RiponWatch.com was launched in 2007 as a follow up to the Neighborhood Watch Program formed in 2006. Launched by two moms: Lisa Suender & Cynthia Outram. The objective with both the website and the neighborhood watch program was to educate and increase crime/safety awareness for the residents of the Meritage Sterling Orchard Community.
Our mission "To create an online Neighborhood Watch bulletin board providing safety tips, crime stats, and Ripon related news and activities." As Neighborhood Watch Commanders we have been successful in our efforts by partnering with local Ripon businesses, the City of Ripon, the Ripon Police Department, and Meritage Homes. Our Neighborhood Watch program AND website continues to educate and serve the residents of the Sterling Orchard Community and the entire City of Ripon. Our commitment to make a difference continues to be the driving force behind all of our efforts!
Does RiponWatch make any money?
Nope, not a dime. Our website consists of useful widgets, and none of those bothersome ads you find on other web sites. No overhead, no advertisers , no stress!
Why do we do it?
Because we can! We choose to make a difference, and don't have time for those who spend time belly-aching about this and that, ultimately accomplishing nothing. We finish what we start and never give up when the road gets bumpy.
Do we advertise?
Nope, RiponWatch was created for the Sterling Orchard Meritage Community Neighborhood Watch Program. It's target audience is the Neighborhood Watch participants and new residents of our community. RiponWatch is primarily advertised through word of mouth.
How do we stay energized?
We drink lots and lots of coffee! Starbucks on Wilma & Main is our "get connected with the community" office and they provide us with a steady supply of java to keep our minds and motivation jumping! Our families keep us motivated and always have our back. Our partnerships within the community provide us with the positive reinforcement that keeps us moving forward without hesitation.
Introductions:
Your Neighborhood Watch Commanders
From left, Sgt. Terri Jensen, Lisa Suender, Ripon Councilman Red Nutt
Lisa Suender a 15 year retail veteran and a former Control Buyer/Analyst/Manager for retailers including Ross Stores, Mervyns, Cost Plus, & Emporium Capwell, retired to be a stay-home mom when her son started kindergarten. Since moving to Ripon in 2005 she has been dedicated to various projects in the community of Sterling Orchard and for the City of Ripon. Lisa is the marketing chair for the Friends of the Ripon Memorial Library and is a Director at Large for the Friends Board of Directors. Lisa is also the founder, editor and website administrator for the non-profit www.riponwatch.com. This site is a 24 hour "up to the minute" website providing great tools and resources for new and existing residents of the Sterling Orchard Community. Lisa has been married to her High School sweetheart, Todd Suender for 20 years.
Co-Commander Cynthia
Cynthia Outram who also moved to Ripon in 2005, is a professional photographer who recently launched her own photography business Captured Moments by Cynthia. She is the official photographer for the Friends of the Ripon Memorial Library where she donates the photographs taken of special library events. Her pictures are also shown on the friends website. Cynthia takes amazing senior portraits, pets, maternity, newborn, and family portraits.
If you would like to contact us visit the Contact us/Join our Email List link on the left sidebar.
Call Captured Moments by Cynthia at 599-5581.
Highlights from 2nd Annual Neighborhood Watch Block Party
Sunday, April 20, 2008 at 11:50AM If you were not able to attend the neighborhood watch gathering you missed a really fun evening. This year we focused on encouraging neighbor relations and increasing safety awareness for the neighborhood. Highlights included:
Pastor Terrie Johnson with " Voices for Christ " opened the informal meeting by singing an amazing song. She would later sing again and provided all of the music that people enjoyed while mingling with their neighbors.
Neighborhood businesses set up trade tables to advertise their specific businesses and gave away samples to all the kids including buckets,tote bags, bubbles,cupcakes and more!
Free hot dogs,chips and sodas were provided by Tracy Honda. Starbucks also donated free coffee to the event. Savemart also donated refreshments
Mayor Curt Pernice spoke to the residents about growth,upcoming new businesses, and provided a time for questions following his speech. Questions that came up included:
- Is Walmart in Ripon's future? So far no, Walmart is not continuing to focus on Ripon
- What plans are in place for the existing orchards that separate Meritage Homes from the new shopping center(Savemart). What sort of sound wall/barrier will be placed there? The Mayor wasnt sure exactly what might go there but encouraged residents to get involved and attend City Council meetings as that area further gets developed.
- Will Santos/Colony go through to the new development of Shadowhawk. Shadowhawk is the new community currently being designed by Brookfield Homes. The edge of the development would exist where there currently are orchards. The corner of River Rd/North Ripon down to Boesch. This is 748 home development that is currently being reviewed by the City of Ripon. This deal has not been finalized. The Mayor told residents that further review of this development by the city will factor in traffic concerns,growth issues. Further involvement by residents will also contribute to the overall project planning.
- When will the Boesch/Kingery Park be completed? The Mayor wasnt certain but Lisa informed everyone that per the recreation department, bids were being accepted within the next few weeks.
- Blight Homes remain vacant and vandalism free. They continue to be monitored closely by the Ripon PD. The City of Ripon is currently rewriting the outdated codes to modernize and match the current market. This will allow legal means of dealing with these homes. They are taking some of the language from the newly revised Manteca ordinances and combinining it with the new language of the Ripon Ordinances. The objective would be proactive so that the cost of maintaining these homes is minimal.
Navid Fardenesh, VP with Ripon Chamber of Commerce spoke about the role of the Ripon Chamber and how it helps provide support to new businesses. Sgt Terri Jensen our neighborhood commander provided information about the importance of the neighborhood watch program,how it originated,and encouraged residents to look out for one another.
Other city officials who attended included Councilman Ed Nutt, Chief of Police Richard Bull, Fire Chief Dennis Bitters, director of the Chamber of Commerce Dorothy Booth, and some firefighthers who brought by a fire truck & ambulance for the kids to enjoy!
