September 27th, 2013

Good Day . . . 

Well I've given this effort about two weeks to percolate and we've had quite a few page views so I know people are at least checking.  That is good.  I don't know that I expected a great deal of comment after the initial post but as we go along, I hope it will pickup.

The week of the flood.  I think that's what I'll take from this last week.  I admit it is quite impressive when you see the volume of water in the Platte.  Today is to be the crest period and it certainly is full.  If crossing at our south city limits, you will see some low land flooding to both the north as well as to the south east.  Nothing of consequence at this point but noticeable. Emergency Management and others have been monitoring the river levels over the past week and I applaud the Emergency Manager for keeping the public so well informed.  We can tell by the volume of traffic on the Platte River Bridge that this is something people are very interested in.

Think Fall, Think Safety . . . 

I was contacted recently by a citizen of the community who wants to work to address a real concern for many of us.  She noted that so few people wear anything reflective or can easily seen while riding bikes, skateboards or even as pedestrians in the evening and nighttime hours.  She stated that she and many of her friends had noticed and commented on this recently.  I have to agree.  People are a bit lazy in this area.

Code addresses equipment required on bicycles for night time riding.  City Code Sections 8-312 and 8-313 both discuss the needed equipment or manner of operation.  All bikes need a headlight on the front that emits a white light, visible from at least 500 feet and  a red reflector on the rear which shall be visible on a clear night from all distances between one hundred (100) feet and six hundred (600) feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlights on a motor vehicle. 
8-313 states that:
 "A.   Any person who operates a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction.

B.   Any person who rides a bicycle upon a roadway shall not ride more than single file except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.

C.   Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use such roadway."

These are simply practical safety measures that everyone riding a bicycle should use.  Other good ideas include brightly colored clothing, possibly with reflective material.  There are no requirements in Code regarding pedestrians, but all due caution should be taken.  We are a healthy and active community and we have a good number of people participating in these activities.  Everyone could take the time to make certain they are in compliance with the Code for riding a bike and use common sense if you are "boarding" or walking/jogging.

We have a great number of trails in the community which can be used for a variety of these types of activities and we advocate their use whenever possible.  We'll continue to look at this topic as time goes on.

See, that is the engagement that I see here in Kearney.  People have a question, a concern and they get involved, and work for a solution.  Cool Beans!  Maybe you have an issue or concern, bring it up, let's see what we can get done.

ENGAGEMENT . . .

We have several categories of calls for service.  When you call the communications center, they assign a call type and dispatch the appropriate type of unit.  One area of call types that always amazes me are those of a "Suspicious" nature.  We have several mores specific categories; Suspicious Subject; Suspicious Vehicle; Suspicious Occurrence.  These allow us to track incidents specifically.  What is amazing is the numbers of calls we get from the public in these areas.

Peers are also impressed based on our numbers and the population of the community.  As an example in 2012 we had 413 "Suspicious Activity" calls for service.  This is a pretty substantial number of calls and it shows us that people are paying attention.  They are taking the time to call us when they observe something or someone that raises their suspicions.  We really appreciate that.

We are not going to be everywhere and frankly you know your neighborhoods better than we ever could.  If you see something that creates a concern, please call us.  We try to respond as quickly as possible to investigate and often times there is a logical explanation for what is reported, but we don't know unless we are called or see something ourselves.  Your engagement is what helps keep all of our neighborhoods safe.

Well again, I think I leave it there for now.  Please, comment or ask a question.

Dan Lynch

Chief of Police

Kearney Police Department