The neighborhood Watch group for Victoria Rd and Vernon Rd began with a phone call from Theresa Scott. Since she first spoke with Officer Newman, it was obvious that she was very passionate about her neighborhood and the city.

The first meeting for the group was held on a Thursday evening. It was doubtful that anyone would come to Rowena's house because there were severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings that were in effect. To Theresa's surprise, several of the neighbors came.

Theresa then put together a newsletter thanking them for coming and updating everyone on what was discussed at the first meeting. When the second meeting came around, there were more participants who attended.

Plans were made for the neighbors to have their fist neighborhood clean up and block party. On Saturday morning, two dump trucks were filled up in about an hour. With more to cut, the neighbors piled the rest in the on street parking for the city crews to pick up later. Focus of everyone was spent on the corner of Vernon Rd where the brush had over grown the fencing and was spilling into the street. Many of the residents had complained of drug activity on this corner because it was an easy place for the drug dealer to conduct the exchange and not really be seen. After the clean up, and to this day, there has been no other drug dealing on this corner.

The residents pulled together on the clean up day had a block party to celebrate the work effort and the unity of the neighborhood. All the residents brought covered dishes, hamburgers and hotdogs were grilled, and stories were told about the streets. The Oak Ridge Fire Dept stopped by so everyone could look at the fire truck and answer questions about fire safety. Other members of the Oak Ridge Police came to eat and join in the activities.

This neighborhood watch group is a very tight knit community. Everyone knows everyone and they keep up with what is happening with each other. This neighborhood has became a family. They enjoy getting together for the holidays and any other time they can come up with an excuse to socialize.