To the editor:

Something terrible has been happening at Langley Middle School and I feel the community should be aware. We have thieves among us.

I know that most of you feel as I do that South Whidbey is a safe and happy place to live and raise our children. That was until two recent events touched our lives.

First, my daughter spent a Sunday baking cookies to share with her friends at school the next day. During her band class, someone opened up her backpack and took all the cookies. She was sad, but we encouraged her that this type of thing doesn’t happen very often where we live, and more than likely it wouldn’t happen again.

Second, my daughter, along with many other students of Langley Middle School, had their iPod Touch’s stolen from their backpacks during gym class. This is a little more serious than a bag of cookies. My daughter doesn’t have the luxury of receiving these items as gifts. She saved her allowance, birthday and Christmas money, and worked for the rest of her money to buy her iPod Touch on her own. She was so proud and happy when she finally achieved her goal.

This time around, I wasn’t able to reassure her of the safety of our community. We had to have another talk that included why people would do such a thing, and how much it hurts when it happens to you. As parents, many of you can relate to, and probably have had this same conversation with your children.

To the people doing the stealing, I just wonder about the hurt they must have in their own lives to want to hurt others. In middle school, our children should not be under such “stresses” that they feel they need to see others suffer. I hope the person(s) responsible will read this and think about the choices they are making for their lives.

And if you happen to want to return any of the iPod’s, please just drop them off in the office anonymously.

I would love to see the smile back on my daughters face.

Heather Klein

Freeland