Jackson Free Press

A standing-room-only crowd gathered at Sneaky Beans coffee shop on Tuesday evening to voice concerns about crime in the Fondren neighborhood and to hear crime-prevention tips from law enforcement officials. The community meeting, sparked by fears of crime, has morphed into an effort to organize the surrounding community.

Robert Mann, one of the event's principal organizers, originally publicized the event on Facebook as "Take Back Our Neighborhoods," but he renamed the event "Healing Our Neighborhoods" after objections to the inflammatory rhetoric in the event notice. Mann told the Jackson Free Press today that he has heard only positive responses from attendees.

"My expectation was to light a flame and hope that it gets bigger," Mann said. "I felt that the energy changed, and I think a lot of people walked away from there feeling a lot safer. If we did anything that night, we gave at least 15 or 20 people enough comfort to sleep at night."

The meeting drew several law enforcement officials, including JPD Deputy Chief for Community Services Tyrone Lewis, Precinct 4 Commander Ken Goodrum, Hinds County Constable Jerry Moore and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith.

At the meeting, Lewis informed community members that the department had identified a person of interest in the Feb. 23 shooting that catalyzed the meeting. Lewis told the Jackson Free Press that he could not provide any more details about the department's investigation at this time.

Lewis noted that representatives from a number of existing community groups were in attendance, including the Fondren Association of Businesses, Our Fondren and the Fondren Renaissance Foundation.

"It shows that our communication with groups that already exist is working," Lewis said. "(The meeting) helped to get our message out that we can't do it by ourselves, but that by working together we can fight crime in Jackson."

Ron Chane, who owns the Swell-O-Phonic skate shop in Fondren Corner, said he was pleasantly surprised by the meeting.

"I just figured it was going to be a b*tching session, but it ended up being something useful," Chane said. "The best thing I got out of it was getting a couple direct numbers for our constable and our beat officer. A lot of times people in Jackson will not call and report something because they don't want to deal with the 9-1-1. They're just trying to do a good deed and don't feel like sharing all their information."

Alison Hopton Davis, executive director of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation, offered some positive news at the meeting, informing residents that the foundation was about to break ground on a re-development of Cherokee Heights Park. The 2.5-acre park, bordered by Dunbar, Northview and Downing streets is situated directly adjacent to the site of the Feb. 23 shooting.

Financed through a $588,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the project has been in the works for almost two years; the ground-breaking is scheduled for April 1. Construction will likely wrap up by mid-summer.

The park's design, by Fondren-based Weaver Architects, features a quarter-mile walking trail, playground equipment, a small playing field, and a pavilion meant to accommodate small concerts and other events. The plan also preserves all but three of the existing trees in the park.

Mann said the next meeting, March 16 at Sneaky Beans, will focus on organizing a neighborhood watch for the "west Fondren" area between State and West streets.

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156528

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This is a wonderful story. Thank you so much for posting it.

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Tell it!

Date

2010-03-04T14:27:52-06:00