By all means
 

Yes, you basically have to portion responsibility to the victim here. While we may feel sorry for the loss, it would not have happened if normal care would have been applied.

What is this about "pickers" or "gleaners"? I have never noticed anyone like that in The Villages? Why wouldn't someone contact Community Watch about that? Don't give me a line about Community Watch not having any authority. They have standing orders to contact the police when unauthorized vendors, beggers, etc, are in The Villages.

I seriously doubt if the bags were stolen - especially from a villa community. It was just an accident that proved to be costly for the lady.

TBugs,

I have never seen a picker or a gleaner - unless you could some Villagers driving around on trash day - frequently in carts - looking for treasures...

k

fault line
 

I think redwitch is wrong in blaming people who live on a fault line if something bad happens. This type of thinking does not belong in the Villages IMHO

If this was just an accident or a mistake, she should have heard from them by now. Since there was paperwork inside (plus you're supposed to put your identification inside luggage in case it gets lost and the tags get pulled off the outside), once opened whoever took them should have realized that they were not fair game.

BTW, maybe the basketball was deflated.

I just put out my trash for Friday pickup. It's 5 p.m. In the trash I put a small flatscreen TV that doesn't work and isn't worth fixing. 10 minute later, it was gone.

Not sure why this type of thinking doesn't belong in TV. The reality is that we all need to be responsible for our actions. Being from California and having experienced a few quakes, I made dang sure that any home I purchased was not built directly on a fault line -- that's just asking for trouble. That doesn't mean I hope that a massive quake occurs and damages someone's home on a fault line. It means I think it is a poor choice and that if you make the choice to live on a fault line, you are assuming the risk. (BTW -- I did not make the original example of an earthquake/fault line. That was Vinny. I just stated that having lived in earthquake country that, yes, I would blame the victim for their loss. Doesn't mean I wouldn't help them every way possible. Doesn't mean they wouldn't have my sympathy. Just means that the ultimate responsibility lies on their shoulders.)

If I choose to cross the street in front of a car and it hits me, I'm responsible or, at least, I should be. If I choose to drink and drive and get into an accident, I should be held responsible. We all make choices and take risks. We should all take responsibility for those risks. In this case, someone lost their luggage because of a combination of poor judgment and bad luck. I really and truly hope it wasn't the deliberate taking of luggage that someone knew was not trash. Hopefully, the tag has their address or phone number and whoever took the luggage will quickly realize this was not trash and get it back to them.

I had never heard of pickers or gleaners before. You learn something new everyday.

Public streets.....trash picking is legal.

Is it? What about recyclables? Where I lived before moving here, it wasn't legal to take recyclables from someone's trash. Not sure about other things.

I think this was in a Villa area, those are the only private streets in TV.

I know I did ask about "trash pickers and gleaners". I have never seen one to my knowledge in the 18 months I have lived here.

If I saw someone going through my trash and he was not the trash collector employee, I would call Community Watch in the same way I would if I saw a panhandler going house to house.

I would expect Community Watch to observe this person and to call the police, if necessary, to have them leave The Villages - public streets or not - they would be creating a nusiance.

If the unfortunate lady who set her suitcases with $5000 worth of jewelry and a basketball on the curb, went back inside the house to wait for a ride, was the victim of a picker or gleaner - you can certainly see the "creating a nusiance". However, it is still mostly her fault for not taking reasonable precautions. Good luck on an insurance reimbursement.

not an editorial, just a thought
 

Is this a patio villa or a court yard villa complex? Just curious because all though we live in an amerillo we originally wanted a CYV until we realized of the only three windows that one could see the front street, two were in the garage and the other one was in the guest bedroom leaving the two other views to six foot walls. So if this crime (and it does sound like a crime) occured in a CYV it is unfortunate that unless adjacent neighbors were out front NO ONE would/could see what happened anyway. It bothers me greatly to hear that this could happen here not matter what type of home they were in.
I think I understand now why a village sales rep told me last year " we love selling CYV because in two years we are selling them again".

Oh, there are trash pickers who live in T.V. I've heard of people seeing stuff put out for trash or recycling and others who've nabbed whatever it was that seemed to be worthy of getting. Lights that weren't wanted by the home-owner, things like that! I personally haven't spotted anything set out that I'd want to take...except after Christmas saw a perfect poinsietta on the curb but we didn't stop so I didn't nab it!!!

I think the villas in question are CYV's.

The sales rep comment is interesting, I know a lot of people who have lived in CYV's for years and say they are there for the duration. I think there is a lot of movement in general whether it is a villa or ranch or designer or premier. People just like change and with so many houses on the market the grass is always greener ............

Tbugs, the pickers I see don't actually go thru your trash. If something is set out by itself, that is what they take.

trash
 

If you put something down by the street,its fair game.If you do not want someone going thru your trash,do not put it out. I had seen many many people going thru my stiff the I laid out. Many people are having tuff times.ease up. Do not understand calling community watch. Spend more time on something worthwhile.

you are missing what the cyv's are all about. they are very close and yet provide much more privacy that the kissing houses do! both in the front as well as the back.

Okay, I think that I finally got it about "pickers". Basically, anyone could be called a "picker" if you see some discarded item from a house sitting by the curb for trash haulers and you decide you could fix it up and take it.

I did put out a lawn mower one time in my old home location and a very short time later, a neighbor came and took it so he could fix it up and use it.

I was actually thinking a "picker" was a scavenger who came into the area from outside.

I would not call Community Watch if I saw a person just taking an item like that - but would call Community Watch if they were actually digging through trash bags.

Thanks for the clarification.

Some "pickers" probably are from outside. It is not illegal. These are public roads for the most part. Even on the supposedly private ones in CYV neighborhoods who would care? It is done in neighborhoods in cities and towns everywhere. Another name for it is recycling. Keeps more out of our landfills.

I agree with the earlier poster - if you don't want someone to take it, don't put it out.

Bag Theft
 

To all readers of this thread - let's get it straight once and for all. I am the neighbor of the unfortunate person who's luggage was STOLEN! I am the person who arrived just as my neighbor discovered the THEFT and the airport shuttle arrived. Our trash pickup, for the day involved, is one pickup of regular trash and the trucks come through only once, sometime after 12:00 pm on Tuesdays. The THEFT was realized about 11:15 am BEFORE THE TRASH PICKUP! The cases were separated from the trash. Equally disturbing is the newspaper report on this incident. It states, "The women also told authorities that it was trash pickup day and the suitcases could have been mistaken for trash, according to the report." I must question the accuracy of this article since, once again, THE TRASH WAS NOT PICKUP PRIOR TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE THEFT! - The bottom line: We are very safe in The Villages but we are not immune to what happens in the real world.

Jerseyvillager,

Good comments....

However, most of us know that the "reporting" in the Daily Sun is anything but fair or factual. If we all think of it as a marketing sheet and not a newspaper, it keeps ones BP to reasonable levels.

Secondly, It really could have been mistaken for trash, just not by the actual trash guys from CH2M-Hill. As many of us have stated, pickers and gleaners from inside TV and out look for treasures on trash days.

Here's hoping that an honest person returns your neighbor's possessions.

It clearly was a theft.

Even a so called "picker" is guilty of theft when they grab something that they fully realize is not trash. When they got it home, and saw it was not trash and didn't bring it back, it was stolen. It was a thief who took it.

The owners certainly had their garage door or front door open. No matter how anybody wants to sugar coat it, it was taken by a thief.

Regarding the Daily Sun's distortion of the facts, one has to wonder which stories to believe or not believe. Important stories that have a significant impact on residents are now suspect.

I was a news reporter for 35 + years and am very sensitive to creditabity in reporting. With one lie, all other words must be considred lies as well.

Maybe there needs to be an alternative to the daily sun
 

I keep reading that the Sun is not much more than a developer adv for the villages. Seems there are lots of gifted writers in the villages maybe an online newspaper would be a good alternative. Just a thought.

The Daily Sun is a fine little hometown paper. It comes out every day, is very inexpensive, has great comedic editorials and columnists (Ollie North, Ann Coulter), and has enough news to be interesting but not depressing. The human interest items are fun to read, too.

If you want to read a paper with more substantive material, go online to New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, or even the hometown papers from whence you came. That is a good alternative to do or in addition to the Daily Sun.

I read the Sun with my coffee every morning. I like it.

It is much better than the community news that we got once a week back in West Chester, Ohio but not as good as our Daily Cincinnati Enquirer. However... Cincinnati is a LOT bigger than The Villages.

It has a lot of interesting stuff from the AP wire as well.

It also has columns and columnists from surrounding communities, which I think is kinda nice since it is a vehicle for the developer of The Villages.

I particularly like to see all of the fun that others are having here. AND the interesting lives people have led before they arrived here.

I think that the article may have allowed people to think that it was picked up by the trash people. Be it the big truck or the other guys who come and pick up things from the curb. Which it well could have been...picked up by a scavenger.

We won't know. The person that has it knows. Keeping it is stealing, just as talk host says....

in my very humble opinion.

I never have $5000 worth of stuff in my checked luggage. If I have something valuable, I carry it in my purse. I think we need to learn from this.

$5000 in the suitcases, Sounds fishy, Put out in the driveway,something is not right. Blame on the pickers, something is not adding up. Maybe insurance claim. I do not know.

Please don't Question
 

Please don't question the integrity of a professional women who within minutes of the incident needs to talk to a police officer and provide a "basic" list of what she lost; while in a state of distress. How do you put a value on family heirlooms, treasured jewelry, important legal papers, etc. The only thing "fishy" here is how some scavenger couldn't tell luggage from trash.

My point, I do not think anyone would question if something is left near the garbage,looks to good.I have seen some really nice stuff tossed away.The question is she made a mistake,but is it really theft.

According to earlier posts in this thread (#3 for instance), the papers and jewelry were in her carry-on and not the luggage to be checked.

This incident reminds us once again that even here in TV there is crime.

right on
 

Jersey villager is right on. I agree and all who do not are living in a world were deception and hope has the possibility of replacing reality. It is not wrong to hope for the best but give this poor lady our compassion that she deserves. We all done things that place trust in our fellow mankind and that trust has been let down. We should not blame the victim. As far as insurance claims you need proof for everything including receipts. My wife had some valuables stolen from a locked vehicle and the paperwork was like an audit from the IRS. Like my wife, She will not get what she lost back in monetary terms at all. The system works against her. Please have some compassion for this THEFT. My heart goes out to her. People who say let this be a lesson to learn, I can only hope they do not have to learn a lesson like this where they true are victimized by mankind. We who have so much of life experiences and so called education of hard knocks, need to not lose are compassion, understanding, and caring for our fellow mankind. Just put your self in the others shoes before you blame. I am as guilty of this as the rest of us if not more because of being opinionated.

Thank you Dillywho. These theads become so long sometimes that we lose the gist of the original posts. I too made a wrong assumption. I am sorry.

I don't think that there is a one here that does not feel for this lady. She has to be totally devastated. Most seem to just be reminding us all that we no longer live in a world, including TV, in which we can be so trusting as in days of old. I remember the days when the only time you ever locked a door was if you were leaving town for an extended time and you only shut the windows to keep out the rain or the dust from the major dust storms we would sometimes have.

What a good person you are and what a good reminder. I needed it. Hugs to you.