Residents Of An East Tulsa Neighborhood Hold Safety Meeting

Residents of an east Tulsa neighborhood were shocked after a 10-year old girl was murdered there just weeks ago. Now, they're doing something about it. <br/><br/>More than 100 people showed up at

Friday, May 5th 2006, 5:56 am

By: News On 6

Residents of an east Tulsa neighborhood were shocked after a 10-year old girl was murdered there just weeks ago. Now, they're doing something about it.

More than 100 people showed up at a neighborhood meeting focusing on safety.10-year old Elizabeth Wagoner was found murdered just blocks away from her home. Since then, Elizabeth's parents have urged people to get to know their neighbors, so something like this doesn't happen again.

The meeting was in the heart of the neighborhood at Hoover Elementary School. It's also the same place Elizabeth went to school.

Both Lindsay and Bill Wagoner were present, telling their story and trying to make their neighborhood safe again. Parents asked safety questions, while kids watched a video on how to avoid abduction.

Residents here say they are just trying to turn a negative into a positive. Resident Deno Gist: "When it hits home that close it gets you aware of your child and your child's friends and things like that. It kind of gets your mind thinking this could be my child."

Bill Wagoner: "If I can turn this around to something positive, something uplifting, something that maybe will spread, maybe we will infect other neighborhoods with the kind of enthusiasm that I'm feeling right now."

The Wagonerâ€™s wanted people to join the Alert Neighbors program. Bill got the ball rolling and even volunteered to be the coordinator for the entire neighborhood.

The Wagonerâ€™s say they hope this is just the first of many meetings to help make the area safe and begin the healing process.