Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Butte Falls bulletin. (<1994 Dec.->) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2005)
M ay I suggest that if a group o f you gets together and all chip in to m ake a targe purchase, you m ight get a special price on say, enough m otion lights for all o f the houses in Butte Falls? Think that m ight take a little bite out ofcrim e? H ave neighbors w ho w ould rather stay in the dark? Let ’em . They ’ll attract the perps like flies. Personal and H om e S ecurity: You know it is a lot better to prevent crim inal activity before It happens than it Is to end up having to use a gun to defend your hom e or yourself. Last m onth, we talked about installing a gate to lim it access to your hom e and the m any w ays this helps to stop a gunfight before it happens. There are other things you can do to m ake crim inals think twice before approaching your hom e. O ne o f these is to install m otion lights. M otion lights are outside flood lights that do not shine during the day and only shine at night w hen som ething m oves past their "detector ” . A ll o f the better quality fixtures are designed to have a pair o f lights that can be directed in Just about any w ay you w ant them to shine a t night. The best bulbs to use are the 150 w att bulbs, w hich really do a decent Job of Illum inating the area In front o f w here you choose to place your lights. You really ought to place a pair o f these lights at each corner o f your hom e and anyw here else that a person m ight approach your hom e from the dark. Pretend you are a sneak thief and w alk around your hom e at night to get a good Idea o f w here your lights need to go. This w ill also show you w hat a person from the outside can see w ith the lights on inside o f your hom e at night (H um m ...tim e to get som e curtains?). You need to place the m otion lights high enough above ground so that they shine as fa r as possible and nobody can reach them to disable them . M otion lights can be adjusted to stay on fo r up to 5 m inutes once the detector Is tripped (they w ill also stay on as long as the turkey in the spotlight m oves) and you can adjust the sensitivity o f the detector so it responds to m ovem ent at any reasonable distance you desire. You can point the detector part o f the light to particular areas. You can also w ire your lights so that each one goes o ff independent o f the others or so that they all go o ff w henever one detects som ething. I suggest that you have each light operate independently, since then you can tell right aw ay w here the intruder is. Just about everyone sells these things, but I know that C rovers near C entral P oint sells good ones for about $35.00 each. The bulbs are extra. They are pretty easy to w ire up, but since they are only rated a t a m axim um o f 1000 w atts and each fixture uses a total o f 300 w atts (tw o o f the 150 w att bulbs), you cannot w ire m ore than three such fixtures on any single line. Talk to the C rovers people and they w ill help you out on any o f the details. So, it w ill cost you around $200.00 for the w hole thing. D on't have that m uch? P ut up one light each m onth for the next few m onths and you w ill hardly notice the pain, but you w ill notice the benefits right aw ay. R em em ber, the lights don't stay on, and so they w ill not affect your pow er bill. H ere is w hat happens. N o one can approach your place at night w ithout risking being spot-lighted. S uddenly since the light is bright and shining directly tow ard them , you can see intruders from inside your hom e a lot better than they can see you. You can see exactly w ho they are or at least get a good description o f them fo r the police. Score one fo r the good guys. In addition, if they run around your house, they Just trip m ore lights! O opsl N ow If you have a dog, all o f this m akes It a lot easier fo r the dog to see the intruder and a lot m ore confident in barking at him . So not only Is it daylight out, but the noise level rises as w ell. This ought to get your attention enough to roll out o f bed, check the locks on the doors, fum ble fo r the phone and If need be, drag out your cannon. It m ight also rouse your neighbors, provided you have told them w hat to do If such a thing happens. H ere is the im portant point...any reasonable crim inal Just out to steal you blind w ill flee and you get to giggle yourself back to sleep. If, In spite o f all o f this, the Intruder stays or continues to approach your hom e, then you have been w ell and truly w arned and you w ill be prepared. Even If your m otion lights never get used to spot intruders like this, they still m ake life a lot nicer since they com e on w hen you return to hom e after dark and you can see w hether the coast Is clear before entering your hom e. You can see w hen you w alk around your house to do things at night w ith your hands free w ithout the need for those pecky flashlights and lanterns. N ext tim e let's talk about w atch dogs, shall we? Low ell N icolaus TSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA B u tte F a lls R e s o u r c e C e n t e r f o r F it n e s s a n d H e a lt h P r o je c t C a n c e le d T h a n k y o u to th o s e o f y o u w h o h a v e d o n a t e d t o t h e B u t t e F a l ls S c h o o l a n d C o m m u n ity R e s o u r c e C e n te r f o r F i t n e s s a n d H e a lt h p r o j e c t . W e a p p r e c ia t e y o u r w illin g n e s s t o h e lp . T h is le t t e r is t o in f o r m y o u th a t th e p r o je c t h a s b e e n c a n c e le d , a n d th e m o n e y g a in e d f r o m d o n a tio n s a n d f u n d r a is in g is g o in g t o b e d is p e r s e d t o t h e s c h o o l p a y - f o r - p la y p r o g r a m , a im e d a t c h ild r e n e n r o lle d in s c h o o l w h o c a n n o t a f fo r d t o p la y s p o r ts . E a c h c h ild in s c h o o l is r e q u ir e d t o p a y t h e ir o w n w a y t o p la y a s p o r t. O f te n t im e s t h is m e a n s t h a t s o m e c h ild r e n g e t le f t o u t . W e h o p e t h is m o n e y c a n m a k e a d iffe r e n c e t o th o s e c h ild r e n . i If y o u m a d e a p JIHGFEDCBA e r s o n a l d o n a t io n d ir e c tly t o th e p r o je c t, w e a r e o ffe r in g to r e fu n d y o u r m o n e y if th e p a y - fo r - p la y p r o g r a m is n o t s o m e th in g y o u w o u ld c a r e t o s u p p o rt. P le a s e w r it e a r e q u e s t le tt e r t o t h e B u t te F a lls S c h o o l D is tr ic t a d d r e s s a b o v e ( A tte n tio n J a n ic e S c h u lt z ) , b y S e p t e m b e r 1 5 , 2005 i f y o u w o u ld lik e a r e f u n d . I f y o u b o u g h t a C h r is tm a s tr e e , a tte n d e d a B IN G O n ig h t, o r e n te r e d a r a f f le , o n c e a g a in w e t h a n k y o u f o r y o u r s u p p o rt. S i n c e r e ly , D a r r e n K in y o n Sue M acy J a n ic e S c h u lt z H e y C r a c k H e a d - g la d to h e a r th e r e w a s n o p e rm a n e n t d a m a g e . N e x t tim e tr y h o ld in g o n to th e la d d e r a little h a r d e r . O k a y ! L o ri a n d K ry s ta l F o r S a le : s m a l l p e d e s t a l d i n n in g r o o m t a b le . G r e a t s i z e f o r a n a p a r t m e n t . Y o u c a n s e e it a t 4 4 0 P i n e S t r e e t o r c a l l L i la M c C l a n a h a n a t 8 6 5 -3 2 5 3 . Page 4
