Talk of the Town - Whitley County

By Jennifer Zartman Romano

North central Whitley County residents are keeping a wary, watchful eye on their property and that of neighbors as well after a string of thefts and break-ins in that area in recent weeks.
Burglaries were reported at Big Lake Church of God (Whitley County) and also at Goss Grocery (Noble County). Additionally, early this month, a pair of snowmobiles were stolen from a home not far from there. Since that time, neighbors have become hyper-aware of activity in that area and have begun circulating emails and initiating neighborhood watches.
According to Whitley County Sheriff Mark Hodges, while the snowmobile theft has not been solved, authories have found resolution on both of the burglary cases.
"The church burglary and Goss Grocery burglary have been solved and arrests have been made," Hodges said.
Hodges recommends that residents secure their belongings to keep them safe.
"Keep everything as secure as possible," Hodges said. "I also suggest keeping good records of all possessions such as serial number, model numbers and any other way to identify property.  Some people will engrave an identifying number or symbol on possessions so if they are recovered the owner can identify their property."
Alarm systems can also be beneficial, Hodges adds.
"A good alarm system might be a preventative measure.  A system that is connected to a phone line must have some type of method to work in case the phone line is cut," he said, but added, "We had a burglary at a rural business that had an alarm but it failed to make the proper notification because the phone line was cut."
And, as always, keep an eye on your property and that of your neighbors. If you see something that just doesn't seem right, report it to the authorities. Be especially aware of strange vehicles, individuals lurking at odd hours or anything else that seems unusual. Report your finding sto the authorities by calling the Whitley County Sheriff's Department at 244-6410.