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Time for diligence not panic

Parents, teachers and children got a scare last week when a young girl was reportedly chased by masked-man on her way to school.

Parents, teachers and children got a scare last week when a young girl was reportedly chased by masked-man on her way to school.

Fortunately, the girl was unharmed and did all the right things — talking to an adult she knew and the police were quickly notified.

The word was further spread by media and social media, and parents took prompt action — making sure their children were not walking to school alone, the type of behaviour for which this safe-and-caring community is known.

As well, all of the schools in the area – including those in the rural areas – were made aware of the situation and handled it accordingly.

On Monday evening social media was abuzz of word there was an attempt to grab a boy in Okotoks. RCMP were unable to confirm the report as The Western Wheel went to press and it is too early to determine exactly what happened.

Coming just days after the previous incident, the Facebook post put fear in the hearts of parents.

The posting is an indication of the power of social media in making parents and the community aware of potential incidents in town.

Of course, any posting in social media has to be somewhat looked at with a skeptical eye. People need to consider whether or not they can be trusted — is it a prank, can the source be trusted?

However, it also allows the parents to weigh their options.

The best option they have is to trust the community in which they live.

What is needed at this time is due diligence, not panic, especially until there is more information in regards to both incidences.

That does not mean throwing caution to the wind.

Yes, continue to have children walk in groups, or possibly drive to already heavily traffic-congested school sites. Do all the things that are already being done.

The most important thing is watching out for one another. There is nothing like having 25,000 eyes on Okotoks to put the stop to virtually any crime.

This is a safe community and it will continue to be so. All of the safety measures are in place.

Those measures taken in the past week — including the postings on social media — is an indication the community is watching out for one another.




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