Earlier this month, law enforcement officials from Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, Rock Island County and Scott County held a press conference to initiate the Lock It Up Initiative. The goal of the campaign was to encourage Quad Citians to lock their vehicles in response to a marked increase of vehicle thefts in the area.

I made the mistake of leaving my car running on a cold day once. As with most folks, I was "just going to be a minute." Sure enough, two punks looking to get from one place to another jumped into my running 1971 Pinto (yeah, I owned a Pinto. No, it never blew up.) Police found my vehicle within an hour, abandoned, but intact, and unharmed.

I learned my lesson years ago, and I still lock my vehicle at ALL times, running or not.  You should too.

- Craig

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