False representation of the Winlow Place Civic Club

Bogus mail delivery - June 24, 2009
Be aware that some Winlow Place neighbors have recieved notices in their mailboxes claiming to be from the Winlow Place Civic Club and making scurrilous claims about the Pride Houston organization and the Civic Club's position on the Pride Houston Parade. This notice and the claims made are FALSE and DO NOT represent our Civic Club.

Please read the letter from one of our neighbors, Kenn Altine, followed by a response from our Civic Club President, Mary Needham sent to both the police dept and Channel 26.

Dear Neighbors:

By now all of you have probably read the letter placed in mail boxes and door jambs throughout the neighborhood. I am outraged that someone from outside of our community would attempt to incite hate and confrontation at this weekend’s Gay Pride Houston Parade. I do not know if any of you have experienced the problems/behaviours listed in the letter. I, nor my immediate neighbors, have not. This letter unfairly paints a picture of Winlow Place as the home of intolerance and discrimination. That has not been my experience in the years that I have lived on Hawthorne Street. From working with you all to prevent traffic overflow from the new apartment building next to Randalls to preserving trees to running power across the street to neighbors hit by Ike, I have seen this neighborhood work together as a group to help each other. It saddens me to think that there will be people on the streets Saturday yelling hate speech and challenging the lawfully permitted participants in the parade – representatives of civic, business and religious groups throughout the Houston area. I anticipate that the media outlets referenced in the letter as well as HPD will receive anonymous complaints from people pretending to be Winlow Place residents. Please join me in letting Pride Houston, HPD and the media companies that may come out to report on any confrontations that these people do not represent our community and that hate is not welcome in Winlow Place.

Thank you,

Kenn Altine

Harris County Sherriff’s Dept 2pp.
Attn: Shannon
Re: Scurrilous letter put into Winlow Place mailboxes last night.

Shannon:
I received this in my mailbox – as did many of our other residents.
• I don’t happen to attend the parade on a regular basis, but I live on Hawthorne and certainly am kept aware of it because of the noise level and the streets that are blocked off for parking. There are obviously many thousands of people who enjoy parades and come from some distance to do so.
• I have not personally seen or heard of any of the behaviors cited in this mis-spelled, ungrammatical mess and I have lived in the neighborhood for 10 years.
• Furthermore, I have always been amazed at how quickly and efficiently the cleanup is done – by Sunday morning there are usually only tiny remnants of the festivities of the night before, and for that I am both impressed and grateful.
• This kind of anonymous filth does nothing for anyone. If someone thinks there are real abuses, they should be willing to record and/or report, using their names and addresses! It is worse when they think they can pass it off as coming from some sort of mysterious Community Neighborhood Watch (which to my knowledge does not exist.)

I hope that by alerting you and others to the fact that this missive is being distributed with your numbers on it, that you will be in a position to counteract any anonymous calls you do receive purporting to be from Winlow Place and surrounding area residents. We have lots of gay residents. We also have widows like myself, bachelors, widowers, families, couples with no children, single individuals, renters, homeowners, investors and others. I moved here precisely because it was not just another homogenized suburban neighborhood, and whoever these “protesters” are, I doubt they come from Winlow Place.

Sincerely,

Mary Needham
President Winlow Place Civic Club

 

 

Public SafetyForum Targeting Crime Reduction Measures
City Of Houston Council Member Wanda Adams in conjunction with Police Chief Harold Hurtt will be conducting the final public safety forum examining public safety and preventive measures to reduce crime in several communities. The last of the four forums will be held on the following date and respective location:

Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wharton Elementary
900 W. Gray Street
Houston, Texas 77019
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

For more details and contact information see the official release from Council member Adams official release.

Crime Prevention Newsletter

Our WPCC president has made available a recent crime prevention newsletter. The newsletter has some good tips on preventing home invasion. You can check it out here.