EDITOR'S NOTE: This story required a clarification.
MUNSTER | While thousands of Munster residents were victims of the September floods, some say they've been victimized once again at the hands of burglars.
A contingent of residents who live in the Wicker Park Estates subdivision and other areas north of Ridge Road that flooded came to a Munster Town Council meeting Nov. 10 to complain to town officials.
Tula Kavadias, president of the Wicker Park Neighborhood Association, said the Northcote Bridge has proven to be a source of "ingress and egress" to the community and there have been a number of burglaries in the neighborhood.
"We want to know what can the town do to assist us in better safeguarding our homes," Kavadias said. She also suggested town officials consider taking steps to put lights in a nearby forest area that abuts three houses on Oakwood Avenue.
"Lighting is the primary defense against crime," Kavadias said Monday.
Steve Angler, who lives on Hawthorne Ridge, said he and his neighbors have been waiting three months for lights to be relit on Hawthorne Street along Hart's Ditch. He said there have been a number of burglaries in his neighborhood. He also lives in the Wicker Park Estates subdivision.
Munster Town Council President Helen Brown said "it's been very frustrating" because some lights are owned by the town and others by NIPSCO, and the lack of adequate lighting can be "dangerous."
Munster Town Councilman Mike Mellon said the town is not responsible for that light, but he has made a call to NIPSCO to get it turned on.
Although representatives of the Police Department could not be reached about the number of burglaries in the area, the department is going to host a special Crime Watch meeting for residents who live east of White Oak Avenue and north of Ridge Road, particularly those in the Wicker Park Estates neighborhood, at 7 p.m. Thursday at Munster Town Hall.
The meeting will be held to provide up-to-date crime statistics for that area, answer questions from residents and provide information on effective crime prevention methods. Members of the department's community policing unit will be at the meeting.
