WEED AND SEED SPONSORS BIKE SAFETY, FUN DAY

By AmyJo Brown/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

By 11 a.m. Saturday at Central Park, firefighters were grilling hot dogs, the local Neighborhood Watch organization had attracted 50 people with its door prizes — and the children had discovered the five bicycles up for grabs.

“Only two kids so far have registered,” said Kahdijah Miller, the fire and life safety educator for the Pine Bluff Fire Department, seconds before a half-dozen other children ran up to her tent, eager to enter their names in the drawing.

More followed behind, running across the field that separated Miller’s tent from the Arkansas National Guard’s climbing wall, which until then had been drawing the largest crowd.

The activities Saturday were part of the second annual Weed and Seed Bike Safety and Fun Day, held in the Central Park neighborhood, an area targeted by the city, state and federal government for increased law and code enforcement.

The efforts are being funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, which awarded the city a $1 million five-year grant in 2006 under its Weed and Seed program. The money is intended to “weed” out crime and “seed” economic and residential development in the neighborhood.

Saturday, as neighborhood children played on the rock wall and talked to the city’s firefighters and police officers, Ruby Jean Rogers clutched a bag of information and T-shirts that she had collected from the Neighborhood Watch. She said she is noticing an impact on the neighborhood from the increased attention.

“It’s been much better,” she said. “Used to be, every night it was nothing but guns popping off.”

Faye Reeves, another resident of the neighborhood, said she’s noticed that the area is cleaner than it used to be. She also said she was pleased with the children’s activities on Saturday. Normally, she said, the park is empty.

“It’s good to see they can come out and enjoy themselves,” she said.

Joyce Brown, president of the Central Park Neighborhood Watch, said the day was meant to show the local residents that the city wasn’t just cracking down on crime in the area and being more strict about enforcing the city’s housing codes.

“It’s all about giving back to the neighborhood,” Brown said. “That’s why we treasure the Bike Safety Fun days.”