Elderly Alto woman assaulted in her home
Residents demand more police protection
BY LELAND ACKER

An assault on an 81-year old Alto woman on Sunday morning has Alto residents saying, "enough!" Concerned citizens addressed the Alto City Council during the public forum held at the regular meeting Monday.

At 4:25 a.m. Sunday, Alto police officer Tracy Bjornson was dispatched to a burglary in progress call at the home of Louise Pickett at 660 W. San Antonio St. Officer Bjornson said a suspect broke into Mrs. Pickett's home and assaulted her. Mrs. Pickett escaped and ran to her daughter's house, Officer Bjornson said.

The police report states that Mrs. Pickett's wallet, Social Security card, driver's license and $160 in cash was stolen. Records show Officer Bjornson's reaction time was 11 minutes, which she said was due to her taking a suspect from an unrelated incident to the Cherokee County Jail.

The concerned citizens, many of whom are related to Mrs. Pickett, said their complaint was not with the performance of Alto police officers. Their complaint was that Alto does not have an officer on duty between midnight and 6 a.m.

"From midnight to 6 a.m., we do not have an officer on duty," said Kerry Black, who has also served on the city council. "The personnel are doing a good job when they are working. They don't make the schedules."

Melanie Black, Mrs. Pickett's granddaughter, said the suspect knew her grandmother was at home.

"He knew she was there," she said. "There were vehicles in the yard and lights to work by. He knew there were no cops out. He even went through the house with the lights on."

Sandy Wallace suggested Alto begin a neighborhood crime watch.

"We should get to know our neighbors," said Councilman Monty Collins.

"If they know they are being watched, things will transpire differently," said Mayor Carey Palmer.

Councilman Collins asked how a neighborhood watch could be started, to which Municipal Judge R. E. Christiansen said neighborhood watches are generally run through local police departments.

"The police department is the contact point," Judge Christiansen said. "We're not big enough to have a Neighborhood Watch liason or a fourth officer for night coverage."

Judge Christiansen said other cities have seminars to inform property owners what their rights are in regards to self-defense.

Other ideas which surfaced included the enforcement of the city's 11 p.m. curfew. Mayor Palmer said he would visit the issue with the council and police department.

In other business, the council approved the tax rate at $.3110 per $100 valuation. That represents a 6.4 percent increase over last year's $.2882 per $100 valuation, and will increase city revenues by $5,000.

The council approved a resolution opposing the use of excessive force during nonviolent civil rights demonstrations. Mayor Palmer said the resolution was required for some of the grants the city is applying for.

The council declined to purchase a lot from TXU located behind the old city hall building, approved accounts payable, designated Sept. 26 as Camp Alto Day, heard a presentation from Constellation NewEnergy and amended the animal control ordinance to give Alto's animal control officers the authority to seize any at-large livestock or animals.

Camp Alto Day will commemorate the dedication of a historical marker on Hwy. 294 near the city limit sign. The site was the location of a World War II POW camp.

Constellation NewEnergy is proposing a plan to become Alto's power supplier.

Present at the meeting were Mayor Palmer, Council members Collins, Earl Clark, Kenneth Brethouwer, Bob Pearman and Annie Walker. Also present were utilities director Charlie Luse, Officer Bjornson and Municipal Judge Christiansen. Police Chief Charles Barron was on vacation.