If you want to get a job done, ask a busy man to do it — the old saying never had more relevance than when applied to a new resident of the neighborhood.
When Burke Mees approached Jim L'Ecuyer, Executive Director of the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council, shortly after moving into the area last August to ask how he could serve the neighborhood, Jim replied that a police-community relations committee was needed to improve communications between the police and residents. Burke responded by recruiting the ten members that now make up the committee, which meets each month.
By conferring on Saturday mornings with Captain Brooks and his officers at the 7th District Station, Burke has been able to compile an impressive set of statistics on all crime, date, time and place committed, and weather. It was hoped that this would have some predictive value, but so far it hasn't been discovered. However, the data has at times reflected a decrease in specific crime categories, due to increased police protection and apprehension of certain types of criminals.
Another committee project has been to evaluate the market on electronic surveillance devices for the home, mainly their cost and availability. A report will be circulated within the month, detailing advantages and limitations. Hopefully, they can be installed by resident electricians for a reasonable fee, after being purchased at a discount owing to large volume sales.
Other activities with which the committee has busied itself are traffic control (a volunteer is needed to work out alternative plans); more volunteer clerical workers to help the police, thereby enabling them to place more men on the streets; and, distribution of police-band radio receivers for Block Watchers, to assist in determining, along with statistics, when to concentrate efforts.
It came as a surprise to learn that Burke could still find time to seriously pursue his hobbies, which include an extensive collection of rocks and fossils, in addition to his radio, tape recording and hi-fi equipment which require periodic tinkering. This goes back to his Army service as a radio operator in Alaska, which was then a territory — the first clue that his age is in the "over 30" category.
Being an employee of an engineering firm as broadly based as Sverdrup & Parcel, Burke expects that his work as a construction supervisor for tunnel excavations will involve some travel and relocation. Nevertheless, he was surprised to learn that he would soon have to move to West Virginia for a three year tunnel project.
He and his wife Phyllis, together with their three year old son, Burke, naturally hope to return to St. Louis, and Skinker-DeBaliviere in particular. Among numerous personal concerns, Burke must also find a replacement for the Police-Community Relations Committee, and delegate responsibility for the various projects with which it is involved.
The loss of his services in the community will surely be someone else's gain.
Original newspaper source
Originally published in The Paper, April 1970.
