Richland Creek Run: Run, walk or lend a hand

The inaugural Richland Creek Run will take place on Saturday, April 7, at 8 a.m. If you haven’t registered to run or walk, visit richlandcreekrun.com to sign up or purchase a commemorative poster (above).

If you’d rather lend a hand than stretch your legs, Renee Bates is looking for volunteers who can help out now and on the day of the race. Send Renee a message at reneeb8s[at]comcast.net or give her a call at (615) 642-3007.

The run will take participants along a five-mile timed and measured course through sections of the new Richland Creek Greenway and Sylvan Park. The race will celebrate the Richland Creek Greenway and provide participants with the opportunity to preview the newest segment of the greenway, which will officially open later this year. Net proceeds from this Celebrate Nashville event will benefit Greenways for Nashville, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the creation, protection, preservation, and promotion of Nashville greenways.

The race will begin at 8:00 a.m. outside of the Cohn Adult Learning Center, 4805 Park Avenue, and will wind through parts of Sylvan Park neighborhood before heading onto the Richland Creek Greenway and finishing back at Cohn. Mayor Bill Purcell will be the official race starter.

St. Thomas Hospital, The Wilson Group, Vanderbilt University and Montgomery Bell Academy are primary sponsors of the Richland Creek Run, which is being organized by the Sylvan Park, Cherokee Park and Richland-West End Neighborhood Associations. The race’s media sponsors are the Nashville Scene, Lightning 100, and Team Green.

NES working at 37th & Murphy

A Nashville Electric Service crew is working this morning at the intersection of 37th Avenue and Murphy Road. They appear to be preparing to replace or reseat a power line pole. The intersection is not obstructed, but a large service truck is on the sidewalk.

MNPD gets its man, thanks to Katherine Beasley

Neighbor and SPNA recording secretary Katherine Beasley recorded something unusual over the weekend instead of the meeting minutes she normally compiles for the association: the license plate number and description of a vehicle involved in a crime. Katherine noticed someone attempting to break in to her neighbor’s home and called the police. She was able to note the make and model (a 70s-era yellow Ford LTD) and plate number of the offender’s vehicle when he fled the scene. The police arrived to take a report and tracked down and captured the suspect later that afternoon.

The moral of this story is that it is always wise to report any suspicious or criminal activity you witness. Call the police at (615) 862-8600 to file a report. Good work, Katherine, and good work, MNPD!

Beware of local alarm scam

Neighbor Amy Walter reports that three men claiming to be from an alarm company knocked on her door last week. They turned out to be attempting a scam, but Amy wasn’t fooled:

At around 5:30, 6:00pm tonight, a white vanfull of guys was going around the neighborhood posing as reps from your existing alarm company. An alarm scam story was apparently recently on the evening news. They appear to only pick houses that have existing alarm systems….this happened to me and the girl across the street tonight. I’m not sure whether or not they case houses with single people in them…the 2 married neighbors did not have alarm systems but they did not stop at their houses either. I reported this to the police….please alert your neighbors.

The ‘company’ called themselves ‘The Alarm Company, LLC’. Their business card had the name scratched out and they are from Cordova, Tenn on the card.

They pulled up into my driveway, not on the street like some people do when they are walking through to sell things. They come to your door saying they are from ‘the alarm company’ and they need to come in and update the system. It sounds like they are from YOUR company the way they say it. I’ve had alarm systems for years and they never do this…any upgrades are done from HQ and if there is anything new going on, we receive mailings. They did not say that they wanted to give information about their company, and they didn’t have anything to hand out. This is how they gain access into your home. I didn’t let them in. My unfortunate neighbor did….the guy looked around for her control pad and then programmed a code into it. They come back later and rob your house.

They look clean cut. They are wearing clipped badges with a bunch of tiny info on it that you can’t read. One was a dark haired white guy about 5′8″; one was an affable chunky wavy blond haired guy about 5:11″; one was lean, clean cut and African American. They took off in a hurry and left a guy in my neighbor’s house, who ended up using her phone with an excuse that he left his in the car, to call their number. This is so they can call to see if anyone’s home. I had a chance to get their license plate when they came back to retrieve him. [They drove a] White Sedona van … The van was registered to a woman who was not in the car. They may even be bogus plates.

As anyone knows, if you’ve ever signed up for a legit alarm system, you have to fill out a bunch of paperwork and pay them. Then you have to register, and get an alarm sticker. These people are not doing this. BEWARE!

They also asked if my system had been updated in the last 3 years….not sure if they are trying to find wireless systems they can access with remote alarm fobs but that’s a question for your alarm company.

Anyway, stay safe!

Thanks, Amy, for passing this information along. If you do encounter these men, please call the police at (615) 862-8600 to report them.

RCWA to meet Wednesday night (March 21)

The Richland Creek Watershed Alliance will hold its very first meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, at 320 54th avenue North in Sylvan Park. If you are interested in learning more about restoring and preserving Richland Creek, you won’t want to miss this meeting.

Monette Rebecca, who is leading the RCWA charge, asks that everyone planning to attend send her an email at monetter@comcast.net to RSVP. Please feel free to come early if you would like to see an introductory powerpoint presentation about the project.