She was told by our friend that there has been a rash of car break-ins and burglaries over the past couple of weeks in the neighborhood and that friends and neighbors are extremely upset. They are wondering if any of these break-ins are related to the methadone clinic being down the road from their homes or is it just the usual suspects that roam around at night during the summer months when school is out.
My wife was told that the residents are upset that they haven't seen any public information or warnings about these break-ins in the local media. Our friend added how her neighborhood was always very quiet and a safe place to live, they never had to worry about locking the doors of their cars or the doors and window of their homes before the methadone clinic opened.
She related how she has been yelling at her husband about locking the car up at night because the garage door opener is in it. The garage is attached to the house and anyone can walk into the house through it if they have access when the garage door opens. She feels as if herself and family are living in the middle of a crime infested, inner city neighborhood of Camden or Newark instead of a beautiful, family orientated, bedroom community located in Middletown.
She doesn't know what she or her neighbors will do with themselves if the clinic remains at it's current location. She said that they feel let down by those who run the Township and can only hope that the town can eventually save her neighborhood before people decide that it's time to move out.
For our friend and others that live in the Applebrook development, I hope so too.
8 comments:
Your friend was "yelling" at her husband about locking the car door? Yelling? Really?
Little wonder the divorce rate is so high in this country.
Well,
if he is.anything like me, I'm sure she needs to raise her voice a few times before things sink in.
I happen to live in the Twinbrooks development (which connects to the Apple Farm Rd development via a foot path) where over the past 10 years, we have had car and home break-ins before, especially during the summer months ("the usual suspects"), as well as other miscellaneous vandalism throughout the year, (just two nights ago, about 12-15 mailboxes in the neighborhood were damaged or destroyed). Guess when the majority of these break-ins and such occured? BEFORE the methadone clinic opened. Could these new break-ins be related? Maybe. But with everyone so up in arms about the clinic, immediately placing the blame on that, you're criminalizing the innocent people (our neighbors, friends, parishoners) who benefit from the services it offers. It's naive to think people in our beautiful, family-oriented Middletown do not have drug issues.
As for the "living in Newark or Camden" comment - WOW - one methadone clinic opens, plus a couple of crimes that usually happen in Middletown around this time each year, and suddenly we've demoted Middletown to the same level as one of the most unsafe cities in the nation? It's this kind of exagguration that is perpetuating misdirected anger towards the township committee, the police (yes, I've read comments on articles about the clinic from people complaining about the added police presence in the area - the same people who would probably complain if there were no added police presence) and other parties involved in allowing this clinic to open, a clinic that followed procedure and legally, did nothing wrong.
I don't have ANY sympathy for anyone who doesn't lock their car or house.
Anon 9:54,
I happen to agree with you but until the hysteria dies down a bit about the "dangers" of having a methadone clinic on your doorsteps, I don't think people will be rational.
I think for now anything that seems "out of the ordinary" will be questioned and blamed on being caused by those that frequent the clinic.
The residents have a legitimate concern all you ned to do is Google methadone clinics and you will get a litany of hits on the virtues and evils of such clinics. The residents are worried about their kids having to stand at the school bus stop a a number of yards away and what culled potentially happen to their home values in an already depressed market.
There is also the question of need for this clinic in Middletown seeing how a similar clinic has opened in Hazlet on Hwy 36.
Honestly, we have enough of a drug problem in Middletown already with a known dealer in the Woodland Drive area (between Twin Brooks and Apple Farm Rd) without adding the problem of a clinic to the mix. Drug paraphanelia can be found throughout the area, cigar blunt wrappers and tiny glassine bags, not to mention lots of beer cans and liquor bottles. While I don't love the idea of a methadone clinic so close to my home, I think the current dealer(s) should be dealt with first; the cops are aware of them. My neighbors and I have gone to the police station repeatedly but the polices' hands are tied to a certain degree. A major incident or accident will have to take place in order for anything to truly be done. Just by reading the police blotter on this blog, there is enough evidence to see that our nice little town is becoming more and more drug-infested. We as parents have to become more diligent in paying attention to our children's comings and goings/behavior. My husband and I have been doing that in addition to calling the police about suspicious activity with regard to the drug dealing and the methadone clinic.
Forgot to add to my previous post that we've had several cars broken into in our neighborhood and tools, money and a radio were stolen from several vehicles. More recently, gas was siphoned from one of my neighbor's cars.
as far as the druggies who go to the clinic go, what excuse do they have to use drugs ? none. this is the life they have chosen. by the time I was 20, I lost my home, my mom and dad and an arm. what they need is a james bond type of car to break into which explodes. good by to a useless drugee.
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