Dear Editor:
I’ve always thought of Ponoka as a trusting, safe place where people care for each other and are willing to go the extra mile for each other; even for complete strangers.
Boy was I sadly mistaken as I am writing this letter in response to a personal incident that happened in your community on July 11th,.
My mother, Sadie Buffalo, who is a respected Elder from Samson Cree Nation in Hobbema, was in Ponoka that day and she stopped to fuel up at the Shell Gas station located across the highway from Dino’s Restaurant. It was at that time when she mistakenly left her purse by the ATM cash machine and she wasn’t aware of her mistake until quite some time later but by the time she returned her purse was already gone.
This leaves me in the position to “thank” two individuals.
First off, I would love to thank the thief who stole from an old lady, really, thank you so much; you must be proud of yourself. The culprit not only took $1,000 in cash but they stole something even more valuable; an orange hand-beaded wallet belonging to my mother that was given to her as a present at a sweat ceremony in Saskatchewan two years ago and they also dissolved any trust my mother had in your “safe, caring, trusting” community.
Secondly, I would love to thank the Good Samaritan who found my mom’s purse (minus the cash and the wallet) and turned it in to the RCMP detachment. After hearing of the incident, in general it kind of comforts me knowing that, even after being stolen from, good people really do exist in this world; key words “kind of” for all I know the perpetrator who stole the purse was the one who turned it in.
I always held Ponoka up to a standard where common sense and courtesy and respect were rampant but now not so much.
Crandall Buffalo