A flea market raising funds since 1993. A daily tally of stolen bicycles tacked to a telephone poll during a rash of thefts. A head count of students playing hooky. An annual Halloween parade. A chatty, informative newsletter dropped in 800 mail slots every month.
Not unusual, perhaps, for 20 years’ of work by one crime watch, but notable because one person initiated it all – Riverside Crime Watch Chairman Virginia Pianka. After 20 years of hands-on leadership and shepherding volunteers in the Harrisburg neighborhoods north of Division Street, Pianka announced her retirement in January.
“It’s time for the younger generation to step up and take over, and I hope that the new group comes forward to build on what the present members have accomplished,” Pianka wrote in the monthly newsletter.
The change underscores the importance of strong leadership and resident input to maintain a viable crime watch, say those involved in the transition.
“An effective crime watch has a leader like Virginia was,” said Harrisburg City Police Capt. Annette Oates. “Someone who can spearhead the whole watch and give it a backbone. If it’s not a strong crime watch, it’s not going to be helpful for the neighborhood and the police.”
At a special Feb. 9 meeting, about 40 Riverside residents and city officials presented Pianka with gifts, plaques, and proclamations. When someone suggested seizing the opportunity to maintain momentum, an election for officers broke out.
A new interim president and vice president, Pat Waller and Claire Powers, replaced the single chairman, and longtime treasurer Brenda Lawrence retained her post. The team will face re-election, if they choose to run, after a three-month trial period. Individual committees will organize the May flea market, Halloween parade, and National Night Out block party – three major functions that Pianka oversaw with the help of volunteers.
“They say it takes a village,” said Waller a few days later. “Well, it’s gonna take a village to fill Virginia’s shoes.”
Pianka said she’s glad to let new leadership “find out what is workable and offer new ideas.” Waller hopes to spotlight Riverside’s architectural diversity and fill in gaps left by the cash-strapped city. At the top of the list: Scheduling a concert or two to fill Italian Lake with music on summer nights, in the tradition of the canceled city concert series.
“We have such a beautiful natural asset down there, and the community itself has a lot of pride, and it’s time again to show off what we have,” Waller said.
Riverside resident Tom Leonard, a veteran of neighborhood involvement, said that each community group or crime watch needs structure for formal planning and communicating, but each must also plot its own course based on priorities. As a result, residents watch out not just for the lurking stranger but for the neighbors’ well-being, even “if it’s something like the newspapers accumulating on the stoop.”
“You can’t say enough about having just one more way to communicate with each other, because we benefit from contact,” he said. Crime watches “really act as an extra set of eyes on the street looking out for each other.”
