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TPD Urges Citizens to Become Engaged in Crime Prevention

Recently, a growing trend has emerged within neighborhoods throughout Thomasville: Theft from automobiles. In addition to proactive steps that are being taken, such as increased patrols and neighborhood surveillance, TPD is stepping up its efforts to educate the community on ways that citizens can decrease their property and vehicle’s appeal to criminals.

“We want to engage our citizens and educate them on how they can take an active role in preventing themselves from becoming victims of theft.” said Police Chief Ellis Jackson. “It is my sincere belief that if we, the police department, educate our citizens on criminal activities that are taking place within our community, we have effectively given them a vital first line of defense against becoming victimized.”

Chief Jackson explains that citizens can reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of theft by following a few safety measures:

Ensure that your property is well-illuminated – An illuminated, highly visible yard is not where most criminals would like to be while committing thefts.

Keep hedges and shrubs trimmed – Untrimmed hedges and shrubs can act as a wall for criminals; shielding their activities on your property from view.

Lock all of your vehicle’s doors and roll all windows up – This also applies to those errands where you will only be away from your vehicle for “a minute.” It only takes seconds for someone to enter your vehicle. Also, it’s not uncommon for thieves to walk down rows of parked vehicles, looking for unlocked doors.

Place items out of sight before you reach your destination – Someone could be watching your location as you arrive and place your valuables under your seat or in your glove box.

Remove all traces – Very few auto break-ins are random. Remove mounting hardware for GPS devices, such as suction cups. Leave nothing in plain view.

Mark your items – Etch your driver’s license number in removable, valuable items, such as car audio equipment. This serves as proof that you are the owner of the items and can aid in the recovery of your property.

“Although taking these steps will decrease your chances of becoming a victim, they are not foolproof. If you find that you have become the victim of theft, it is important that you call the police immediately,” Jackson said.

For more information on how to help prevent crime, call the Thomasville Police Department at 229-227-3249.

CNS Upgrades Its Outside Cable Plant

On June 27, CNS will begin upgrading part of its cable and fiber-optic network. This upgrade will replace 8,000 components within the network’s Outside Cable Plant and is expected to take six months to complete. Ultimately, the upgrade will expand the plant’s capacity for bandwidth and enable CNS to continue to provide the state-of-the-art services its customers have come to expect.

The Outside Cable Plant is the system of switches, nodes, amplifiers and fiber-optic cable that makes up the part of the CNS network that carries information between CNS’ central office and its customers. Currently, the Outside Plant has the capacity for 750 MHz of bandwidth. This upgrade will expand the plant’s capacity to 1 GHz of bandwidth.

“Bandwidth can be thought of as the number of lanes on the highway that the data has to travel down. The more bandwidth you have, the more lanes you have on your highway, which means that you can support more traffic,” said Technology Resources Operations Manager Chris White. “By increasing the size of our highway, we have the capacity to add new services, like additional HD channels and the ability to accommodate increasing bandwidth needs related to Internet usage.”

In addition to adding increased capacity for bandwidth, the Outside Cable Plant upgrade will also place CNS’ fiber-optic lines closer to customer’s homes. This – in conjunction with the addition of more nodes, or local data distribution centers – will improve signal strength to customers.

Another benefit of the addition of more nodes is that fewer homes will be serviced by each node. This will create a more stable network and help to minimize large-scale outages.

While the upgrade takes place each area will be worked on for three to five days.

“While we are replacing the components in an area, customers may experience brief interruptions in cable, Internet and Internet-based services which should only last for 10 to 15 minutes, but they may recur throughout the day,” said Assistant City Manager – Utilities Don Atkinson. “Please be assured that we will work hard to ensure that no residential cable and Internet services will be interrupted during evenings or weekends. In addition, most commercial areas will be upgraded during non-business hours in order to minimize service interruptions during business hours.”

For more information on the Outside Cable Plant upgrade, visit www.thomasville.org.

Click here to watch a video about the upgrade

MADISON STREET TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT PROJECT CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

Construction work has begun for the Madison Street Transportation Enhancement project. Construction for the TE project will last through 2012 and will be completed in several phases.

Citizens should be aware that as this project progresses, detours and lane shifts and closures will take place. This may slow thru-traffic or re-route it completely, so citizens are advised to expect delays when traveling through the TE project area.

The TE project will revitalize Madison Street, from Jefferson Street to Remington Avenue; and one block of Jackson Street, between Broad Street and Madison Street. The project includes sidewalk enhancements which will mirror those on Broad Street, including trees and benches, and will allow existing aerial utilities – electric, cable and telephone lines – to be moved underground. Asphalt will also be removed from a one-block section of Jackson Street, which will expose the underlying historic brick pavers.

The TE project – which is designed to tie the Madison Street area with Broad Street – will be funded by two separate Transportation Enhancement grants, equaling $1 million. The TE grants will be administered by the local Department of Transportation. In addition to the TE grants, the City will fund a 20 percent required match as well as the cost of utilities improvements.

For more information about the TE project, call 229-227-7001.

CITY OF THOMASVILLE TO PROVIDE ON-BILL FINANCING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT UPGRADES

On October 25, 2010 the City Council will hear an ordinance to allow the City of Thomasville to provide eligible customers with On-Bill financing for the completion of energy efficient upgrades to their homes.

Funded by the Department of Energy through the Georgia Environmental Finances Authority, the On-Bill financing program will allow the City of Thomasville to collect loan payments through its customers’ monthly utility bills. GEFA awarded the City of Thomasville $200,000 to use to fund loans to qualifying customers who wish to purchase energy efficient appliances and upgrades to their homes.

“For many of our customers who were considering purchasing more efficient appliances and upgrades this is the perfect opportunity,” said Assistant City Manager – Utilities, Don Atkinson. “In addition to only having to pay a minimal administrative fee for the loans, customers should experience an offset in project costs immediately through their utility bill due to energy savings.”

These loans will allow qualifying customers of the City of Thomasville to purchase and install energy efficient home upgrades such as approved ENERGY STAR appliances:

Refrigerators
Freezers
Clothes Washers
Dishwashers
Water Heaters
Qualified Central Heating and Air Conditioning Equipment, including Natural Gas Furnaces
Home Weatherization Services such as:
- Installation of insulation
- Air sealing and caulking
- Duct sealing and insulation.

The On-Bill financing program is designed to improve energy efficiency in the State of Georgia by providing low-cost funding to residential homeowners for the purchase and installation of energy efficient equipment and home envelope energy efficiency improvements.

“As the costs of energy rise, it is paramount that we push for energy efficiency in our community,” said City Manager Steve Sykes. “The easiest way for our City to circumvent these increased energy costs is by being an energy efficient community. The On-Bill financing program will help to allow customers to utilize energy efficient technologies which will ultimately bring the idea of an energy efficient community to fruition.”

The City Council will hear a second reading of the ordinance to allow the City of Thomasville to provide eligible customers with On-Bill financing on November 8, 2010. Funds will become available on December 1, 2010.

For more information about the On-Bill financing program call 229-227-7001.