Dear Friends and Neighbours in Pine Meadows
“Wouldn’t you know it. Brain cells come and Brain cell go, But FAT cells live forever.”
I don’t know about you but recently Jackie and I have had many scam phone calls. As soon as I hear the person on the other end of the line, I hang up and if possible, block that number from my phone. (I know they use thousands of numbers but it makes me feel better to block them). One such scam is quite worrisome and is classed as a credit card fraud phone scam. Here is the sample call:
Scammer “Good morning. According to our system, you are likely to have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This means that you now need to self-isolate for 7 days and take a COVID-19 test.”
Respondent “OK. Can you tell me who that person was?”
Scammer “I’m not able to tell you that. That is confidential information.”
Respondent “Right. Um… so ….”
Scammer “But you do need to be tested within the next 72 hours. So can I just get the best mailing address so that we can send a kit to you?”
Respondent “Ok (gives address)”
Scammer “Thank you – and I just need to take a payment card so that we can finalize this and send the kit to you.”
Respondent “Sorry – a payment card? I thought this was all free?”
Scammer “No – I’m afraid not. There is a one-time fee of $50 for the kit and test results. Could you read off the long card number for me, please, when you’re ready.”
Respondent “No – that’s not right.”
Scammer “I’m afraid it is. Can you give me the card number, please – this is very important, and there are penalties for not complying.”
If you receive a call that doesn’t sound quite right to you, hang up immediately.
Jackie and I drove around our community a couple of nights ago. All I can say is WOW! What a great job you are doing in decorating your houses for Christmas. The community is coming alive with the spirit of Christmas. Whether you are only able to hang a Christmas Wreath or decorate your whole house, everything put together is very uplifting for all. You are doing a fantastic job. Keep it up. It will make you feel better and will pass on the joy of the season to your neighbours. The Board will be judging the homes during the week preceding Christmas. Also, don’t forget that several residents will be singing Christmas songs from December 17th until the 20th. Weather permitting they plan to be in different areas throughout the community from 3:30 pm until 4:30 pm. So, keep listening for the sweet sounds of these volunteers and when you hear them, bundle up and go outside to enjoy their music.
Every 5 years, an extensive water test is completed on our water. The lab results from this test have shown that the sodium level is the same as 5 years ago (which is higher than the Ministry of the Environment’s objective, but nowhere near problematic!) and also the fluoride level is slightly above the MOE’s top end objective (again, not problematic). WDG Public Health has asked Don Vallery to re-advise all Pine Meadows residents of these results. Dana Burdenuk has copied these documents and placed them in your internal mail slot.
Merry Christmas Everyone
Joe Piercey
