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As a resident of Oakwood for 34 years I have real concerns over switching to a county-wide dispatch system!!! Our home sits elevated and fronts one of the north alleys of Oakwood, between Volusia and Schantz Ave., and since 1972 we have witnessed a myriad of situations from our windows and yard! ( I could write a book!) With the increase of crime YES!!! Even DLM can have an armed robbery. I cannot personally picture myself calling in to a distant dispatcher somewhere in this county re: a stranger on a bike in our alley or another peering into a neighbors garage window!!! If I hear a house alarm ringing and ringing, I’ll probably think twice about calling that in! When I see a male running onto Schantz frantically looking over his shoulder, will I follow my ‘gut feelings’ and notify police? Probably not!!! I did once and found a local resident had encountered him in her garage - stealing - and had been knocked down! He was apprehended!!!! Another male I spotted on a bike checking out garages was caught and we ended up with a SWAT Team in our yard that night!!!
This August our son was rushed to ICU in Chicago and we were able to leave in 1/2 hour without filling out a card to have our house checked, just with a call to the dispatcher! What will happen to that service??? One November I viewed a stranger pushing a lawn mower up our driveway from the alley with a blower under his arm and got another ‘gut feeling’ something was wrong! As I had the dispatcher on the phone, describing him hiding these objects “ behind the stone wall at Oakwood and Schantz”, he disappeared again down Oakwood Avenue. I told the Oakwood dis
patcher “he’s gone back for seconds.” He did, and because she knew the area so well, our officers caught him as he emptied our neighbors garage a second time!!!
Nowhere else will the dispatchers know us just by our voices, as I have experienced. They take great pride in their work ... justifiably so! What may be fiscally indicated will cost us in many personal and protective services! In the long run a poor trade-off! I support keeping our dispatchers as a #1 crime preventative!!!!
Susan Schaller
241 East Schantz Avenue
I am writing this letter regarding the last issue of The Oakwood Register, about Ed Bowman becoming interim principal for the junior high. What a great choice! I graduated in 1989 from Oakwood, and Mr. Bowman handed me my diploma, and told me good luck.
During my years at Oakwood, Roger Pack was the high school principal, but he was retiring. The rumors flowed that we were getting a new principal from Beavercreek. We all were saying, “Next year is our senior year, he is not going to know us. You think we can call Mr. Pack back in to give us our diplomas’ “
After meeting Mr. Bowman, that all changed. He was a real person, cared about all the students, and picked out every good quality in each student - even me! He was a family man, who knew his students were going to be the future of this world.
He believed in his students. Need I say more? With Ed Bowman in this position, I know all the students will believe in themselves as well. It’s hard acclimating from elementary school to junior high, and with Ed Bowman there, it will be easier for the students to adjust and relax.
I applaud Oakwood for accepting Mr. Bowman as interim junior high principal. Hopefully, he will accept or apply for a permanent position as junior high principal. He will be an excellent addition to Oakwood Schools, returning as principal.
Way to go!!
Polly Wellbaum (Perkins)
437 Shroyer Road
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