Protecting our neighbors

Not to long ago, a friend of mine went to sleep one evening in the safety of his small farm community. He woke up knowing that not even nice neighbors and farm dogs can keep the bad guys from stealing your ATV.

Since the days of the Old West and cattle rustling, agricultural producers have had to deal with less-than-honest people taking things that aren't theirs. But we just don't want to think about it happening in our own communities. We look out for each other. We know when strange vehicles drive down the road.

Once, when my husband was delivering a bull, he got lost and drove slowly around the rural area looking for the right farmstead. Apparently, someone had taken notice and his license plate.

A few weeks later when some farm equipment was stolen, the sheriff called. Of course he could explain his reason for being there, but neighbors were looking out for each other.

As it turns out, my friend's stolen ATV was not the only one in the area. The sheriff's deputy confirmed that several ATVs had been stolen. He also said several farm sheds had been broken into in the area.

The fact is that the value of what most farmers carry in their pickup is enough to put a pretty good chunk of change in a criminal's pocket. That's not to mention the equipment sitting behind the farm shed and the cattle grazing in the remote pasture.

Sure, High Plains Journal can't protect our readers from being the victims of theft. But what we can do is get the word out.

We have begun a new service that allows our subscribers to list stolen livestock or equipment and machinery in the Journal classifieds for free. You will see the listings with a special logo in the proper classification.

If a theft has occurred on your farm, call us. Place a free ad with a description of the stolen item and a phone number to call.

We hope that the listings will call attention to the crimes. Perhaps you see a "too-good-to-be -true" deal on a flier hanging in the coffee shop. Maybe a local salebarn gets a delivery of cattle from a suspicious character.

Those red flags and a quick glance through the Journal classifieds may be all it takes to catch the bad guy. Because, after all, Journal subscribers are all each other's neighbors. And we look out for each other.

The service is one we hope you never have to use. But in the event that you do have something stolen, call us and we will do what we can to help.

Holly Martin can be reached by phone at 1-800-452-7171 ext. 1806 or e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com.

Date: 5/24/06

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