Last night (Sunday 9 Jan)  Wayne Flood called me around 10:30PM about a white SUV with one headlight that Cindy had scared away from her mailbox. Wayne suggested that anyone searching for mail on Sunday might actually be looking for mailboxes which were full of several days mail, indicating that the owners probably were away. They might have been marking homes for a burglary attempt later that night.

If you are going to be away overnight it would be a good idea to have someone pick up your mail, or have the Post Office hold it for you.

I came across an article (in red below) from Pennsylvania about an incident which happened there on 18 May 2021 and thought it was important enough to share with our Neighborhood. The main point I wish to get across is the fact that the police have a good chance of rounding up all of the people who took part in this Home Invasion.  The homeowner who was the target of the Home Invasion had Security Cameras, which recorded the images of the invaders.  Additionally, many of the man’s neighbors also have Security Cameras and the police were able to obtain further images of the invaders, presumably they also recorded the vehicle used by the invaders. With the ever-expanding population in our area, the steady growth of property crimes and the heavy load on undermanned area law enforcement departments it is essential that we take steps to safeguard our lives, property, and community. One thing all of us can do is invest in Security Cameras for our homes.

On the evening of May 18 in Smithfield Township, Pa., a 26-year-old man was home alone when he became the target of a home invasion.  A group of five individuals entered the home and began assaulting the lone occupant. During the assault the victim was able to get one of his guns and defended himself, shooting and killing one of the invaders and seriously injuring a second one. The remaining three suspects fled the scene, but their images were captured by the home’s security video surveillance footage as well as by many of the surrounding neighbors’ security cameras.

Comments I found in other articles are:

Helping the Police: Democratic Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is calling on residents to install security cameras to help track criminal activity, “Pointing the cameras towards the street and register it with the Oakland Police Department,” she said.

About Catalytic Converter thefts:  Ensure your video system at home captures where your vehicle is parked.

I received the information below from one of our neighbors. Stolen mail is a chronic problem these days.

I found both my mailbox and the neighbor’s open last Sunday morning after forgetting to get my mail on Saturday evening (10/16).  A package was likely stolen as Amazon stated it was delivered but we didn’t receive it.  We reported it with the USPS.  I just recognized this evening that Val and I didn’t receive our voting ballots for the upcoming election.  After looking it up, I find they were sent out on Friday 10/15 (the day before).  Now I suspect that maybe someone was collecting ballots for nefarious reasons.

I thought I might inform you as this might have happened to others in the neighborhood and folks might not recognize the didn’t get their ballot until it was too late to vote.  I sent an email to the Pierce County election office for guidance and then navigated to the  https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx   site to check my voting status.  I was able to have a new ballot mailed to me from that site (in the location where you view your voting status).  Hopefully I will have more information by tomorrow (Friday).  I’ll let you know if I receive more information.

A message from the Sunrise Terrace Homeowners Group

Dear Sunrise Terrace and Shawnee Homeowners,

We hope you can help us out this week by sending a brief email or phone call to Jason Arbogast at Pierce County Code Enforcement.  His phone number is 253-798-8582 and his email is jason.arborgast@piercecountywa.gov

The issue is the former caretaker’s lot, Parcel # 0419122068, 11715 136th Ave E.  The lot is now filled with junk cars, 2 RV’s, miscellaneous tent-like structures and garbage.  For reference in your email, Code enforcement case numbers are 71874 and 71875.  Jason Arbogast was assigned the case when these issues were first reported to Pierce County Code Enforcement in January 2021.  If you want to read more details check out the Pierce County Code Enforcement website, https://www.piercecountywa.gov/1571/Code-Enforcement

Scroll down to case search and enter number 71874 to see the status.

What’s changed since January is the addition of a 2nd RV on Oct. 1 which is now occupied (lights on at night), additional inoperable and damaged vehicles and more accumulation of solid waste and garbage.  In case you missed it we had an erratic driver on 136th Ave E the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 21.  The driver knocked over a “stop sign warning” sign, hit a tree, drove off the east side of 136th Ave over a rhododendron and straight into the gate code security post on the driveway next to 11715 136th Ave.  From what has been seen on the cameras a car similar to that of the erratic driver may now be parked inside the fence on the “junk” lot.

In January, 2021 the case was closed because the property owner said he would get rid of a vehicle and hire someone to cut down the vegetation but that has not happen.  The case was reopened on Monday, October 11.  If many of us express our concern regarding the code violations we hope the Code Enforcement team will come visit, re-examine the situation and not close the case until it is resolved.  If you have had a personal encounter or issue with the lot occupants that would also be beneficial information for Jason to know.

Thanks in advance for doing what you can to help.

Everyone has seen the work going on at the corner of 122^nd St. E. and Shaw Rd.  Most have wondered as I have about just what was happening as there were no signs that I remember seeing posted to tell about the project.  Well, Carol Silvernail has done some digging and has a few facts about the project to share with us.

 First the Good News:  There is none.

Second the Bad News: In Carol’s words.

Sunrise Terrace has seen the work currently going on at the corner of 122^nd and Shaw Road.  Many of you have wondered what was happening as we did not see any signs posted to tell us about the project.  Carol Silvernail and Kirk Hall dug into the Pierce County website this weekend for information.  If you want to read about the project look up documents for parcel number 0419114042.  Click on external links to see the correspondence and permit numbers, starting in 2018.  The most recent permit number appears to be 911959.  While we didn’t receive notification apparently according to the County web site a yellow sign was posted on Shaw Road in July 2019 and neighbors in the immediate adjacent lots were notified.  Since we didn’t know about the project however there were no public comments on record. 

The permit has been approved for 20 single family units on the west end of the plot and 100 attached townhouses within the 6.08 net developable acres.  In a hearing examiner’s report dated 11/05/2020 it was stated the homes would be priced “fee simple for entry level purchasers” with a total of 372 parking stalls and 952 average new daily trips.  The report also stated traffic will be of “no significant adverse impact on local roads” and no left turn lane into the development is necessary.  The main entrance will be across from the Shell station on 122^nd and an emergency entrance will be on Shaw Road.  The name of the development is Shaw Heights. 

At this point there’s probably not much we can do to express our concern about the high density and impact on traffic but the name that appears as the county contact is Associate Planner Donna Rhea.  Her email is donna.rhea@piercecountywa.gov and her phone number is 253-798-3288.  Mitch Brells and Paul Barber, from the Pierce County Engineering Dept, have also reviewed the project.  Mitch and Paul know our neighborhood well from past issues. 

Kirk’s commentary:  Well Pierce County has done it again.  First, they shut down Shaw Rd for months and ended up with a section of road with a large planter box down the middle and a double wide sidewalk on the east side, effectively blocking expansion of the road to another lane without major expense, leaving us with essentially the same two-lane road we had before.  Then because Shaw was closed for so long people sought another way to get to South Hill, and found it in 122^nd, which greatly increased traffic up 122^nd. Pierce County has made no provisions for the increased traffic which causes real problems at certain times of the day.

Second, Pierce County has approved a road from the huge subdivision of Tehaleh to go straight down into the valley, where many of the vehicles will then go up 122^nd. Because no provisions have been made to find an alternate route (perhaps extending 128^th St. into the valley) or widen and control traffic on 122^nd St. things are going to get much worse for the people who live along or must enter 122^nd St. E., when this project is completed.

And this brings me to the Third point. 952 average trips daily (does that mean that we must double that number to 1,904 to get the number of cars on the road because to me a trip is one in and one out) will be put on the road daily at a place where there is already congestion. To me this doesn’t seem like “no adverse impact on local roads”, especially considering the already bad traffic situation.

I have to wonder what Pierce County is thinking. To me the logical steps would have been to start at Meridian and connect either 120^th St or 122^nd St as directly as possible to Meridian as these streets have short sections that could be completed for the connection.  The roads (and all of 122^nd) would have to be widened to at least three lanes and appropriate traffic lights installed. Then we could talk about putting more traffic on 122^nd.  The way it is now traffic will eventually become truly horrible, then years later County will recognize the problem and finally do something about it (hopefully before the year 2051).