This evening at about 6:45 p.m., I was coming out of the Morse circle heading on El Camino Real toward the hospital. In the road was an elderly couple, with the man in a wheelchair and the lady pushing him (this side does not have a golf cart path along the road here).
I immediately called Community Watch to alert them of the situation so they could send a car to lend assistance or help make them safe.
After getting through the extensive directory, I finally was able to have someone answer. I explained the situation and suggested they send a car to check it out to make sure the couple was safe. She said, “Oh, you’re going to have to call law enforcement for that,” at which point I exploded and said, “You people are useless, what the hell do you do?”
I got as far as Savannah Center really upset, so I turned around to check on the couple. By then, they were still in the road on the other side of the Morse circle. I stopped and asked if they were OK and if I could help them in any way. The elderly gentleman said, “Thanks, we don’t have far to go.”
I then came up to the gate on Avenida Central near Chula Vista. There was a Community Watch car in the lane talking to the gate attendant. I asked him to pull over as I had a question. I explained what had occurred, and his response was, “I know what you are talking about — that’s not our territory.” Again, I exploded and reminded him that the road was clearly in The Villages, and again said, “What the hell do you do? Community Watch is useless.”
Community Watch is a multimillion-dollar expense in The Villages.
My latest personal experience is a driver coming to my door with two The Villages Daily Sun newspapers (which I don’t want) and saying he was doing a wellness check because there were two newspapers in my driveway.
But Community Watch can’t send a car because two elderly people are in the roadway pushing a wheelchair?
It would be interesting to see what response others might have experienced, and I would love to hear Community Watch defend their actions.
Bart Zoellner is a resident of the Village of Harmeswood of Belle Aire and a former community development district supervisor.