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Barbecues aren't exclusive to summer. You can get barbecue, slaw and all the finxings in a little over a week.

The Greensboro Police Club will host its annual barbecue on Oct. 29 at 524 Air Harbor Road.

From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., people can buy $7 plates to take out or eat in the club. Club members will sell take-out only plates at War Memorial Stadium on the corner of Lindsay and Yanceyville streets, if the site is not used for N.C. A&T homecoming activities. The back-up site is the Greensboro Farmer’s Curb Market.

The proceeds will go to local charities, youth sports teams, and police officers who have been injured or killed in the line of duty.

New Irving Park residents, Greensboro police and City Councilman Zack Matheny meeting in the Mendenhall Middle School gym Monday night to discuss the continued problems of home break-ins in the area. Here are some tidbits that didn't make the article.

* RECENT BREAK-INS

Kim Forman, a neighborhood resident who moderates the area’s Yahoo group, said they’ve had five break-ins in the past week. One on Monday morning occurred when the homeowner went away for 15 minutes and police officers were in the neighborhood.

Expectedly, residents flooded the gym of Mendenhall Middle School. They sat in the bleachers and stood with their backs on the walls.

* NEW CITY MANAGER STOPS BY

Two days into his job, City Manager Rashad Young showed up to the meeting. The residents seemed very pleased that he would attend.

One resident welcomed Young, saying “Good luck. You’ve got a lot of work to do.”

* SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY WATCH

City Councilman Zack Matheny, who is up for re-election in District 3, presided over the meeting. He suggested that residents place stickers with “NIP,” the initials of their neighborhood, on their cars. Residents could easily identify which cars belong and which ones don’t.

He also suggested that residents post signs in their yard reading, “WARNING: This neighborhood is watching you.”

Another resident suggested that he, a self-proclaimed "old geezer," and other retirees or stay-at-home residents sit outside of their home from 8 a.m. to noon to take photos of every car that enters the neighborhood.

The gym filled with laughter, and Police Chief Tim Bellamy said, “We’d be very grateful if you would do that.” Sgt. Bud Blaylock added, “Make sure you get the back of the cars.”

* RING THE ALARM

First of all, police said that some people are not using their burglary alarms. When they do, the alarm is silenced. Police suggest that people use the alarm and to make it audible. It could deter burglars and alert your neighbors to peep out the window.

Secondly, one gentleman suggested that people call their security company to change the default number the company calls when the alarm sounds. He said that he called ADT Security Services to change his number to 911. Usually, a security company calls home first to ensure that there is not a false alarm.

Lastly, several residents reported than men are impersonating ADT employees. Be on the look out for a white van with Tennessee tags.

* NEW IRVING PARK RESIDENTS HEAD TO CITY COUNCIL

The City Council could expect to see some of the same residents in Mendenhall’s gym at their meeting Tuesday.

Matheny suggested that residents arrive around 5 p.m. to pack the room before the 5:30 start time. When one resident speaks to the council, the others can stand up to support him or her and visibly back his or her statements.

Another resident might ask the council to review its false alarm ordinance. He wants them to table the ordinance until the break-ins subside.

The ordinance allows the city to penalize any alarm subscriber who has more than four false alarms within a consecutive 12-month period. On the third alarm, the subscriber is charged $50 for each additional alarm.

It is always sad when a police officer loses his or her life while helping others. But sometimes a tragedy such as an officer's death can mobilize the community to serve.

Ryan Seals' story details how local law enforcement officials are extending their hands to assist the Winston-Salem Police Department following the death of Sgt. Mickey Hutchens on Monday.

The support includes everything from peer support services, patrol units to cover Winston-Salem during Hutchens’ funeral and officers to assist with funeral traffic.

His funeral has been set for 2 p.m. Friday at Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University. The family will recieve vistors from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday. A private burial will be held after Friday's ceremony.

Hutchens, 50, died from injuries he sustained from a gunshot wound to the face he last Wednesday when officers responded to the Bojangles on Peters Creek Parkway.

Since then, Triad residents have held open prayers. Students at Hutchens' alma mater, Forbush High School, hosted a blood drive Tuesday. And people from afar have honored Hutchens in their own way. 

Chris Cosgriff created The Officer Down Memorial Page Inc., (ODMP), an online memorial Web site and non-profit organization, in 1997 to honor America's fallen law enforcement heroes.

Hutchens' biography has been added to the most recent line-of-duty deaths.The site also lists the names of fallen officers across the nation. To see a list of North Carolina's fallen, click here.

"So why did the New Irving Park break-ins get so much attention from the News & Record, but my neighborhood – where we had repeated break-ins last year got no attention whatsoever?"

That’s the question I got on a voice mail from a reader yesterday regarding this story.

The answer is simple – New Irving Park is a very vocal neighborhood.

They called us to let us know about a neighborhood watch meeting they were having about numerous break-ins earlier this month. We went.

That was followed by more phone calls from residents there telling us their stories. Then there was a news release from Greensboro police on Tuesday to notify us they had arrested a suspect.

Break-ins in Irving Park and New Irving Park isn’t anything new and unfortunately they’ve been having problems like this for years. Last year, it was one of the chief concerns residents had amid the suspicious murder of a woman inside her home on Willoughby Boulevard.

They let us know about it, we listened and we reported.

I welcome every other neighborhood in Guilford County to contact us as well as things arise. We do our best to stay on top of crime trends – but it is impossible to know everything that’s going on.

Though I know break-ins concern police, many times they become so routine that they fail to notify the media when they have a series of them targeting the same area.

We check police reports, but the information available is scarce. Our readers are our best source of information about what is going on in our community. E-mail or call me or my colleague Dioni Wise and we'll make sure to follow up with you.

This is your newspaper and we’re here to serve you.
 

The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office is collecting Christmas gifts for deployed troops from the 382 Aviation Regiment station in Kandahar Afghanistan.

Suggested items include movies, toiletries for men and women, books, puzzles, I-Tunes cards, games, snacks (no pork products) and Christmas cards.

Money is welcome too – and will be used to purchase items to send to the 500 troops with the regiment.

Collection runs through Nov. 6 and can be dropped off at the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office at 1088 N.C. 65 in Wentworth.

A side note – from being on the receiving end of such gifts during a deployment, I can tell you first-hand how much this stuff is truly appreciated by our soldiers.

It makes being away from home in a foreign land on the Christmas holiday just a little bit easier.
 

Instead of passing out traffic tickets, High Point police will hand out drinks, napkins and condiments Friday to local restaurant customers to raise money for the Special Olympics of North Carolina.

WANT TO GO?

What: "Tip-A-Cop"

Where: Chili's Grill & Bar at Oak Hollow Mall, 920 Mall Loop in High Point

When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 5 p.m. - until closing Friday

Contact: Capt. Tony Hamrick at 887-7805 or Capt. Margaret Erga at 887-7904.

Last month we told you how the Guilford County Sheriff's Office soon would exchange its handguns for new ones.

Sheriff BJ Barnes will talk about the trade in the next episode of "Guilford Sheriff 911," which airs at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on Cable Access Channel 8. Barnes will talk with Steve Lowitz, of Smith & Wesson, and David Kiefer, of Lawmen’s Safety Supply Inc.

Here are some fun facts the sheriff's office wanted you to know:

• S & W has over 10,000 new generation military and police (M & P) weapons in N.C.
• Agencies using S & W include N.C. DOT, State Highway Patrol, Raleigh PD, and Durham PD.
• Interchangeable grips make the new M & P weapon a perfect fit for every hand.
• Better ergonomics mean better accuracy, better range scores, and less liability.
• State standard score for law enforcement is 70, GCSO requires 80 minimum.
• About 26 GCSO personnel will be trained as Armorers, to address minor
  problems.
• State of the art holster will prevent grabbing of weapon from the officer by others.
• Again, these new handguns and holsters will cost the taxpayer nothing.

Archived episodes of "Guilford Sheriff 911" can be viewed on demand at www.co.guilford.nc.us/blogs/sb/.

Public safety personnel in Greensboro are reaching out to the kiddies this weekend.

Members of the Greensboro Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies will play against youth in the Annual Guilford Police Athletic League Basketball Game. The game starts at 6 p.m. today at the Windsor Recreation Center at the corner of E. Lee Street and Benbow Road. The game is free and open to the public.

To kick off Fire Prevention Week, the Greensboro Fire Department will be performing its annual Fire Life/Safety Puppet Show at the Public Safety Training Facility at 1510 N. Church St. Show times are 9:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.

As of Thursday, North Carolina consumers will have better access to tools to fight identity theft thanks to a new law.

Under the Senate Bill 1017, North Carolinians can guard against identity theft by freezing their credit reports online for free. Seniors and victims of identity theft can also freeze their credit by telephone or mail for free.

Previously, consumers who had not been the victim of identity theft had to pay a $10 fee per credit bureau to establish or lift a security freeze.

Placing security freezes on your credit prevents an identity thief from opening new accounts or taking out credit cards and loans in your name. Once a security freeze is in place, the credit bureau won’t release information from your credit file until or unless you lift the freeze.

The new law also:

• requires paid credit monitoring services to tell consumers how they can check their credit report for free,
• beefs up security breach reporting requirements,
• allows removal of personal financial information from local government Web sites, and
• protects crime victims from debts caused by criminals.

North Carolinians can request free security freezes by visiting the Web sites of the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – and providing identifying information such as social security number, address and date of birth. Detailed information about how to sign up for security freezes and how to lift one when you need to take out credit can be found at www.ncdoj.gov. Consumers can lift their security freezes online for free, as well.

Consumers who don’t have access to the Internet can request and lift security freezes by mail or telephone for $3 per bureau. Freezes by mail or telephone are free to victims of identity theft and consumers over aged 62.

Yet another reminder to never give out your personal information on the phone. I haven't heard any reports of this scam going on here lately, but it's only a matter of time. Many calls like this usually target elderly residents, that's a reminder to look out for neighbors and family members and inform them of such scams.

Durham police report that local residents have been getting calls and emails claiming that they owe money for utility bills.

Police say these calls are fraudulent and warn residents to beware. When residents are contacted by these scammers, they are asked to provide their credit card number for payment. This information can be used to steal a person’s money and identity.

To avoid becoming a victim:

* Beware of phone calls or emails that ask for your personal information like your Social Security Number, credit card or bank account number. Legitimate companies will not ask you for this information this way.

* Never share personal financial information by email, even with someone you know and trust. Email can be vulnerable to hackers. If you need to share information with a legitimate company, use a secure Web site. Look for a lock icon on the Web site and a Web address that starts with “https."

* Report phishing calls or emails to the real business or organization that the scammer pretends to be. Contact the company using a telephone number or Web address you know to be right. Do not use the contact information given in the phone call or email. Also, forward phishing emails to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov.

* Protect yourself quickly if you respond to a phishing phone call or email. Contact your bank and/or credit card company immediately. You could also be a victim of identity theft.

Source: N.C. Attorney General's Office