My wife Carla wrote a great letter to the editor in the Indian Head / Wolseley News recently. A number of people have said they appreciated her willingness to speak the truth about vandals and their impact on us. I thought it appropriate to post it on the blog.
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Letter To the Editor
To the heartless moron(s) who vandalized our vehicles in the early morning hours of August 1st in Wolseley:
Here is some information you didn't know or care to know when you tried to siphon gas the easy way, by cutting gas lines on our 1996 Ford Windstar and our 1989 Dodge Colt--you cut the brake line on the Colt, by the way--which were parked outside our garage that night: you caused $123 worth of damage plus days of inconvenience and frustration to an innocent family. We are not nameless or faceless: we are a one-income family with four children, aged four to ten years old. My husband uses our van for his job and is on the road at least half the time. You didn't think about that when you disabled it, did you?
Maybe you thought we were an easy mark because our vehicles were in our driveway instead of the garage, that we deserved the damage for being careless. The truth is, our eldest son was launching his bike-refurbishing business and was letting paint dry on several projects inside the garage. And regardless: our driveway is OUR property. Maybe you assumed we'd have a fat package policy or a healthy savings account to absorb the hit, although if you judged the age and wear of the vehicles, you should've known better. You like weren't thinking at all, considering the cigarette butts found at the scene. Did no one ever tell you that smoking and gas-siphoning are a bad combination?
We moved to this small town for many reasons, not the least of which was the relative lack of crime. It’s ironic that we lived in a major metropolitan centre--population 500,000--in the southern U.S. for nearly eight years with no vandalism; we lived in Regina--population 170,000--for six years with no vandalism, and now here we are in Wolseley--population 800--for less than a year, and we suffer a hit.
It’s hard enough to pay for necessary maintenance of our vehicles, and we certainly have no money earmarked for senseless destruction. So, I want to know: from where in my budget should I skim in order to pay for the repairs? Maybe a week’s groceries? A month’s electric? A couple months of dance lessons for my girls? Hockey season for either of my sons? How about my back-to-school budget?
And it’s more than just money and time you’ve taken from us. You’ve also robbed us of a certain amount of trust. Was this just a crime of convenience or desperation? Will someone come right into our yard next, to look for loot? Into our house?
What good is this letter going to do, other than allowing me to vent my spleen? I hope that you’ll read it and be moved to change. Or perhaps one of your friends or relatives will recognize the circumstances and confront you, and this will lead to a change in your character. Perhaps you’ll even repay us.
Carla Taylor
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6 comments:
that is a shameless thing those morons did to your vehicles. you would think that rural communities would be more safe and isolated from random acts of vandalism but it seems that the truth is quite the opposite. in my home town of abernethy, with a population of only 213 people, the crime rate rivals that of larger communities. this spring 8 individuals were arrested in one night alone, two of them were caught by police on my grandparents front lawn. several years ago my car was stolen, crashed, vandalized, and left abandoned near fort qu'appelle. there is no rhyme or reason to these people, and sometimes the only thing they understand is violence or threats of violence because police presence in rural sask is so low. hopefully the people that trashed your car will be caught, but i wouldn't hold my breath. sometimes a little vigilante justice is the only thing that will remedy a situation like that.
Ross,
It is frustrating because the people who live in these small towns deserve better. I am looking into video survailance and more community involvement to keep our citizens safer.
As for the vigilante stuff, well let's just say the idiots are lucky I didn't hear or see them. If so, they probably would have had a hockey stick shaped bruise somewhere on their body.
We don't like to admit it, but the west is actually still wild in some places where police are more for stopping retaliation situations than actually catching the bad guys.
Too bad really, but maybe if small towns got tough on crime people would be more enticed to move there.
Maybe it's time to bring back the Town Cops from days gone by?
Maybe video survaliance is the answer?
Or community memebers patrolling and reporting situations of interest?
Carla: Good on you for the letter, both my wife and I congratulate you on writing it. It is about time that folks begin to make others aware of the sometimes sad state of affairs in rural areas. My father, while in his 80's, had his vechile stolen from his drive way, twice, once the vechile was located outside of Calgary, and once the vandels were scared off. And you would be very surprised to find out who the local folks invloved were. Anyway, hang in there.
Peep,
Your comments about Wolseley are conjecture.
But if you have specific information I trust you have forwarded it to the police.
As for "no one" stepping forward, well I did, and I know some others have as well. But of course every crime needs to be reported and dealt with.
Furthermore,I assume my town is not much different that most towns or cities in North America. That is, they are mostly good places but occasionally bad things happen.
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