Happy Thanksgiving Newsletter Online

The Thanksgiving edition, November 2008, MIA newsletter is now online.

October 2008 Newsletter Posted

Happy Fall to all Montevideo residents. The October 2008 newsletter is posted for all to read. Enjoy!

Cat is Home

The white cat that was found hanging around the backyard of a 

home on Redmond Avenue, found its home in the Oak Canyon 

neighborhood thanks to Almaden Resident, Tony Holm. 

He brought the cat to the San Jose Animal Care Center on 

Monterey Road where they found the cat's microchip 

containing the owner's information.

A Letter to all MIA Residents and Board Members

This congratulatory message is long overdue, and for that, I apologize. I want to salute each and every one of you for your crime prevention efforts and congratulate you for the Celebrate Safe Communities award recently presented to you by the San Jose Police Department and the recognition paid to your organization by Councilmember Nancy Pyle.

October is Crime Prevention Month, and, in back in September, each Crime Prevention Specialist was asked to nominate a neighborhood association that we felt deserved to receive the award during a ceremony scheduled to commence the month’s crime prevention activities. Nomination of the Montevideo Improvement Association was a very easy decision for me to make as no other association within the Southern Division of San Jose has demonstrated as strong a commitment to Neighborhood Watch and crime prevention in general.

Moreover, upon sharing with my colleagues the reasons behind my nomination of the MIA, they, too, were very impressed with your accomplishments and enthusiastically supported the nomination. Those accomplishments include ongoing Neighborhood Watch meetings, the establishment of the very informative MIA website with its many helpful links, ongoing activities open to all residents, and the overall caring and concern for one another regularly demonstrated throughout the Montevideo community.

It is truly a pleasure working with each of you and all of us at the San Jose Police Department Crime Prevention Unit applaud your efforts and congratulate you
for this well-deserved award.

Dirk Parsons
Crime Prevention Specialist
Community Services Division
San Jose Police Department

Oaktoberfest Reminder, Saturday October 11

The MIA reminds neighbors that October 11th is Oak Canyon's "Oaktoberfest". Click here for more details.

Receive MIA Website Updates by Email

The web is great for keeping people updated and informed in near real time. The downside is that you need to remember to regularly check all the websites that you follow. The MIA website doesn't maintain a group mailing list but it has come to our attention that some people would like to be notified by email whenever a new article is added to the website. We have created a Montevideo Residents Google group (read: mailing list) that is open to anyone who wants to subscribe. Once subscribed, you will receive email notifications when content is added to the MIA website.

Here's how:

1. Goto http://groups.google.com/group/MontevideoResidents.
2. Click on the Join This Group link and provide your email address.
3. You will automatically be added to the group.
4. That's it. You will now receive updates from the MIA website.

Fall Focus: Neighborhood Watch

With the kids back in school, days getting shorter and the holiday season fast approaching, there is no better time to reinvigorate the neighborhood's focus on the Neighborhood Watch program. We had a great start to the year with many streets holding Neighborhood Watch meetings but saw a drop off over the summer months. With our community being recognized for its crime prevention efforts, let's all rally to get the entire neighborhood covered by the Neighborhood Watch Program. As indicated in this month's newsletter, scheduling and coordinating a meeting couldn't be any easier. Click here for a refresher.

Advertising in MIA Newsletter and Website

The MIA Board is considering allowing business card size advertising in the monthly newsletter and on the MIA website. The focus will be on local businesses offering services to Montevideo residents. Initial pricing will be $20 per month, or, $200 for a full year. The advertising revenue will be used to offset the newsletter production and printing costs. The newsletter is hand-delivered to 400 homes and the web site has seen over 5,600 page views between January 1, 2008 and September 30, 2008.

Before making a final decision, the Board is looking for your input and feedback. Please comment.

MIA Wins Safe Community Award

In celebration of National Crime Prevention Month, The San Jose Police Community Services Division held a press conference to acknowledge the achievements of a community leader, a neighbrohood association, and a San Jose Police Officer who have excelled in their efforts to make San Jose a safer community.

The MIA was selected as this year's neighborhood association recipient in recognition of its efforts to make the community a safer place. These include the Neighborhood Watch Program, MIA events such as the 4th of July parade, the MIA website and the monthly newsletter.

Dirk Parsons, SJPD Crime Prevention Specialist, along with Assistant Chief of Police, Dan Katz, presented the awards and kicked off National Crime Prevention Month.

KLIV News Article
SJPD Press Release