By Kay Whatley, Editor
After the Pilot, North Carolina community was hit by dozens of thefts, the citizens banded together to create a Community Watch group. This Zebulon-area neighborhood worked with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, organized homeowners, and raised awareness of local issues from burglary to home invasion and drug issues.
The first Pilot Area Community Watch meeting was held in April 2016 at the Pilot Lion’s Club. Dozens of neighborhood residents came together to talk about crime and watchfulness.
Spearheaded by Wendy Perry, the Pilot Area Community Watch began organizing on the Pilot Area’s Facebook page; a social media gathering place for the past several years, used by hundreds of area residents. Since April, more Pilot residents and renters have jumped on board to help combat crime in the community.
The group’s newsletter provides crime and community watch updates for Pilot from Bunn Lake up Route 39 to Bunn, along Shepard School Road, the Pearces area, and Pilot Riley Road up to the Franklin County line.
Because of Pilot’s location close to US-64, theft and drug sales are prevalent. Out-of-town traffickers use this area, and other strategically located off-highway communities outside Raleigh, to complete drug deals, often robbing local residents before hitting the highway to major cities.
As Summer is kicking off, the Pilot Area Community Watch is distributing signs, knocking on local doors, and spreading the word about how to combat crime and keep watch over homes and neighborhoods.
The signs are generic, so that even those outside the Pilot boundaries can participate and put up a Community Watch sign. To order a yard sign for your property, mail a check for $10 to
Pilot Community Watch, 130 Big Oak Road, Zebulon, NC 27597. The plan is to collect orders and print signs periodically. The first order is planned for June 24, 2016.
While volunteer watchers are in place throughout Pilot, there are several areas/neighborhoods where volunteers are needed. The Volunteer needs list is online at www.pilotncareacommunitywatch.com/community-volunteers.html.
With overdoses prevalent and cash-seekers stealing even in daylight, the Community Watch group works to ensure more eyes are watching, with a good idea of what to look out for in their neighborhoods — and when to dial 9-1-1.
Coming up on June 25, 2016, the Pilot Area Community Watch will be at the Vollmer Farm Blueberry Music Festival to spread the word about the community watch program and local crime.
The Pilot Area Community Watch contact information is on www.pilotncareacommunitywatch.com. The Pilot community is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pilotnc. Both linked sites include a Newsletter sign-up option for area residents.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is online at www.fcsonc.org and the Sheriff is on Facebook here.
Pilot, North Carolina is an unincorporated, rural community in Franklin County, with some portions spilling into Wake and Nash Counties.
