BULLETIN BOARD: Parenting Advice, Tips, and Notices November Be Safe Month! ALERT ALERT ALERT 3 Dickinson State softball teammates disappear in North Dakota.  They make frantic calls to a friend that they need help.  They are near water.  They are found dead in their car in a pond not far from campus. Ok.  I think that when we turn the clocks back, and change the batteries in our smoke detectors, we should also update safety measures with our children young and older.  We are always telling our very young children not to talk to strangers, not to get near a car, not to go off with anyone.  Right? What do we tell our teenagers or our college kids? Nothing a lot of the time. So, I am proclaiming November safety check month.  Please have this conversation with your sons and daughters. 1) WHO TO CALL? If you feel you are in danger- DO NOT CALL home/parents/relatives/or friends CALL THE POLICE!  You might only have time for ONE CALL It should be TO THE POLICE who HAVE THE RESOURCES TO FIND AND RESCUE YOU. 2) WHERE ARE YOU? You should always KNOW YOUR SURROUNDINGS If you are in a strange area- LOOK FOR DETAILS OR SIGNS.  ANYTHING THAT COULD HELP A RESCUER FIND YOU IF NEEDED If you get into a car with friends or strangers- Make sure you KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING. ALWAYS HAVE A PEN AND PAPER in order to write something down and/or leave a note.  KNOW THE LICENSE PLATE of any car you are in--JOT IT DOWN. WATCH FOR STREET/ROAD SIGNS. YOU NEED TO BE  ‘STREET SMART’ no matter whom you are with, or where you are. FOR ALL TEENAGE GIRLS OUT AT NIGHT *WARNING!! Parents PLEASE share with your teenage or older daughters out "clubbing" or just out at night—If they get stuck, are lost or anything seems suspicious, and they feel that they are being followed, or stalked, their FIRST call should be to the POLICE, NOT to a friend or you- and make sure they can tell them approximately where they are--If they have car emergency, CALL A POLICE OPERATOR (911) say: I'm alone, I'm out of gas, I'm nervous, and what do I do? Also, if they are driving alone, on the road, at night, and they see flashing lights, maybe even a siren behind them, THEY SHOULD NOT PULL OVER!! Have them call the police # (911) on their cell phone, Tell the OPERATOR that there is a car with lights and siren behind them, and they're not sure if it is real— The OPERATOR will check, and tell them, and, if need be, SEND A PATROL CAR to their immediate rescue.   *STREET SMARTS 101 for all our daughters! DESIGNATED CHECK-IN FRIEND! Two girls who plan to go out to bars and clubs, need a third person to act as a contact—who will know where they are, where they are going, etc. Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Friends don't let friends go out and get drunk without another sober friend who can keep track of their whereabouts. Please let your daughters think about a "designated check-in friend" who can make sure they are safe. END #2 HOW TO AVOID A CARJACKING FOR ALL WOMEN** FROM: Shannon LaForge Courtroom Deputy to Judge Robert Junell U.S. District Court Subject: FW: Women take heed Because of these recent abductions in daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation... This is for you, and for you to share with your children, everyone you know.. After reading these 9 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in. 1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do! 2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.... chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! 3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives. 4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. (continued below)

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car parked on the DRIVER'S side of your vehicle, AND the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.. (And better paranoid than dead.) 6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!) 7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then , it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably, in a zig -zag pattern! 8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. ** *** ******** Here it is *******  (continued below

9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night. Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby ---- This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana. I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well. Send this to any woman you know WHO may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it a nd it's better to be safe than sorry... END     GPS A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.   When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.   The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents. Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.   MOBILE PHONES I never thought of this... This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet... etc...was stolen.   20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our PIN number and I've replied a little while ago.'   When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.   Moral of the lesson: Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list.. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.... And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back. Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.