BY CINDY TOOPES COURIER STAFF WRITER
July 23, 2008 10:48 pm
—
OTTUMWA — Flooding, looting and lack of a county housing code add up to problems for Hidden Valley Trailer Court residents, many of whom are Latinos.
That was the message from Hugo Cividanes, coordinator of the New Iowa Center at Iowa Workforce Development, who said Wednesday that “people have property missing” from Hidden Valley Trailer Court. Cividanes was one of the speakers at the Ottumwa Diversity Network meeting.
During Cividanes’ report on the New Iowan Center, Ottumwa Mayor Dale Uehling had asked him “what problems Latinos” and other immigrants have had due to the flood.
The mayor said it was “a darn shame” someone took $3,500 of copper wire out of the pumps that were removing water from the trailer court. He also said Hidden Valley is out in the county and the residents “had problems with water out there this spring.”
Citizen Mary Ann Reiter said Wapello County has no housing code.
“There needs to be an initiative to try to talk to the county supervisors about why there isn’t one,” she said.
“It is needed. There are places that need inspected,” Uehling said.
“We should invite residents to speak up,” said Norma Rosales, an immigration counselor with Iglesia Bethel Immigration Program.
“The owners use intimidation,” Himar Hernandez said.
“We need to get a housing code group going. Sign up if you’re interested,” Uehling said.
Graffiti, gangs
During his report on graffiti and gangs, Police Chief Jim Clark thanked citizens who report information but also cautioned them to be patient.
“Please don’t expect immediate results. It takes time,” Clark said. “People will ask why we’re not doing anything. We’re working on it and can’t say what we’re doing.”
Uehling commended Clark and his department for the work done to break up “a street gang from Chicago and a multi-million dollar drug organization” trafficking in the Ottumwa area. City police and numerous other law agencies were involved in the bust.
“One of the gang members said ‘That podunk police department can’t touch us. We can do what we want,’” Clark said.
Insane Deuces was the name of one of the gangs involved. Clark said some videos about them can be found through YouTube on the Internet.
“People wonder, ‘Why Ottumwa?’” Uehling said. “Ottumwa is a hub. There’s a large population available if you drive five to seven hours in any direction — Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha and St. Louis.”
Rosales asked about the high school area. Clark said he will have two officers assigned to OHS this coming school year.
Barfield said “some stuff” is going on in the east end.
Clark said there’s a “young group starting to spraypaint things.
“And, there’s some gang recruitment being done by Latin Kings and Two Sixers,” he added.
Someone mentioned a “Latin King Killer.” Clark said that’s from an e-mail sent out by an upset parent. He checked it out and the name “turned out to be a nickname for a middle-school student.
Study circles
People can also sign up for “Ottumwa Speaks Up!: Study Circles in Diversity,” according to Himar Hernandez. He said a United Way Special Needs Grant has been received and is for a community assessment of diversity.
The program requires “community facilitators.”
“We have a lot of people but can always use more and you don’t have to do all the sessions,” Hernandez said.
Planners are “thinking about different groups, different locations like the extension office, library or OHS and for college kids maybe the Church Street Indian Hills office.
“We’re not teaching anything; it’s more ‘This is what I think,’” Hernandez said. “There are some basic rules, such as to be respectful.”
It’s a national program and can be about poverty, drugs or any other problem, he added. People do need to register and can do so through the extension office.
“We don’t want the same people all the time,” Hernandez said.
Cargill Meat Solutions has agreed to sponsor the program and a facilitators’ training session is planned for Sept. 4 at the Wapello County Extension office. Facilitators will receive invitations through regular mail next week.
Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.