INC NEWS - Neighborhood heroes saluted (Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Neighborhood heroes saluted
By John McCann, Herald-Sun, 24 March 2008

Six months in Durham feels like two or three years,
police Chief Jose Lopez Sr. told those gathered at the
Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club for this year's
InterNeighborhood Council Honor Your Neighborhood Hero
Awards. 

Now, that comment could cut two ways, depending on the
context. 

It could mean the Bull City has already worn down the
new police chief, who said it seems like he's already
tackled as much crime here as he did during his entire
stint back in Hartford, Conn. 

But Lopez actually was suggesting his short time in
Durham already has given him that rooted feeling. 

"I own property in Connecticut," Lopez said. "My home
is here." 

Lopez was the guest speaker for an annual event that
brought out some of the city's big stars to look on as
some of the, well, city's big stars were recognized
for making Durham better by getting things done on the
community level. 

City Councilman Eugene Brown, Durham Parks and
Recreation Director Rhonda Parker and Gayle Harris,
who is the assistant director of the Durham County
Health Department, were a few of the big shots who
came to salute the likes of Norman Moore, from the
River Forest neighborhood. 

Retired and disabled, Moore works hard for the old
folks and sick people in his community. He'll do it
with the aid of his walking cane or sometimes will
jump in his motorized wheelchair, said former INC
President Bill Anderson, who every year does such a
marvelous job weaving together the tales of the
neighborhood heroes into neat little oral tapestries. 

On good days, Moore hops on his riding lawn mower to
cut people's grass. The man will even cut the grass at
vacant homes, just to keep River Forest looking real
nice. 

Stuff like that is why Moore got a standing ovation
from everybody in the room at the ritzy Washington
Duke that night. 

Stuff like that is why Lopez decided to become the
Bull City's police chief. 

Before getting the job as top cop, Lopez rode around
Durham looking for a restaurant that had a bunch of
police cars in the parking lot. For one thing, he
wanted to figure out where the good eats were around
here. 

At the same time, the would-be chief was doing some
personal surveillance. See, the only thing those
officers in the restaurant knew about Lopez was that
he was a fellow officer from somewhere else. They
didn't know he was fixing to be their boss. 

Lopez began to question the officers, and they had
only positive things to say about both the city and
the police department, both of which get no small
amount of bad-mouthing from outsiders, transplants and
natives alive. But what took the cake for Lopez was
when a call for response came over the police radios
and those cops in mid-chew put aside their lunch and
dashed out of the restaurant to handle some crime. 

"I said, 'That's a police department I can spend 10
years at and be happy,'" Lopez said. 

Tell John McCann what's good "In Your Neighborhood" at
jmccann at heraldsun.com or 419-6601. 

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2007 INC Neighborhood Heroes 

Daniel DeForge, Grove Park 

Carol and Donald Clary, Elgin Street 

Chuck Clifton, Long Meadow 

Elisa Jones, Fieldstone-Buckwater Creek 

Claire Doyle, Duke Park 

Freddie Womack, Omah Street 

Bonnie Dunnagan, Colonial Village 

Melissa Rooney, Fairfield 

Diane McArthur, Colony Woods 

Myers Sugg, Tuscaloosa-Lakewood 

Karsten Rist, East Forest Hills 

Sheri Allen, Old Oxford 

Eleni Vlachos, Cleveland-Holloway 

Annie Reams, Wellons Village 

Chris Husack, Northgate Park 

Jonathan Nyberg and Rebecca Welborn, Forest Hills 

Beverly Rush, Argonne Hills 

Elizabeth Utley, Old West Durham 

Thomas Transue and Janice Jones, Old North Durham 

Ginny Politano, Homeplace II in Woodcroft Norman
Moore, River Forest 

Dale Gunter and Amanda Arrington received special
recognition for service to greater Durham 

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The InterNeighborhood Council of Durham meets at 7
p.m. Tuesday in the civic room of The Herald-Sun, 2828
Pickett Road. Learn more about the group at
www.durhaminc.org. 

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