My elderly parents have lived in the East Lake area since 1962; my brother and I grew up in the area and we attended Clifton Hills and East Lake Junior High. My brother and I left Chattanooga in the late 1970's and early 1980's to seek better employment opportunities.
The East Lake area has gone through several changes in the past 25 years. Many long time home owners have passed away and the homes have turned into rental properties particularly Section 8 housing. The East Lake Courts Housing project is littered with gang activity due the shift of governmental housing from the Alton Park and East Chattanooga area to East Lake. My brother and I have tried to get my parents to move from East Lake due the rising crime rate for several years; however, as with many elderly people, their home is their life and change can be very traumatic.
The change in the neighborhood is not a racial issue because there are many people of all races in East Lake who purchased or rented homes and take pride in where the live. These people want a safe environment for their families and a sense of community. The issue is crime and the lack of proper police protection. I have seen the positive changes in the St Elmo and Highland Park areas because the residents raised the crime issues and rallied for better police protection and community organization.
The reason that I am writing this letter is because of two incidents that have occurred within the past 2-1/2 years. In August 2006 there were several burglaries in the East Lake area during the night (usually around 3 a.m. in the morning) which were reported in the Chattanoogan police blotter. My parents were victims of such a burglary. Thankfully, my parents were not injured; however, the Chattanooga police reported the incident as "vandalism." The burglar pried open the storm door and front door and was standing in the hallway to my parent’s bedroom when my mother woke up and yelled for the man to leave her house.
I talked to the commander over the East Lake district and expressed my concern with the crime report and he agreed the report was wrongly written by the reporting officer and would be corrected as burglary. Also, I gave him the details of the other burglaries that had been reported in the East Lake area by the Chattanoogan police blotter. He assured me that the Chattanooga Police would increase the patrolling of East Lake.
The other incidents happened in early December 2008. My mother was driving her car just one block from her home when she was involved in a hit and run accident. The car hit my mother's car and fled. It happened so quickly and stunned by mother; however, she was able to give a description of the car, person, and stated that she had seen the car in the neighborhood. The car has been sitting on a nearby street without a car tag (not parked in a driveway and yard), but sitting on the city street since at least Christmas Eve, and the car was still parked on the city street as late as Jan. 9. My questions to the Chattanooga Police is (1) are cars abandoned on city street without car tags not monitored or towed and (2) after a hit and run accident, would the car description be listed on a "watch list" for the police patrol?
Vickie Gilliam
Rome, Ga.