What’s in a name?

marinaI have two things on my mind today:  Thanksgiving and how much Linda and I are loving writing the PropertyBblotter.  I am thinking about Thanksgiving because it is my favorite holiday and because it has been so incredibly gorgeous the last few days.  The air is crisp.  The sunshine is bright.  It just makes me feel grateful to be alive.  And somehow those feelings tie into how I feel about the Property Blotter.  We have been writing this blog for 20 months.  In that time we have had the pleasure of sharing our passion for real estate and for this wonderful town that we live in.  We have also been fortunate to have people contact us to get information, and even to buy and to sell homes.  We are grateful for our loyal readers and hope that you are enjoying and learning from what we are able to share.

In that light, today I want to take us back to the roots of the Blotter and remind our readers that the name is completely local to Lake Oswego and references the Police Blotter that is published each Thursday in The Lake Oswego Review, the local newspaper.  The Review is widely read in LO, both to see photos and hear about our neighbors, and also to get a good chuckle over the varied activities of our local law enforcement.  Let’s face it, while LO is not immune to crime, there is quite a bit of time when the good men and women of our police department deal with some pretty funny stuff.  So the Police Blotter is in some ways a form of entertainment.  I thought I’d take time today to share a bit of the Property Blotter’s namesake.  Here, for your reading enjoyment, are actual police activities that were published in the LO Review from a two week period in late September.  Enjoy.

9/14/09  1:47 pm A man fell down while walking on a broken sidewalk on Boones Ferry Rd.

9/14/09  4:10 pm An elderly man acted confused at a pizza restaurant.

9/15/09  12:54 pm Police saved a man from being stranded on his roof after his ladder fell down while he was working on it.  The ladder was replaced and the man came down.

9/15/09  1:39 pm A caged leopard was observed in a vehicle traveling down Highway 43.

9/15/09  4:47 pm An old lady has been throwing plums at her neighbor.

9/15/09 5 pm An injured pheasant was caught on the side of the road by officers and taken to the Audobon Society.

9/16/09 1:44 pm A woman complained that her neighbor’s garage sale had been going on for far too long.

9/17/09  8:58 pm A short, heavy, suspicious man was advised to leave a super market after he was observed leaning against a wall.

9/18/09 7:48 pm After leaving his scooter on a dock, a man returned to find that it was missing.  It turned out the scooter had been thrown into the water by a mentally challenged boy, whose father agreed to pay for a new scooter.

9/19/09  8:41 am A racoon found injured in the middle of the road was taken to a Lake Grove veterinarian.

9/19/09  6:23 pm A person dropped a glass on Lakeview Boulevard, then got out and tried to pick it up.

9/21/09 9:09 am A man in a van has been parking behind a church and sleeping.  Church officials hope he will wake up and leave.

9/22/09 1:38 pm A large swarm of yellow jackets was seen a Maple Circle.  A beekeeper was notified to respond.

9/24/09 2:16 am A dog cornered a raccoon in a backyard.

9/24/09 7:28 pm A man’s 10-year-old son was screaming about not being able to get on a computer.

9/25/09 11:35 am A dark blue Jeep Liberty was seen driving over yellow lines and onto the sidewalk on Boones Ferry Road.  An alternative driver was located to drive the car.

9/25/09 5:03 pm A 15-year-old boy reported a man in an Alden Utilities vest riding a bicycle through his yard. Turns out Alden Utilities is taking a pole inventory.

9/25/09 8:40 pm A suspicious man was going door to door on Albert Circle claiming to be the Kirby Vacuum guy.

9/26/09  1:54 pm A back pack with drug paraphernalia was reportedly found at Our Lady of the Lake.  Officers determined the contents were just garbage and disposed of them.

9/26/09 2:41 pm A dead squirrel was removed from Lake Grove Avenue.

9/26/09 10:13 pm A complaint was filed on a loud party at Country Woods Court and Quarry Road.  Partiers shut the garage door and turned the music down.

9/26/09 11:59 pm The partying continued on Country Woods Court.  Homeowners were warned of a citiation.

We may be just 15 minutes from downtown Portland, but reading the LO Review’s Police Blotter really puts into perspective that LO has the personality of a small town.  Our police department has a 100% personal response policy.  When you call the police, for whatever issue no matter how small or how large, you will get a police officer who will personally respond.  And then the next week, you will see it in the Lake Oswego Review.  I love it.