Argenta News - Argenta Ambassadors Started Tuesday

Argenta Ambassadors Started Tuesday

Written by Scott Miller

Wednesday, July 02 2008

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The Argenta Ambaasador program run and funded by the Argenta Downtwon Council (ADC) started Tusday. The first two ambassadors are Buford Johnson (shown on the right) and Chris "Scooby" Pheatt (on the left). Their working hours are as follows and will probably change as they and the ADC learn the streets

Buford Johnson - Friday through Tuesday 6PM – 2AM

Chris ‘Scooby’ Pheatt - Wednesday through Sunday 6PM – 2AM

These are paid ambassadors, not security guards. They have been trained to provide assistance to those in need (including the homeless), communicate with police when necessary, act as tour guides and promote Argenta.

This is a wonderful program and has been very successful in other cities across the country. The ADC is to be commended for starting this program here and we will all benefit. Make sure you say hello to Buford and Scooby when you see them on the street and get to know them.

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Comments (14)

C'mon Scott...
Written by reader, on 02-07-2008 03:01
...you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool ANYONE this time. Call them what you want... the clothing ( and the body types ) were specifically chosen to make it LOOK like they ARE, in fact, Security Guards... right down to the badges and the whistles and the sheer bulk and the BLUE-TINT dumps ( sunglasses ).

I think the Ambassador thing is a good idea... but please don't insult anyone's intelligence about this.

They are there to add a feeling of 'security' to an otherwise 'iffy' part of town.

Only thing wrong with that is to keep pretending that's not the case.

Iffy part of town
Written by Old Roi Polloi, on 02-07-2008 10:22
The reference to Argenta as an "iffy" part of town is way off base. People who live and work here know it's one of the safest and most trouble-free neighborhoods around. Sure, there are incidents, but if you look at the weekly crime reports and speak with residents or police, you wouldn't call Argenta an "iffy" neighborhood. Compared to other areas, Argenta is peaceful and safe. I applaud the Downtown Council for hiring ambassadors. They will keep an eye on things and help visitors feel welcome and safe.

Neighborhood Crime Reports
Written by Old Roi Polloi, on 02-07-2008 10:31
Speaking of weekly crime reports, I often see errors in the way crimes are classified by neighborhood. Under the heading of Argenta, you'll often see addresses in Sherman Park. Under Mid City you'll see addresses in Baring Cross. There are mix-ups with other neighborhoods, as well. These mistakes lead to false impressions. I wish the local newspaper and the Dogtown Wire would double-check the reports for accuracy when it comes to neighborhood crime.

IFFY?
Written by britbratty, on 02-07-2008 11:40
Argenta is not iffy in any way, shape or form. I'm a female and I walk around the Argenta area constantly. It's one of the nicest things about Argenta....being ble to walk without being afraid. In fact, I'm usually busy waiving at everyone I know while walking the Argenta area!

Safe Area
Written by Argenitals, on 02-07-2008 11:58
Argenta is not scary at all... I walk around at night by myself and have never once had a problem.

The only problem I encountered downtown was actually humorous... These crazy guys who seemed to be on steriods were going to beat up these two girls outside of Cornerstone. My husband stepped in to stop them and they all turned on him--two of them holding him down and the other one choking him. I reacted pretty quickly and used my clutch to beat the shit out of the back of their heads. They immediately got off him, and about that time the cops showed up. One of the guys was evening whining about "that bitch hit me!" as he was getting handcuffed.

This area is not scary in the least bit... but outsiders should be warned about trying to start fights here--Argenta girls can hold their own!

Wrong message, then?
Written by reader, on 02-07-2008 12:25
Well... then all I can say is that you are sending the "wrong message" with the chosen "look and feel" for your Amabassadors.

Who's bright idea was it to do as much as possible to make them LOOK like SECURITY GUARDS?

If everything is so wonderful down there... why not go with Hawaiin shirts and Dockers and big trick-upped name tags that say "Hello... my name is Buford... How can I help you?"

That would be a little more 'friendly' than the chose look, don't you think?

Check it out first
Written by Absolutely Dogtown Crazy, on 02-07-2008 16:42
Has anyone walked up and met these guys? They came into my shop and introduced themselves, told me and everyone nearby about their Ambassador program, and that they just want to help make Argenta better.
I say HooRay!
They may look like "security" but they have the personality of a Hawaiian shirt. IMHO, a "trick-upped name tag" is not required.
Talk to them and you will see that they care.

Read the book...
Written by Sonja Miller, on 02-07-2008 17:03
You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't really judge these guys by looking at them either. I had the opportunity to meet Buford & Chris last night. They actually walked out of their "district" & admitted to it; however, they were searching for a panhandler who was first warned on Main St, entered Cregeen's & then headed toward the ballpark. The Ambassadors were headed toward the ballpak through the neighborhood, warning the neighbors that were outside & looking for their subject. Time will tell as to how well "this book reads".

Is the ADC providing radios or some form of communication to the police in case Buford & Chris need to place an immediate call?

That didn't take long...
Written by reader, on 02-07-2008 22:49
So the psuedo-cops got right down to it last night, eh?
Nice to see they are actually fulfilling one their prime directives, which is to make sure the dangerous, evil panhandlers stay away from the good and decent citizens and visitors of MSA, but I honestly thought they had been instructed to be a little more subtle about it.
So... did they ever catch up with the evil-doer and make the world safe for decent folks once again?
What was the WARNING you speak of? Since when are these guys authorized to hand out WARNINGS to anyone. I thought they were supposed to be helping people... not intimidating them. Guess they didn't get all the memos.
I love your description of them 'walking out of their district in relentless pursuit of their suspect.' and warning the poor defenseless women and children along the way.
I'd love to know what happened. Always love a good crime drama. It's the summer of super-heroes, you know. Just watch your TV and look at the movies coming out.

On a serious note, however, I can't help but say to Sonja that, once again, I think you were trying to make a positive contribution to the discussion but you have this wonderful way of taking things in the exact opposite direction at the same time.

If you description of last night's 'pursuit' is accurate then you people have got problems on all kinds of levels here.

Everyone knows that one of the primary 'jobs' for these ambassadors has always been to try and keep the panhandlers away from MSA but if this was just their FIRST NIGHT on the job and they are already 'in pursuit of suspects' 'outside their district' then you don't need a law degree to see how many serious issues are on the table here. These guys are NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. If they are 'pursuing' someone in public or privately and that person has reason to fear their approach they THEY are the ones breaking the law. There are low level assault ( pursuit ) and stalking charges that could be brought against THEM if they are not careful.
Where are the PERMITS that are governing this behavior? Where do they think they get their authority? The Employer/Employee relationship does NOT cover even a part of what apparently went on last night and that's only the FIRST NIGHT these super-heroes donned their capes.
If they believe they are acting within their job description and have no personal liablity here... think again. If anything serious happens the Employer/Employee thing is going to be worth the Cregeen's napkin it was apparently written on.

Keep the reports coming, Sonja.

The Amabassadors are launched... but who's going to protect us from THEM, now?

I think I'll put on my worst clothes and go stand out in front of Cregeen's for a while
just to see what happens. I( might even have my BlackBerry on in my pocket doing a little voice recording so I'll have an audio record of who says what. That would be fun.

BTW: IANAL ( I am not a lawyer )... but it's blog posts like this that make me wish I was.

its a good thing......
Written by Big dog daddy, on 03-07-2008 08:24
Hey reader why dont you give it some time. I'm sure you'll come around. I happen to know Scooby a little and I have always found him to be a very friendly guy, but one I wouldn't want to cross either. If I needed help I believe I would welcome it from either one of these guys. I think this is a wonderful program, and perfect for the downtown area although I can't see something like this working in other areas like Levy. In argenta you park and walk to your destination, enjoying the nice surroundings. Them looking like security gaurds will come in handy when you go looking for someone to help. I was taught at a very young age that if I was in trouble and needed help look for a cop. Well if I were in trouble and looked around and saw one of these guys I would be naturally drawn to ask them for help. Sonja has a great question though do they have imediate access to communicate with the police. I would also suggest some police training, that could give them more authority to do their jobs. The Ambassadors is a great idea. I'm all for it, but I think they need some protections in place for themselves from wannabe lawyers that would come and test them in the fashion described in the above comment. Good luck Buford and Scooby, I hope you both prove all the naysayers WRONG as they often are.
Sonja you rock, please don't hurt me.

If you were in trouble...
Written by reader, on 03-07-2008 16:50
I've been re-reading this thread and I can't decide which is the most disturbing thing about it...

The fact that the beginning of the post was full of resentment ( from people who are not quite totally in touch with reality )that anyone would even suggest that Argenta is an 'iffy' area that would ever possibly need 'Security Guards'... or the more recent post(s) suggesting it's a damn good thing there ARE 'Security Guards' in place now and that it's a wonderful and necessary thing. ( As in last night's search and destroy mission for a panhandler ).

Geez... schizophrenia, anyone?

I'm still VERY interested in what actually happened last night and if it's what I think happened then no, I do NOT need to 'give it some time'.

Everybody likes to play cop.
We all did it when we were kids.
Putting individuals in uniforms and paying them $8.50 an hour to 'play cop' and having it all go to their heads is another story altogether.

Someone needs to watch these guys and this program VERY CAREFULLY. I, for one, intend to do exactly that.

Went to the Argenta Downtown Council
website. ( Sidebar on this blog or... )

http://argentadc.org/

It has Don Chambers' phone number to call
for applying to be a 'Public Safety Amabassador',
as they are now calling the position(s).

Starting pay is $8.50 per hour.

The 'Employment' page has the actual
'job description'... which includes this...

[snip]

Patrol designated area(s) on foot as
"eyes and ears" of the North Little Rock
Police Department, communicating crimes
and disturbances via 2-way radio.

[/snip]

They are just supposed to 'phone it in'
if ( and only if ) something actually
rises to the level of a crime or an
actual disturbance.

Last time I checked... being homeless
is not a crime or a disturbance.

It doesn't say anyone is supposed to be
issuing WARNINGS or be 'in pursuit' of
ANYONE or otherwise 'pretending' to be
a police officer. Period.

So there IS a job description online.
That's good.

What is NOT online is ANY information about
who has already been hired nor is there ANY
announcement that the program has begun and/or
what these 'designated areas' actually are.

So who are these guys, really?

ADC doesn't seem to feel the need to publish
any information about them.

Zip. Nada. Not even their names as
Scott Miller felt compelled to at least announce.

Not a very 'friendly' way to go about things,
I would say.

* Buford Johnson

Is this the same Buford Johnson
of North Little Rock who was voted overall
Arkansas All-Star football
outstanding player in 1978?

(I have deleted quite a bit of this of comment, not because it was obgectionable, but rather it gave links to web sites with personal information and it also gave links to web sites in at least one case with information on a different guy with the same name as one of the ambassadors. Scott)

So does that mean...
Written by reader, on 04-07-2008 01:43
...that Buford Johnson, Argenta Public Safety Amabassador, is, in fact, the same Buford Johnson of North Little Rock who was Arkansas's best football All-Star in 1978?

These guys are now public servants even if their salaries are not directly from taxpayer dollars.

Where does one go online to find out anything about them? I'm talking just a BIO here. At least something about who they actually are and what sort of experience they bring to the job.

we're all ambassador really.
Written by Big dog daddy, on 04-07-2008 08:19
or at least we should be. I find myself learning more and more about the area I live in all the time. NLR is really rich in history. Not so much like the north east states where the first colonies were born, but rich anyway. It seems that the more I live the more I learn. I wish I had paid more attention in school.
When people move here from somewhere else or are just here to visit, they need help. In finding there way around, Where's the post office? the nearest and best produce market? Whats the best bank? these things and much more are things we all can do to be ambassadors for NLR. Being kind to people on the street, in stores, at the post office, at work. Wear a smile and speak kindly to people you don't know. you never know it may be their first hour in our little town, and you may be the first person they have encountered. Wouldn't it be a shame if this was the case and they ran into a sourpuss grouchy person. What would they think about us all, and the place we call home?

Well Said!
Written by reader, on 04-07-2008 17:48
Couldn't agree more.
When I met the love of my life 20 years ago and she first brought me to Little Rock there was no doubt in my mind that I had landed in one of the friendliest places on the planet. That has changed some in recent years with the weird attention that Little Rock received throughout the Clinton administration ( NOT Bill's fault, it just happened ) and a lot of the yankees that have come here seem to be trying to change things that don't need to be changed... but I still haven't changed my opinion of Arkansas. I have been all over the country. Believe me... Arkansas is fundamentally a FRIENDLY place. It needs to stay that way and you are right... we are ALL a part of that.

All that being said... something still bothers me about what sounded like a good idea at first turning out to be nothing but an excuse to let guys dress up like security guards and roam the streets. I think it is actually sending the WRONG impression and is working AGAINST the larger goal of convincing people that that area just north of the river isn't the no-man's land it has been in the past.

I still intend to keep a close watch on this whole thing, as everyone should.

I still think Hawaiin shirts and tricked-up name tags that say "Hello... my name is XXX, how can I help you?" would be better than the current American-flag patch sewed on the police-blue shirt with badge and whistle thing that's going on.