Reposted from 19th Ward Yahoo Group:

Hello all.

Just for your information: When I got home from National Night Out at about 9:00, I noticed a kitchen window wide open and a basement "window" that is actually a piece of thick wood with a round hole through which a dryer hose and vent are fitted kicked in. (A window used to be there.) The kitchen window is directly above the basement dryer vent. A window well sits there.

The two officers who responded--quickly for a non-priority call, and that is much appreciated--suggested that the perpetrator(s) probably stood on the metal semicircular piece surrounding the well and fell back when that piece gave way, their foot or feet inadvertently pushing in the basement contraption when they attempted entering though the kitchen window.

My house is at the dead end of a street facing the river, so unless my back yard neighbors and/ or dog are out, nobody would notice. And I had probably left that kitchen window unlocked, which is unusual for me. (I'm pretty vigilant.)

I called my neighbors, and will call more tomorrow when it is not as late as it is now.

Though it looks like nobody entered the house, and there was little damage, it is nevertheless necessary to call 911. The police look for patterns, and this helps quite a lot in apprehending those who do or would do not very nice things.

Bill