[bkcunningham1]

LOL, I know. But I think police, fire and rescue are all grouped under that heading. They apparently are all under the VCCDD. Unprevented incident? I dunno. Something out of your control, or maybe a fancy way of saying an accident. You may need to call in the English majors on this one. I think it's just a slogan though.

[NJblue]

Chief Tucker is also responsible for the Community Watch program. As such he comes as close as anyone within the VCDD to be involved with investigating the potential authenticity of this claim. To me, this memo sounds legit and plausible.

[SABRMnLgs]

That's why the make and sell .38s folks.

Jerry

[Bogie Shooter]

I received the email from a person here in our village. So, I went back to him to ask where he got the email. It was sent to him unsolicited from one of the District 6 Supervisors.
The person who sent it to me also had heard the same "story" that was posted here. He got the email in response to an inquirery he made about the "story".
I'm guessing that all the managers at VCDD got copies of the memo.
As to permission to post on TOTV.......I know at least 250(and counting) people have received the email by now. So it surely is a public document?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

I received the email from a person here in our village. So, I went back to him to ask where he got the email. It was sent to him unsolicited from one of the District 6 Supervisors.
The person who sent it to me also had heard the same "story" that was posted here. He got the email in response to an inquirery he made about the "story".
I'm guessing that all the managers at VCDD got copies of the memo.
As to permission to post on TOTV.......I know at least 250(and counting) people have received the email by now. So it surely is a public document?

Thank you Bogie. On the side of Truth and Justice. At least on the side against rampant fear from information not completely......proven to be true. Last year at about three in the morning we took our visiting grandson to the hospital to be treated for an allergy attack. At that time we passed two woman joggers on Morse Blvd. I was astonished at that. There are SO many ways we can gauge the safety of this place. I think we each brings with us from the past and from the place we lived the experiences we have had. I could be wrong to not worry about safety in my home here, but so could the people who are so...........afraid. I am no dummy, but I live with two other adults too and there are three aware people at my house. But no gun.

P.S. Did you read this mornings paper about solicitation??

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by SABRMnLgs

That's why the make and sell .38s folks.

Jerry

Sigh

[dog friendly]

This is not true, the safety department checked out this information and stated that the story with the paper towels was being told last year.

[Talk Host]

So, the email came from somebody who got it from somebody, who got it unsolicited. The stuff of urban legends.

Has anybody seen any statement about this in an "official" place. Like The Villages Newspaper?

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by jimt49

It’s very easy to believe we live in a bubble and are not subject to the ills of the rest of the world. Have there been burglaries and burglars caught in the Villages? Yes, I need look no further than my own neighborhood in Spanish Springs. The excellent job done by our local police departments alone is not enough. We need to take care of ourselves and one another just as we would living anyplace else. We do not need to live in fear, but be aware that there are bad people and things that we are not insulated from. Need further proof? Look up the Florida Sex Offender Registry and see that some of these animals live in the Villages. Yes, I lock my doors.

JimT

I'm glad that most on this forum are not afraid to speak forthrightly. You, plus many others, have heeded the warning by the original poster, not out of naivety but out of intelligent awareness that the world we live in today is not always safe and trustworthy. Living in a perceived bubble can have consequences.

To me the original post automatically made me think it was a scam in operation...........if no one was home, they would have burglarized the place. If someone was home, they became a cleaning crew. It's so obvious. Ditto for the "landscapers".

I do not believe it is an urban legend. I think honesty would be the best policy by TV instead of glossing over various issues or problems....and blaming the original poster for creating a stir via an urban legend.

Even safe places are no longer safe........due to drugs and just the crazies out there. No doubt these "crews" mistakenly think all retirees are weak, docile, senile or unaware of their scams. There is crime in Florida as well as rampant drug problems.......which could conceivably spread to even safe communities or "bubbles" like TV. Just read the daily Orlando Sentinel online.

Several years ago, even in Vermont, a low density relatively safe state where everyone knows each other in town........a band of "gypsies" (true gypsies as reported by our police) would try the same trick of entering via screen doors and roaming around the house in the early evening , searching for valuables such as jewelry, cash..........in the 1970's and before that, everyone kept their doors unlocked, their cars unlocked, etc...........however, in the recent past we all keep our doors locked, ditto for cars.

So many people come up from the cities and need money to support their drug habits; Vermonters, like Villagers, are perceived as an easy mark. Our detectives in town are aware of this influx and try to scoot them out of town and warn the merchants of this element coming up from N.Y.C. to rural towns.
They try to infiltrate the local youth and get them hooked on drugs. Times are changing.........even in ultra safe places. I'm sure TV is no exception with those who think they can prey on senior citizens. I think it was a timely post for the times we are living in.

We also have always lived in an ultra safe place, however, it is foolhardy to trust everyone nowadays. Better safe than sorry. An interrupted burglary could have dire conseuquences. The landscaping story made me think they were very suspicious characters. One thing about living in a smaller community is that your landscapers or lawn mowing maintenance guys are children of people you know, not strangers. Ditto for cleaning crews or whatever.

Up here we no longer open the door at all for solicitors, religious pamphlet people, insurance pedlers, tree surgeons or you name it...if we do not recognize them or have not invited them. And we do not live in a crime ridden state.

Murder is rare, but it does happen and when it does, it strikes home. Back in the 1980's while my husband was away for a weekend at deer hunting camp, my mailman warned me to keep all my doors and windows locked tight as there had been a murder at a gas station on the edge of town whereby a teen was shot dead during a robbery. They have never found the murderer.........probably someone passing through........however, at the time, it never crossed my mind to think our mailman was passing on an urban legend. I believed him and called all my neighbors as well. Better safe than sorry.

What I don't understand is why no one believes anyone? Most people are smart enough not to spread urban legends..........or I would hope so. Maybe I live in a bubble of trusting people "at their word".

[bkcunningham1]

Wow, senior citizen. What an articulate summation of this thread. B.K.

[graciegirl]

[QUOTE=graciegirl;259799]Thank you Bogie. On the side of Truth and Justice. At least on the side against rampant fear from information not completely......proven to be true. Last year at about three in the morning we took our visiting grandson to the hospital to be treated for an allergy attack. At that time we passed two woman joggers on Morse Blvd. I was astonished at that. There are SO many ways we can gauge the safety of this place. I think we each brings with us from the past and from the place we lived the experiences we have had. I could be wrong to not worry about safety in my home here, but so could the people who are so...........afraid. I am no dummy, but I live with two other adults too and there are three aware people at my house. But no gun.
QUOTE]

Did you read this mornings paper about solicitation in the Villages?? I think the article kind of addressed the issue, but didn't....really address the...rumors. (Boomer, I didn't put an apostrophe in the word mornings because you all have me really confused.)

[BlueHeronFan]

Funny that there just happens to be a substantial article in todays Daily Sun regarding soliticiting and that it is not allowed in The Villages and what to do about it.

Funny meaning ..... interesting.

[BlueHeronFan]

Gracie, we must have been posting at same time regarding the paper this morning.

[dillywho]

Senior Citizen is right...why so quick to call it a legend? If we don't need to lock up, then why does Lt. Wolfe of the Sheriff's Office advise that we do? Is he coming up with legends? Why do they tell you to be vigilant if not to keep you safe? Why does his office offer free safety checks of your home and recommend changes to make your home safer? Is that just to prevent legends? I had them out to my home and then made the recommended changes. Total cost for what they suggested...less than dinner out. Some were $0. Top suggestion: additional locks and use them.

Ask my neighbors who had their homes broken into and items taken about legends. The thieves were looking for cash and jewelry; they by-passed electronics and took cash and jewelry only. One guy that was hit, was leaving town for the coming week and put his trash out on Friday to be picked up on Monday morning, trash day. Please don't do that or you might as well just advertise in all the papers that nobody is going to be there anytime soon...same thing. Ask a neighbor to do it for you the night before pickup. While we're gone or while our neighbor is gone, we put part of our own trash in the other's drive for the other pickup days and they do the same for us. Basically, all this thread is about is being smarter than the bad guys and believing that they really do exist....just not quite as much here, but they do come in here.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by jimt49
It’s very easy to believe we live in a bubble and are not subject to the ills of the rest of the world. Have there been burglaries and burglars caught in the Villages? Yes, I need look no further than my own neighborhood in Spanish Springs. The excellent job done by our local police departments alone is not enough.

We need to take care of ourselves and one another just as we would living anyplace else. We do not need to live in fear, but be aware that there are bad people and things that we are not insulated from. Need further proof? Look up the Florida Sex Offender Registry and see that some of these animals live in the Villages. Yes, I lock my doors.
JimT
-------------------------------------------------

JimT, thanks for the words of wisdom. Your comments are especially meaningful because of your experience in law enforcement. I know that I've been guilty of "Bubble Mentality" in the past. In future, I will heed your advice and be less complacent.