Take a bite out of crime

Recently, a group of people went to Crown Point to pray. Not too unusual, but what they prayed against might be. They prayed against crime. In particular, they prayed against the recent uproar of criminals in our area.

It has gotten bad. The place where we used to brag about keeping our doors unlocked and leaving stuff in our yards has transformed to locking up everything you value and keeping a watchful eye out for strangers.

In a place that frequently sees strangers all summer in the form of tourists, our bread and butter as businesses go, now looks at the people who roam our neighborhoods a bit differently. Stolen cars, bikes, metal, appliances and dogs. Yes, even dogs have been stolen. It seems nothing is sacred anymore. Even our school buildings and property are not immune. Gas siphoning has become an art form with these fear mongers. This has had an effect on business too, but more importantly it has had an effect on the individual community member. A fear of not leaving home, keeping things locked up and out of sight has shortened vacations, if they leave at all, and caused us all to look at our neighbors a bit differently.

With that being said, I go back to that group that stood atop the mini mountain that overlooks Coulee Dam and prayed to God to stop the madness. They prayed against the criminal mind and the drug abuse, that God would restore our land, that the hurting people would turn away from their addictions that lead to criminality and put on the new robe of salvation and be free from fear and doubt.

In my opinion it goes back to the “B Street” days, when the prosperous days of gambling, drinking and prostitution were what our forefathers allowed to happen here. It has never left. The spirit of addiction, fear and confusion has dwelt in this land for years, and the time has come to put an end to it, which God has the power to do with his awesome love. Our part is to hate the sin and love the person.

Our part as the average citizen includes prayer, but also we need to be vigilant as good neighbors. We look out for strangers, for one, and if we see something that does not look quite right, we call our neighbors and warn them. Or we call the local police and turn it in. We also must support our overworked law enforcement community. They are overworked, especially right now. Sometimes we only see them sitting in one place, and we make assumptions when we have no idea what they may have just had to deal with. We must support local police. Especially since we are about to have a very new police force in Coulee Dam.

We are all affected by the crime in the area, and we all must be part of the solution. Prayers, supporting the police and love of a fellow human that is struggling to make ends meet or battling an addiction are more important to the community in the long run. Yes, for the time being, we need to be careful on what we leave in plain sight, but we must also must continue to live a fearless life and trust those who are called to protect and to serve us. But most of all, we need to continue praying against the long-term dark spirit that has been in our area for years and that those affected by this spirit will be saved and turn their lives over to the Higher Power. If that happens, the crime will truly be defeated.