Hilltowns Senior News for Monday, June 8, 2015

OK, as they say, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.

The bad news is that, like typhoid fever, it’s been around for a long time and is still among us.  The good news is that we don’t have to put up with it.  Bullying. Disrespect. Fraud. Criminal behavior. Elder abuse. 

No matter what clothes it wears, or smarmy lies it tells, it’s the same nasty beast underneath. I don’t know if today’s permissive world has made it more common, or if improved communications have just made us more aware, but the solution is the same: Speak up!

The Albany County District Attorney’s Office has put together a program and a set of resources that you and I can use to protect ourselves from people who think that theft is an acceptable style of life. It’s called “Seniors and Law Enforcement Together” or SALT.  There is a special non-emergency hotline established to take our reports at (518) 447-SALT (447-7258).

There will also be a special crime-prevention presentation on Thursday, June 11, at 1 p.m. at the Knox Town Hall at 2192 Berne-Altamont Road in Knox. Experts will discuss ways to spot scammers and fraudsters, and how we can watch out for each other to keep ourselves and our friends from being hurt. 

If someone you love or depend on is stealing your money or telling you that you owe them for their assistance, it’s their fault, not yours, and you deserve better!  Admitting that you trusted someone when you shouldn’t have, or believed a lie, is infinitely preferable to spending years prolonging that error. Don’t do it.

Come to the Knox Town Hall on June 11, and stand up for yourself and your friends. Information is power. The bad guys win only if we let them, and you don’t have to be Dirty Harry to stop them.

Oh, and I was obviously wrong last week; there is still no published menu, but as soon as it arrives, you’ll be the first to know.