Neighborhood Safety Forum in District 3 Cedar Rapids at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 23 at St. Paul's UMC

We begin the fourth week of 2012 in Cedar Rapids this week.

Council Member Pat Shey is hosting the Neighborhood Safety Forum. Pat Shey represents District 3 on the City Council for Cedar Rapids.

The purpose of this forum is to provide information to help residents make their homes and neighborhoods safer. We will discuss current crime statistics, what you can do to protect your home, how you can make your neighborhood safer, and what you should do if you experience a crime or witness suspicious activity.

Pat Shey to Host Neighborhood Safety Forum on Jan. 23
City Council Member Pat Shey will host a Neighborhood Safety Forum on Monday, January 23, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, located at 1340 3rd Ave SE, especially for residents of District 3.

“The purpose of this forum is to provide the citizens of Cedar Rapids with information that will help them make their homes and neighborhoods safer,” said Shey. “We will discuss current crime statistics, what you can do to protect your home, how you can make your neighborhood safer, and what you should do if you experience a crime or witness suspicious activity.”

The forum will feature a panel discussion, moderated by Shey, which will include the following experts from the Cedar Rapids Police Department: Lt. Jerry Potter, Sgt. Matthew Welsh, Investigator Michael Bailey and Crime Analyst Dawn Stanford. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns during the forum.

Residents with personal experiences to share are encouraged to submit a written narrative or statement before the forum and send them to Pat.Shey@cedar-rapids.org. All statements will be compiled, scanned and share with all who are interested.

As a new Commissioner of the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission, I plan to attend. After last week's Commission meeting, I indicated that to my fellow Commissioners my interest to serve on the Outreach Commission.

With redistricting in the City of Cedar Rapids, our home is now in District 3 as of mid-January 2012. Indian Creek Hills is now entirely in Precinct 25, as opposed to being divided into to districts, as before. We will be voting at Erskine ES again.

Also, I have spoken to people in our community that have been disappointed with the following story.

More than 8,700 arrests logged near Cedar Rapids elementary schools
Data doesn't mean school neighborhoods are unsafe, officials say - The Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS — In a study of arrests made within a half-mile of Cedar Rapids’ public elementary schools, more than half occurred near Polk, Johnson and Taylor schools. This doesn’t mean the neighborhoods aren’t safe, though. “Johnson, Taylor and Polk are all situated in the city’s higher concentration of population,” Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Cristy [...]

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It should be an interesting Neighborhood Safety Forum at St. Paul's UMC.

Robin Tucker is one of two appointed to fill vacancy on Civil Rights Commission

On January 10Th, Mayor Ron Corbett with the consent of the City Council appointed Robin Tucker and Anne Pham to the eleven member Civil Rights Commission for the City of Cedar Rapids. Tucker and Pham will fill two vacancies on the Commission through June 30, 2013.

The Commission is made up of eleven volunteer members, who are appointed by the Mayor for three-year terms, comprise the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission. Each member may serve two consecutive three-year terms. This is a policy-making body which directs the Commission staff. Commissioners are also involved in revising the local civil rights ordinance and assist staff members in their efforts to enforce these laws. The Commission annually elects a Chair and a Vice-Chair. Regularly scheduled meetings take place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Robin Tucker's father, I.L. 'Tommy' Tucker, proudly served on the original Commission or Committee on Human/Civil Rights for the City of Cedar Rapids. He served for approximately 32 years and was recognized by the Commission for his past service on July 15, 2011 at a Cedar Rapids Kernals game, where he was asked to throw out the first pitch. Tommy Tucker Realty Co. is a contributor to the Friends of the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission Foundation, as is the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors. (Pictured are Mom and Dad, with our City's Civil Rights Director Karl Cassell, along with my father throwing out the first pitch).

We believe strongly in the tradition of Equal Opportunity in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit in our community. "Like my father, I look forward to paying my civic rent in service to the Commission for the next 18 months," said Robin Tucker.

This Monday, January 16Th, our Nation and community will celebrate the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday. Robin Tucker is scheduled to attend both the 26Th Annual Remembering Martin Luncheon at the Hotel at Kirkwood at 11 a.m., as well as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on Monday evening at St. Paul's UMC at 7 p.m. The evening event is open to the public and there is no charge attend, though a free will offering is taken.

Happy New Year as the first full week of 2012 is now in the books ..

We hope everyone had a great Christmas, time off for the Holidays and a happy New Year! We enjoyed time here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa over the Holidays! We spent time over the New Year's holiday up in Omaha to visit with family and friends.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all who are battling with health issues as we welcome 2012!

Christmas was very memorable this year. We enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Eve service at St. Paul's UMC here in Cedar Rapids. It is always a joy to spend time with friends and family. Many in the family had to work over the Holidays, but we had plenty of time with both friends and family.

It was a good Rotary year in 2011 in Cedar Rapids. During the Christmas and New Year's holidays, the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids was dark, with no meetings. We will enjoy our first meeting of 2012 on Monday, January 9Th with the University of Iowa' Provost P. Barry Butler providing our program. What exactly is a provost?

Over the years, our family has enjoyed relationships with Grand Island College, Coe College, Creighton University, the University of Iowa, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Northern Iowa, Kirkwood Community College, Drake University, South Dakota State University and a couple of the University of Wisconsin campuses. I enjoyed a brief week with the University of Memphis and GlobalEd studying International cultures with a representative from FedEx.

Currently, family and extended family have recently attended or are now attending the University of Northern Iowa, Indian Hills Community College, Tidewater Community College, Pima County Community College, Creighton University and the University of San Francisco. Education is one of the most important aspects of any society. We must not forget the value of learning from birth to our final years of life. It is an important aspect of our Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for our Republic.

I am proud that decided to attend a Jesuit Catholic university for four years. We are also proud to be Panther parents with the joy of watching our children gain an education experience in biology, chemistry, anthropology and international studies.

Over the Holidays, we enjoyed a couple movies at the theatre. The Iowa-Oklahoma game at the Insight Bowl was enjoyed at DJs on the big screen in Omaha, near TDAmeritrade Park and the CenturyLink Center Omaha. The company was better than the outcome. It was nice to see Creighton and Iowa enjoy some good road wins in basketball over the Holidays.

This past week, we enjoyed returning from our trip to Omaha. New Year's and New Year's Monday were enjoyable. The Rose Bowl went to the Pac 12 this year. The Big Ten has some work ahead in the coming year. It was nice to see ten programs reach a bowl game, which was a conference record. On Iowa!

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure to participate as a Precinct Chair at CR45 with 211 of my neighbors in holding our local Iowa Caucus. What a historical vote, with the closest vote in the history of the Iowa Caucus. Now, onto New Hampshire and South Carolina with the GOP enjoying primaries in those two states. At our Caucus at Erskine ES, neighbors spoke for Huntsman, Gingrich, Paul, Santorum and Romney. My actual voting precinct CR41, Bethany Lutheran enjoyed a strong turnout, as well. I have enjoyed the past four years serving as a central committee chair for my precinct here in Linn County.

At the same time, our daughter enjoyed a dress rehearsal for Washington High School's show choir and I heard she did an outstanding job on her solo. Her first competition is Saturday at Linn-Mar. Show choirs competitions will be throughout January, February and March.

On Wednesday, we celebrated a birthday in the family, with a lovely dinner out at Cibo Fusion. It was nice to see the Iowa basketball team win back to back road games in the Big Ten for the first time, since January 1998. Then on Thursday, we enjoyed a family dinner, as Carole's sister and family visited, while returning home from Omaha. It was a great visit for all.

Well, the holidays have clearly concluded. Our daughter in college has left for another semester. We have enjoyed a couple new family favorites lately. Red Mango when visiting Omaha and Orange Leaf here here in Cedar Rapids. We look forward to the new east side location.

It will be a busy year in 2012 and it is off to a fast start. Happy New Year everyone!