HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-01-13, Page 3Wednesday, January 13, 2016 • Huron Expositor 3
Car thefts -lock it or lose it, says OPP
Numerous vehicles
stolen and most
of the bunch are
from Huron East
Shaun Gregory
Huron Expositor
According to the OPP the num-
ber of automobile thefts in Huron
County are not where they should
be. Additionally, authorities say
out of the numerous vehicles
reported stolen, 60 per cent have
been from the municipality of
Huron East.
In roughly a 90 -day span the
county has reported 10 stolen
vehicles, a single dirt bike, one
trailer and a snowmobile. Eight
out of the 10 automobiles were
trucks and Huron County OPP
media relations officer Jamie
Stanley said most of those thefts
could possibly have been averted
by locking the doors.
"We absolutely need people to
lock up their vehicles, secure
them up, don't leave the keys in
them and take your valuables out
also. It's pretty simple, lock it or
lose it," he stated.
"That's the crime prevention
message:'
He added after the individuals
entered, in most cases the keys
were found and eventually led the
thieves to flee with the vehicle.
Here is a list of the vehicles sto-
len in Huron East:
— Two pick-ups, a Dodge Ram
and GMC Sierra were reported
taken from the same property
on Moncrieff Road.
— A Chevrolet Avalanche was
stolen from Livingston Line.
— Another resident from Kip -
pen Road fell victim to the thiev-
ery as their GMC Sierra also
went missing.
— A Ford 250 from Cardiff Road.
— A Chevrolet Cavalier on
Newry Road.
— An Arctic Cat snowmobile on
London Road.
These illegal happenings of
what Stanley calls "crimes of
opportunity" are sometimes
used by persons who obtain
these objects for modes of trans-
portation to commit other
offenses and, in riskier tactics,
engage in police pursuits. Stan-
ley referred to the incident of
the truck that guided police on
an off-road chase through corn-
fields last October in the Huron
East area. To add to the hard-
ships of losing a vehicle, the
catch rate is rather low
explained Stanley in a phone
interview January 7. In addi-
tion, he said in more extreme
cases they also can be left in
vacant areas with most of the
evidence removed.
"Some of the vehicles get
recovered and they're not in too
bad of shape, other times
they're completely destroyed by
fires," said Stanley attributing to
the 2003 white Chevrolet Sil-
verado from Seaforth set a blaze
last September.
For the time being the Huron
County OPP are not ruling out
one suspect for a number of the
thefts and are encouraging the
public to keep their vehicles
protected because of how close
in proximity all the events have
been.
"We go to schools and give
children bike locks and tell
them to lock up bikes. We need
to tell adults the same thing (for
automobiles)," said Stanley.
Huron -Kinloss' Faces of Farming -featured
Wanda Snobelen, a Ripley -area resident,
sustainably raises crops, cattle
Special to the Expositor
Wanda Snobelen has had a
stake in agriculture and the beef
business ever since she bought
her first Charolais cow at 12
years old.
Since then she has signifi-
cantly expanded her beef herd,
and delved further into a
diverse farm life.
Snobelen is featured as the
'March 2016' farm feature story
in the lith annual Faces of
Farming calendar published by
Farm & Food Care Ontario,
with her page sponsored by
DeKalb Canada.
The third -generation to be
raised on her family's Ripley -area
beef farm, Wanda took her first
foray into raising beef cattle as
part of a 4-H beef club project.
Now she helps harvest nearly
5,000 acres of farmland -- and
raises 120 Charolais cattle of her
own - on her husband's family
farm in Ripley. She is also the
new face for March in Farm &
Food Care Ontario's 2016 Faces of
Farming Calendar.
"We moved to Ripley in 2000.
My in-laws had a business in
Tiverton that I worked at for a
few years, but [my husband]
Sam and I have farmed full-
time ever since," said Wanda.
"When I moved, the beef cattle
came with me."
The farm where Wanda cur-
rently lives and works is actually
part of a wider farm business
owned by her, her husband Sam
and his family. On their 5,000
acres, Sam and Wanda plant
corn, soybeans, wheat, hay and
barely, with a small percentage
being used as pasture for Wan-
da's cattle. While she primarily
looks after the beef side of the
business, Sam is primarily
involved in crops. Of course,
both Wanda and Sam help each
other with their respective tasks
when the need arises.
What corn the farm produces,
said Sam, is sold directly as a cash
crop, but the bulk of their acres
are used to produce wheat and
soybeans for Snobelen Farms.
The seed dealership is actually
another side of the Snobelen
family business originally started
by Sam's father, Mike. The dealer-
ship is currently run by his
brother Troy, as are several local
grain elevators.
Sam and Wanda say they
have no immediate plans to
expand the farm right now, but
instead says that he and Wanda
are quite focused on "produc-
ing more in a better way" with
the land they have.
Following that focus, Sam said
their farm was one of six initial
Canadian farms to meet "Round
Table Responsible Soy" qualifica-
tions last year.
According to its official web-
site, Round Table Responsible
Soy is a worldwide standard
designed to promote "environ-
mentally correct, socially
appropriate and economically
feasible soy production."
"It's essentially a sustainability
audit for your farm that allows us
to access export markets in a
number of different countries,"
said Sam. "Everything from your
fuel consumption and chemical
storage to making sure you're
treating employees well is looked
at... it's supposed to ensure
you're farm is working in a sus-
tainable way and looks to see if
you'll be able to produce crops
the same way 20 years from now."
1.4
SAY HAPPY
'VALENTINE'S DAY
to a loved one on our
• special Valentine's page
on Wednesday, February 10th i
• Tell your spouse, fiance, boyfriend, girlfriend,
children, grandchildren how much you love them.
Deadline for submissions is noon on Thursday, February 4th
$15 (hst included -must be prepaid)
Email Nancy at NdeGans@postmedia.com
Phone 519-527-0240 • Drop in to 8 Main St. Seaforth
(beside the Looking Glass)