Be aware

Friday, November 13, 2009

In the wake of the horrific events in Mont Vernon last month, we hope people are being more watchful of what goes on in their neighborhoods, particularly if they live in rural areas.

There is anecdotal evidence that on the night of the attack upon the Cates family, at least one person saw and heard things that may have seemed suspicious, at least in hindsight.

To some extent, it’s understandable police weren’t called: Dogs often bark for no reason, a coyote could have wandered near a home and triggered outside floodlights, and a mysterious car could be someone just making a U-turn.

Fine.

But that was then. Now, at the risk of appearing paranoid, we must all be more aware of our surroundings and not hesitate to call the police when we see or hear something suspicious.

Believe it or not, the police prefer to know. They know that sometimes they will respond to a call that ends up being nothing of consequence. Perhaps they’ll respond to 20 such calls, but on the 21st, who knows?

No one but the people who perpetrated the crime should be held accountable for what happened to Kim Cates and her daughter, but now that we know that such horrors can happen even here, we have an obligation to ourselves, our neighbors, and our communities to be aware and to call the police when something doesn’t seem right.