It’s pretty sad to see the amount of the crime which seems to have overtaken our towns and communities.

Crime is becoming unbelievable to me since the criminals are becoming so brazen and have gotten to the point of stealing things in broad daylight. Boxes are stolen from people’s front porch or out of a mailbox while the world watches.

It does not seem to matter the hour or time of day for criminals to strike. I will never forget how two teenage boys broke into our cars at 2:30 in the morning. Do kids not have a curfew anymore and do parents have any idea where their kids are?

The whole time I grew up I never remember my parents ever locking a door when they left or at night. The reason was they trusted the community they lived in and the people around them so much. They felt safe and did not feel a need to have to protect themselves.

Everyone else seemed to be in the same boat as our family. They were working to make a living and being like family to those in the community around them. The thought of stealing from another member in our community never entered our mind.

Parents taught children not to steal from anyone. We had a curfew, and you followed it. Mine was 11:30 p.m. I did not come home a minute later either, or I would have suffered the consequences. My parents’ word was law at our house, and no begging went on to change it. If I had tried, I probably would have been told I could stay home.

I have tried to figure out why week after week we see where people are robbed daily in our community. I guess the final straw for me was when I was watching on television where a lady in Winchester whose car and oxygen tank were stolen recently.

t was the pits of thievery to me. This lady’s oxygen tank allowed her to leave home since it was small enough to take with her.

Without it she would be stuck in her home and unable to go anywhere.

I cried along with her when I saw her desperation, and I decided I had to write about it to express my anger and despair about the crime in our neighborhoods.

I think a lot of the thefts are because of the addiction to drugs or alcohol and people’s need to support their habit. It has gotten to the point that people are too lazy to work and expect the world to help them and their habits. When is it going to stop and what can we as citizens do about it?

Luckily, the lady did get her car back, though it had damage, with her oxygen tank. The thief was caught and is now serving time. Some may think that is good enough but think about all the pain and worry she suffered because of an individual who only thought of himself.

I am fed up with the crime in our community, the trash that litters our highways and those who could not care less about the community in which they live. I believe we, as residents, can stop this.

If we see anyone littering we should report it by getting their license number. If we hear or know of someone robbing another, we should let the authorities know. If we see or think a child experiences abuse, we should report it. The authorities cannot be the eyes of the whole community, but we can help.

I still think when we see young people acting up, we should say something to them and let them know they are not good citizens. I watched the other night in a store as four little boys were running in a store, yelling and throwing a basketball into a large box.

Twice they nearly missed the heads of two ladies walking by. I also watched as these children’s mother did not say one word to them while they were going wild.

I was getting more and more upset watching this and went over to the boys and told them it was dangerous and they should not act like that in a public place. They did stop. The mother just looked up and still did not say a word.

Kids are not always getting the discipline they need with their parents. It is sad but true that if no one steps in to correct them, I wonder what our future holds not only for them but for us also. I still believe in spankings not beatings to get children’s attention. I cannot stand to hear of an abused child in any form.

I think abuse comes in today’s world in other ways than it did when I grew up. Children do not get the full attention of their parents, often when the parent is more concerned over what is going on with Facebook and the internet than what is going on in the lives of their children.

It’s just as bad when children are allowed to be on the cellphone and not communicate with the family. Eventually, it is going to take its toll on our society as a whole, I believe. I think some of those who are criminals are often just calling out for attention one way or another.

The thought for the day for the April homemakers meeting was from the words of President George H.W. Bush, founder of the Points of Lights. It just made sense to me how important it is for all of us to be volunteers to help our community be better.

He said, “Every problem that the country faces is being solved in some community by some group or some individual. The question is how to get connected so that the whole nation can solve problems. A volunteer is a person who can see what others cannot see; who can feel what most do not feel. Often, such gifted persons do not think of themselves as volunteers, but as citizens-citizens in the fullest sense; partners in civilization.”

Many good people who live here and I have loved being a resident of Clark County nearly all my life. I feel we have got to step up to the plate to do our part if we possibly can to cut down on the crime in our community. It takes all of us.

Sue Staton is a Clark County native who grew up in the Kiddville area. She is a wife, mother and grandmother who is active in her church, First United Methodist Church, and her homemakers group, Towne and Country Homemakers.