By Cindy Schroeder
Enquirer staff writer

LAKESIDE PARK - A year after an elderly Carran Drive resident was bludgeoned to death in his home, leaders of the neighborhood's first block-watch group in a decade hope to avoid complacency.

"If you're getting ready for work and you see a strange vehicle in your neighbor's driveway, take a closer look," said block watch captain Andy Tillinghast. "If you see something that just doesn't look right, call the police. That's what they're there for.''

Since the murder of 83-year-old Earl Rusche in July 2003, his neighbors have made an extra effort to get to know people on the street and look out for one another.

Their efforts include:

•  Erecting block watch signs at the beginning, middle and end of tree-lined Carran Drive, and on the four dead-end streets it intersects.

•  Working with city officials to get more "slow, children at play'' signs in a neighborhood with more than a dozen children 10 and younger.

•  At residents' request, Lakeside Park-Crestview Hills Police have run radar and stepped up traffic enforcement to deter drivers from exceeding the neighborhood's 20 mph speed limit.

•  Since Rusche's murder, the group has met quarterly to discuss crime prevention. They'll meet again Tuesday in the city building's basement.

"Our long-term goal is to relax and enjoy our street but to not become complacent," said Tillinghast, 47.

Police say Anthony Wayne Ferry, who lived at Rusche's Carran Drive home, and Jeremy C. Niemer, of Crescent Springs, both in their 20s, demanded money from Rusche. He refused, police say, and the suspects attacked him with an ice scraper then stuffed his body in a storage room.

Kenton Circuit Judge Gregory Bartlett is expected to set a trial date for the two men at a hearing Sept. 3. They are charged with murder, first-degree robbery and theft by unlawful taking of more than $300

Rusche's neighbors believe his killing was an isolated incident, but it inspired them to organize the block-watch group.

"There are a lot of little kids on the street, so we want to make sure cars aren't flying up and down it," said Rudy Muhlberger, 48, who moved to Carran Drive with his wife, Cathy, four years ago. "In the past, there had been a lot of break-ins, ...so we put up neighborhood watch signs around the street. And we've got neighbors keeping their porch lights on so that everything's more visible at night."

Lakeside Park-Crestview Hills Police Officer Brad Degenhardt is liaison for the Carran Drive group, one of four block watch groups in the two Kenton County suburbs.

"The block watch has opened up a whole line of communication between the citizens and the police," Degenhardt said.

Block-watch groups are growing, especially in Newport, Covington and Florence, said retired police officer Bob Douglas, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Crime Prevention Coalition. The group provides crime prevention materials and training for departments, and distributes information on neighborhood block watches.

"Block-watch groups are extremely effective because police can't be everywhere all the time," Douglas said.

Douglas said neighbors should report suspicious activity to police.

"When you see something that's out of the ordinary, you shouldn't be afraid to call," Douglas said. "It's better to check it out and see that everything's OK than to wait and find out later that your neighbor's house has been broken into."

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com