January is the start of a new year; a time when many celebrate New Year's resolutions and enjoy a day off from work. This year, the community of Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, hasn't had such luck. That day I woke up and almost swallowed my toothpaste (not to mention my toothbrush). I looked out my bathroom window and saw the door of my Ford Explorer wide open. I ran out the front door, shoeless, to take inventory. The Garmin GPS unit, a gift received for Christmas, was missing. The dashboard of my vehicle was destroyed. Someone tried to take my car radio, but broke it instead. I thought I had left the window down, but broken glass strewn across the driver's side suggested otherwise. Looking down my street, many of my neighbors were in the same situation. Broken glass and tears covered the streets. Crime is a growing problem in Shartlesville; we need to stop treating it casually and seek help to put an end to it. Many people have never heard of Shartlesville. The quaint village is located in a very rural area of ​​Pennsylvania. Shartlesville is a city surrounded by miles of beautiful farmland and the rolling hills of the Appalachian Mountains. Its population consists of only 279 people (Shartlesville community summary information). If a crime were committed, one would think that identifying the perpetrator would be simple with such a small population. It's not like that. Finding a culprit is very difficult when no one is looking. In December 2008, Christmas decorations cover the city. I stopped at home to pick up presents, preparing to make the long drive to my parents' house. I walk to the back door, keys in hand, and see that it's already open. Inside my home currently under construction, I see fresh foot prints... in the middle of paper... Shartlesville residents need a police officer to keep the streets safe. If an officer is not hired, crime could continue to increase and it will no longer be just eggshells to be cleaned. We might sweep away the ashes of a house after a prank gone too far. This result is unconfirmed, but do we really want to wait and see what happens? No one wants to raise taxes, but every resident has been affected by crime in some way. Over the past two years, some of them have already lost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars due to robberies or vandalism. Just twenty-eight dollars a month to eliminate the heartbreak caused by neighborhood ill will seems so insignificant compared to what it will do for the community. It's time to protect our families, our community and our spirits. It's time to seize the moment and say yes to local law enforcement.