the Alter during mass to keep an eye out for him, his son Alex and I would be forever grateful. We don't have any idea where he could have gone. Due to his brain injury we cant tell what he knows or remembers, but I believe he is lost now and can't find his way back. Please pray for him. I now live in Phoenix Az. but my family and the police have been out looking for him. If anyone sees him contact the police .
Thank you. Holly Halaszyn Petersen