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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Volume I Issue III




A Neighborhood Newsletter written by Neighbors for Neighbors reaching Avalon Park Residents and surrounding communities
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The AP Gazette
"Building Community One Issue at a Time!"

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Volume I Issue III

Embarking on a Journey Together

In this Issue:
Neighborhood Watch, Avalon Real Estate,  Expecting the Unexpected, Social Neighborhoods, Yard of the Month
(Any Neighbor can contribute by sending their article to Publishing@apgazette.com for consideration)

Neighborhood Watch: This Past Month
written by Eddy Solon, 
Lic. Real Estate Agent, Keller Williams Realty
Northwest Village

Welcome neighbors.   Since last issue, we discussed the transition that is taking place in our neighborhood watch program.   We have found ourselves back in the forming stages and are excited to continue the great work of building our community together as committed stakeholders.   In the following issue, we will discuss a summary of incidents for the Month of October, update on the transition of the program, and Neighborhood Watch basics.    Before giving the October statistics, we must understand as an active community that these statistics/ information are here to help us proactively engage in the safety of our community and not foster a sense of danger/ insecurity.   Comparatively, Avalon Park is one of the safest places to live, so as we discuss safety in Avalon Park always keep this in mind.   It is certainly OK that some may not be able to receive periodic updates because it may adversely affect their perspective, but for others, I would encourage you to use the information to engage your neighbors and build community.   It's statistically proven that communities with involved neighbors have significantly lower crime.

This past month the incidents reported on Avalon Park Neighborhood Watch website  by neighbors were:

October Statistics
Number
Incident Reported
Disposition by Off duties/ Update
1
older male riding bikes talking to small children and purchasing beer and tobacco for minors ive wittnessed this sevral accations
  Validating report
2
  Be on the lookup for counterfeit bills. I had a lady come to my yard sale yesterday and bought $17.00 worth of items and received change back for a counterfeit $50.00. I worked for a vault for 6 years and I am very aware of what a counterfeit is just by looking at it. Unfortunately my sister wasn’t and by the time she had me look at it the lady had already drove off. She was driving a black Chevy Suburban and she had her 8-9 year old son with her. She bought alot of toddler clothes. Lesson learned for us....so unfair
  General Notice
3
Saturday evening, Oct. 13, between 8:00 and 11:30 pm, someone broke into our backdoor using a crow bar and stole cash and jewelry.
  Currently being Investigated by Orange County Sheriff Office
4
Burglary on Three Rivers Dr.  Allegedly two men were in a standoff with police and ultimately surrendered
  Confirming Accuracy of Report
5
Bicyclist Fatally wounded struck by vehicle on Avalon Park Blvd
  Notice, Drive no more then 25 MPH within AP, Currently being investigated
6
Our car has been broken into 2 times, most recent was last night. They got away with a camera, binoculars and a gold necklace (sweet 16 pendant on it, and the chain was broken). car was parked right in the driveway.

This month and every month after, we will report a summary of incidents and any updates from our off duties in a table like above.

As we move forward, there are several opportunities for residents to get engaged in our award winning program.   We continue to have Five Key opportunities: Neighborhood Watch Coordinator working under the NW board, Social Media Coordinator, Events Coordinator, Village Coordinators and Block Captains.    For the Social Media Coordinator, Events Coordinator, Village Coordinator and Block captains there are very little effort needed on your part except to be the point person to forward emails to your neighbors.  You are simply keeping your neighbors informed, however for the Neighborhood Watch Coordinator, it will require a bit more time coordinating quarterly meetings and strategically posturing our organization to successfully reach the safety needs of our community.

We have had several interest in the Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Position, however only one so far that has confirmed their intent to be a candidate.

Brian Jones is the block captain for strawberry tree lane/three rivers and also is the coordinator for village 4.  He's been an Avalon resident since 2006, became a home owner in 2007 on Silver River Trail, moved to carriage lake drive in 2009 and recently moved/purchase a home on Strawberry Tree lane in September 2011.  My family and career are his drivers.  He love spending time with his family around the house visiting with neighbors.  He's a district manager with Public Storage and have been employed their since 2009.  Before that he was an area manager with Enterprise Rent A Car for 15 years.  His involvement with NW started recently as he stated "I truly love my community and wanted to help the neighborhood and Avalon Park residents."   He is happy to help the team and if that is being the overall coordinator or village 4 coordinator, he is up for either challenge.  He has extensive experience with management and safety. 

Interested in getting to know more about Brian, please email brianj4u2@gmail.com

If you are interested in being a candidate, please send it by October 31, 2012  to Thesolonfamily@yahoo.com   The Neighborhood Watch Coordinator will begin his/ her activities in January 2013.   Voting by neighbors will take place December 6 should there be more then 1 candidate.   All other opportunities are filled immediately when requested.   Please do not forget to forward this newsletter to your neighbors.

So what do you do when you see something suspicious?  First, you contact the non emergency like at 407-836-help or 911 if needed.  Secondly, you submit an online incident report so neighbors who live in your area can be notified.   You can submit an online incident report at http://www.avalonparkwatch.org/incident_report.htm  Please only monitor and report suspicious activity....Do not engage any criminals or suspicious individuals.   Once the new Neighborhood Watch coordinator is in place, he/she will coordinate the distribution of incident reports on a daily basis to coordinators, whom will forward it to their block captains and then the neighbors.   The new Neighborhood Watch coordinator will actively build the distribution network so neighbors will have immediate awareness.   Until filled, the only Neighborhood Watch updates the community will receive is through the monthly article in this gazette

Have a safety concern?  feel free to email our off duty deputies Sal.Saldano@ocfl.net   He is very responsive!   What does off duty mean?  It really does not mean they are completely off duty.   They are hired by funds set aside by our HOA dues, on their off duty hours, to help secure the safety of our Avalon Park community.    We have 4, and Sal is the primary coordinator.  

The Pulse of the Market: The Steady Climb


written by  Brenda Kolbrich, Remax Avalon Park, Village Two
brenda@TopOrlandoHomes.com

The market continues to be strong and prices continue to gradually climb especially for Townhomes.  As of September 20 there were seventeen active properties for sale in Avalon Park.  There are over 3800 properties in Avalon so this is a very low inventory of homes.  We have less than one month “absorption” rate here in Avalon Park.  This means it would take one month to sell all of the homes for sale in Avalon.  When a home comes on the market, if priced correctly and shows well, there are usually multiple offers and the offers are often over the asking price.

From September 1 to September 20 there are sixty pending properties (many are short sales waiting to close) and nine properties have Sold and closed in this same time period.  New guidelines have come out for short sales which are very good for the sellers. 


Expecting the Unexpected: One Neighbor's Story

Submitted by Stephanie Hodson, South Village
stephanie@avalonparkgroup.com

Brielle is the 2 year old daughter of Derrick and Jarrin Warren, who both live and teach in the Avalon Park Community! They have three beautiful daughters (6, 4 and 2yrs of age) and on April 5, 2012 their lives were changed forever!  Their youngest daughter Brielle, 2 yrs old, was diagnosed with a Leukodystrophy called Alexander Disease.

Alexander disease is a very rare disorder that slowly progresses and is a neurodegenerative disease that is potentially fatal.  It mostly affects infants and children causing developmental delays and changes in physical characteristics.  In some cases it will also cause hydrocephalus (abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid and cause pressure in the skull) and dementia (a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person).  Alexander Disease has no cure or standard procedure taken for treatment.  The prognosis is poor and with early onset, death usually occurs within 10 years after the onset of symptoms.  Alexander Disease is so rare that there have only been approximately 500 reported cases since 1947. Addtionally, there is only one researcher in the United States, at the University of Wisconsin, that is solely working on this particular Leukodystrophy, (which there are 30+ other types than Alexander’s)!

The weekend of January 14, 2012 Brielle started losing her balance which prompted her parents to contact her pediatrician, who referred them to a pediatric orthopedic, who then referred them to a pediatric neurologist, who immediately sent them to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital for testing; all in a one week time frame!
As of now there is no funding (that the family can find) and there are no clinical trials for Alexander Disease. With a referral from the United Leukodystrophy Foundation, the Warren’s continued researching and found a facility in Maryland, The Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) that agreed to accept Brielle as a patient. There is a Neurogenticist team there that specializes in Alexander Disease. Brielle and her parents flew to Maryland immediately and will need to fly back and forth every 3-5 months +/- depending on how Brielle is doing.  With the numerous doctor visits and flights to the Institute, this is going to be a very expensive disease to fight for the rest of The Warren’s/Brielle’s life!
                                                                                                                              
In an effort to raise money for the family, future awareness, research and hopefully one day to find a cure, Avalon Middle School along with The Avalon Community is joining Brielle’s Brigade and hosting a family 5K walk/run November 10, 2012 at 8:00am (registration at 7:00am).  

To Register, please contact Stephanie Hodson at stephanie@avalonparkgroup.com.  
We would like to thank everyone in advance for participating in this event.  Your support and generosity will not go unnoticed!

Social Media: Using Social Media to Keep Your Family Tuned In

written by Marisa Ramiccio, Insight Magazine


In the old days, when people wanted to sell something, advertise an event or just find out what’s going on in their neighborhood, they would turn to the classifieds section of the newspaper or read the fliers nailed to the nearest lamppost. But times have changed, and social media has become the main source of this type of information. Knowing this, many communities, including Avalon Park, have begun to use social media as a means of sharing important information with neighbors and friends.  “We have found that the Facebook and Twitter accounts for Avalon Park have been very effective in communicating events, news and specials to the residents,” says Stephanie Hodson, the marketing director for Avalon Park Group who is in charge of the Avalon Park social media pages. “We also have a free app for Downtown Avalon Park that helps with that as well.”
Hodson says the Avalon Park Facebook page is used for marketing, spreading the word about special events and getting last-minute information out as quickly as possible. The page was created two years ago and already has grown to 5,000 likes.   “Of course, that’s not all of us in Avalon Park, but that’s a pretty significant number,” says Hodson.  Avalon Park is also tuned into Twitter, which gives the community an additional source of info as well as an additional audience.

“Some bigger pages will retweet our stuff and that helps us bring in traffic,” Hodson adds.
To gain their own audience, certain organizations in Avalon Park, such as the Kiwanis Club, have also set up Facebook pages to introduce themselves to the community and promote their activities. According to Jennifer Englert, president of the Kiwanis Club, members use their page to communicate with one another and share information with the community.  The Avalon Park Garden Club also has a Facebook page, which members use to share information with each other and promote the work of their volunteers.  “For anybody who volunteers, it’s a great way to post and thank them for what they’ve done,” says Lauren Schonk, president of the Garden Club. 
Schonk says the club originally had its own website, but since members had to login and keep track of their password, the site didn’t get used very often. She says that, so far, having a Facebook page has been a good experience for the club. Through the page, they can promote the club in a positive way and have even had a group of high school students volunteer their time.  Unfortunately, people don’t always use social media in a positive way and this has led to the closing of some Facebook pages, including the Neighborhood Watch page. The Avalon Park Neighborhood watch was created in 2008 with the mission of providing safety and safety education through a network of neighbors.  To expand its efforts, the Neighborhood Watch set up a Facebook page, but quickly abandoned it after several problems arose.

“Our commitment to the mission statement began to be compromised, ‘to positively promote the safety of Avalon Park,’” says Eddy Solon, the Neighborhood Watch coordinator. “Negative comments and neighbors’ disputes appeared frequently, which required some time in editing [and] administration.” As a result, the page was shut down.

Solon says that paranoia became a problem because some residents would see incident reports online and take that to mean the community isn’t safe. Because communication was based online, some residents wouldn’t get to know the block captains or they would post irrelevant information on the site, more reasons that contributed to the downfall of the Facebook page.

But one bad experience didn’t hold the Neighborhood Watch back. The club currently operates a gazette on apgazette.com, where residents share information and discuss community issues.

AP Gazette Opportunities
As a new and growing newsletter, we have many opportunities for neighbors to contribute and volunteer their writing talents/ time to help build community.   Below are several positions still needing to be filled:

1.  Reviewers- to Review final submittal of newsletters prior to publishing
2.  Political Contributor- To introduce community and discuss activities of our Board, commissioners, orange county, and POA, and keep neighbors informed of upcoming important dates to remember
3.  Education Contributor-   An article written by an Educator in one of Avalon Park's school.  Topics may be anything to do with Education and teacher, student, and parent awareness.  This will be a good place to highlight top achievers in our school (teachers and students).
4.  Sports Contributor-   To discuss Avalon Sports, anything from little league and up

To be able to participate, you must be an Avalon Park resident, if writing, submit an article prior to 3rd Thursday of the Month 12 pm, and send your interest and brief description of your background to Publishing@apgazette.com   Keep in mind, any neighbor can submit an article.

Yard of the Month – October 2012
Congratulations to 2625 Wild Tamarind Blvd.

Anyone may nominate a front yard by contacting the Avalon Park Property Owner Association or by sending an email to Evelyn@Myrtleglen.com with the address of the nominated front yard and the reason why it deserves the Award.

October/ November Birthdays/ Anniversary
Alan Sasser - 70- October 19th- South Village

Vanessa S.- 30 - October 25th- Northwest Village

Judi Liriano- 38-  November 28th- Village  6

Submit a Birthday for next month by sending an email to Publishing@apgazette.com send Name, date, age turning, and your village.

New Park Sites| East Orlando

I am excited to announce that today the Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved moving forward on Phase 1 development of Young Pine Park located in East Orange County and Hunter's Creek Park located near the communities of Southchase and Whisper Lakes.
If you have any questions please call (407)836-5881, or
e-mail me at Jennifer.Thompson@ocfl.net.

Tell Us Your Story
Have a Story to tell us.  Tell us your Unique Avalon Park Story.   We want to know all the great things that residents and businesses are doing that are affecting our community and beyond including triumphs, journeys, and achievements.  Email your story to Publishing@apgazette.com
AP Gazette Creed 
To build community one issue at a time through practical, informative, and lifestyle oriented articles in committment with integrity, trust, and honesty.







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