It’s been a quiet month in the High Country, our home in a paradise on earth somewhere west of Calgary. Thankfully, our Garden of Eden has not been as hard hit by the ravages of COVID-19 as other communities, but we are nonetheless scathed. As of this writing, Okotoks/Priddis had 173 cases, two still active; Black Diamond had twenty-nine cases, three still active; High River had 533 cases, one still active. While our focus has been on the pandemic, life is still unfolding around us. Here is a synopsis of recent events:
Property Theft: The Turner Valley RCMP detachment is currently closed to the public, but they are still working hard to protect us. Thieves, too, are working, but not as hard as in previous months. Take May, for example: On May 12th near Priddis Greens Drive, three masked thieves entered an unlocked workshop and took a large number of tools. Two days later near Coal Mine Road some person or persons broke into a seasonal cabin. No video, no witnesses, no suspects. On May 22nd, a driver left an unlocked vehicle near 2990 Avenue and 352 St. West. When the driver returned, someone had taken a pair of sunglasses and a garage door opener from the car. Then on 29 May, near the intersection of Hwy 762 and 368 St. W., a vehicle broke down and was left there for “a period of time,” according to the police report. When the driver returned to recover the vehicle, someone had stolen it. It makes me wonder which would be worse, (a) a missing garage door opener that could give a thief full access to a home when the owner is away, or (b) a missing vehicle, which certainly would be more valuable than a garage door opener?
Fire Damage: Neither of those thefts could equal the damage that would occur if a forest fire were to hit your home, yet there is a high wildfire risk here in our Eden. If you have not already downloaded the new “FireSmart begins at Home” app, then get it! Just Google that name followed by the word “app”. You can get it on the App Store or on Google Play. It gives you a guided assessment of your property, and you get several simple suggestions on how to reduce your wildfire risk. If you contact your local Foothills fire department, you can also request to have, at no charge, an expert visit your property and point out things you might have missed. With the expert’s help, my wife and I were impressed at how easy it was for us to “FireSmart” our home.
Identity Theft: Banks and other institutions are beginning to save money by sending statements to clients electronically. You can read such PDF files with Acrobat, the free program anyone can download from Adobe. You get your statements more quickly than by snail mail, and Acrobat stores all its PDF files in a separate folder it opens each time you use the program.
The only problem with that is that Acrobat cannot delete any of those PDF files it opens and displays. It can close a PDF file, open it again whenever you want, but it cannot delete the files it makes, files that usually include confidential information such as your bank account number, the amount of money you have on hand, your recent purchases, and so forth. If thieves steal your computer, they also steal all that confidential information.
To delete those files, first use Acrobat to display the names of files you need to delete. Then use “File Explorer” (on a PC) or the “Finder” (on a Mac) to search for the directory of the files you need to delete. On my PC, the directory is “This PC\Downloads”. Then, with the program you used to locate the PDF files, you can delete whichever files you want.
If you are not already a member of our High Country Rural Crime Watch Association, you should join our group. Thanks to the work of a few volunteers and a grant from TC Energy, membership is free. You can then get optional mail or phone call fan-out messages describing recent and current criminal activity in our area. New members also get a free High Country Rural Crime Watch Association sign. We do ask that members be active in watching for and reporting suspicious activity to the police and your neighbours.
The information we publish regularly in this column is but a small fraction of the news we circulate more frequently to our membership about crime in this area. To join, phone us at 403.931.2407 or visit our website www.hcrcwa.ca, click on the membership tab, and fill out the application form that you can submit online as per the instructions provided. The site also has tips, resources, and emergency phone numbers. Our Facebook page has more information: www.facebook.com/HighCountryRuralCrimeWatch.
So, as Garrison Keillor used to say, that’s the news from the High Country where all the women are strong, the men are beautiful, and each child is above average.
John Robin (‘J.R.’) Allen
H .C . R .C .W. A .
