Holden residents should be aware that a skunk found locally recently tested positive for rabies.

Although this is an unusual incident, it’s a serious reminder to take precautions:

-  Check your pets’ vaccination records to ensure they are up-to-date on rabies shots
-  Do not encourage wild animals to approach your home – keep trash and pet food indoors
-  Keep pets restrained and under supervision as much as is practical
-  Be aware of your surroundings when outdoors, and remind your kids to do the same
-  If you notice any animal acting sick or strangely, call Holden Animal Control immediately at (508)829-0215
-  If you reach Animal Control voicemail, call the PD business line at (508)829-4444
-  In a public health emergency, call 9-1-1

Please click here to read over the Rabies Fact Sheet issued by the State.

Holden, along with other towns in the area, is experiencing house breaks. This “group” appears to be targeting large flat screen televisions and leaving other valuables behind. They are committing the house breaks at different hours of the day and early evening and different days of the week, including weekends.

During the Holden house breaks, the houses were vacant. It is believed that the suspects will knock at the door and if someone is home they will come up with some line indicating they are at the wrong house.

Since school in the Wachusett district opens soon, many houses will be vacant for the majority of the day. Prior to leaving the house, make sure all first floor windows are closed and locked and make sure all doors are locked. If possible close blinds or shades preventing someone from looking inside your house. If you have an alarm system, arm it even if you are just going out for a few minutes.

When you leave your house look in the area for suspicious people and vehicles. Check your neighbor’s house for unusual vehicles and hopefully your neighbor will do the same.

If you see a suspicious car in your neighborhood or if someone comes to your door that you do not know, please call the police department immediately. If it is safe to do so, try to get a description of the vehicle.

I f you have any questions please contact the Holden Police Department.

- Prior to going to bed, double-check all windows that are accessible from the ground (this includes windows which are accessible if someone stood a chair). If you need to keep a ground floor window open, place a piece of wood in the window frame to prevent the window from opening all the way.

- If you hear something unusual at night, please call 911 immediately.

If you have any questions, please call the Holden Police Department.

Recently an incident occurred where a person was hired to do a job inside a house when the homeowner was not home. Prescription pills were stolen and replaced with a potentially harmful pill. Unknowingly, the homeowner took the pills for a few days before noticing the change in the medication.

When someone comes to your house to work -- which could include a plumber, carpenter, baby sitter or even a pet sitter --secure your prescriptions in a safe, secure, undisclosed location. Although you may know and trust the person coming to your house, they still may steal from you.

If you suspect someone is stealing your prescriptions, contact the police immediately.

As in past spring and fall seasons, we have recently received a few reports of black bear sightings in local neighborhoods as well as outlying rural areas.

Specifically, we have been monitoring one bear this morning in the Shrewsbury St./Arizona Ave./Bullard St. area. Daycare centers and schools in the neighborhood have been notified.

Black bears are generally non-aggressive, but it can be disconcerting to have one near your home. Please follow some common sense guidelines to prevent them from wandering close to houses, such as keeping pets indoors and/or under your control, not feeding pets outside, temporarily bringing in bird feeders, and keeping trash cans indoors. They are also attracted to fresh garbage on compost piles, so you may need to suspend composting for the time being.

Bears who come out into our neighborhoods generally wander back into the woods on their own if left alone. Do not attempt to chase, frighten, or tease them. If you feel a bear is creating a public safety hazard, please call the Holden Police Department at (508)829-4444.

For some excellent information and suggestions about living with our bear population, check the Mass Wildlife website for the following article as well as other pages they have published about bears in Massachusetts:

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/living/living_with_bears.htm

Now that the warm weather has finally arrived, it is tempting to leave doors, windows, and vehicles open and/or unlocked.

HPD officers patrolling overnight are noticing an alarming number of homes, garages, and cars left wide open. Our area has been the target of house and car breaks during several periods of time over the past few years. In most cases, these breaks have not been forced entry, but rather have happened because of unlocked or open doors and windows.

The Holden Police Department urges residents to double-check vehicles, garages, doors, and windows before going inside for the night, and lock up whatever you can. If you leave windows open for fresh air, engage the sash stops if your windows are equipped with them, and consider installing them if you do not have them already.

Many thieves will not break into a home or car if it proves too difficult, so don't make it easy for them. A few minutes spent checking your property before turning in can help ensure a safe and secure summer season.

Area residents,. particularly the elderly, should be aware of a scam being perpetrated in other parts of Massachusetts. In these cases, three men rang the doorbell of a home and identified themselves as local Water Department employees who were investigating a water main break, low pressure, etc. When the homeowner escorted one of the men to the basement to check pipes and connections, the other two remained upstairs and stole various items from the residence. They then told the homeowner they were returning to their vehicle to write up a receipt for the victim, but they then drove off.

Please do not hesitate to call the Holden Police Department at (508)829-4444 if you are suspicious of anyone approaching your home. It is also a good idea to call the appropriate Town Department to check on an employee's credentials, vehicle description, and whether or not they are scheduled to be at your address, if you question their legitimacy. The number for the Holden Water Department is: (508)829-0249.

A couple of Holden residents recently received phone calls from Canada. The caller stated there was an emergency with their grandson. One of the calls claimed their grandson was in jail, and the other claimed their grandson was in the hospital. Both calls stated their grandson needed money immediately and that they were to wire the money up to Canada. This scam has been going on for a little while now. Remember a few things:

Over the years, Holden and other towns have had negative experiences with a few solicitors. Due to the problems solicitors can create, Holden adopted a by-law requiring solicitors to get a permit. Solicitors are only issued a permit after a background check is performed.

Due to the ice storm damage, there are a lot of people in the region looking for work and some of these people will take advantage of you if you allow them to. The Worcester Police Department discovered a person walking around a house, apparently about to break in. This person was arrested and he told the police he was just soliciting work for an out of state tree company. This person also said he was thrown out of Holden the day before because he did not have a solicitor’s permit.

If someone comes to your door offering something for sale or offering services, ask to see their solicitor’s permit. If they do not have a permit, notify the police immediately with their description and information about their vehicle so we can educate them in the law.

As always, if you witness any suspicous behavior, don't hesitate to call us at (508)829-4444.

Area towns - specifically Worcester - are having snowblowers stolen. One victim had just finished using his brand new snowblower and went inside for five minutes. This allowed the bad guys time to go up the driveway and steal his snowblower. Please keep your snowblower inside or hidden when you are not using it. Even if you have to go inside your house for a short period of time, try to hide your snowblower. If you see someone in the area that looks suspicious, note their description and vehicle registration number and call the Holden Police Department at (508)829-4444.

As with past fall seasons, the Holden Police Department has recently received a few reports of black bear sightings in local neighborhoods as well as outlying rural areas.

Black bears are non-aggressive, but it can be disconcerting to have one near your home. Please follow some common sense guidelines to prevent them from wandering close to houses, such as keeping pets indoors and/or under your control, not feeding pets outside, temporarily bringing in bird feeders, and keeping trash cans indoors. They are also attracted to fresh garbage on compost piles, so you may need to suspend composting until the bears go into hibernation.

Bears who come out into our neighborhoods generally wander back into the woods on their own if left alone. Do not attempt to chase, frighten, or tease them. If you feel a bear is creating a public safety hazard, please call the Holden Police Department at (508)829-4444.

For some excellent information and suggestions about living with our bear population, click here to visit check the Mass Wildlife website.

If you are not aware, there is a group (or groups) breaking into area homes. Holden has had two house breaks thus far. Most area towns, including Worcester, have had breaks as well. The thieves are targeting small, expensive items such as computers, video consoles and jewelry. The breaks are occurring at all hours of the day and night, seven days a week. Some breaks have occurred when the homeowners are home and asleep. There is a task force investigating these breaks and I hope, by the time you read this, arrests will be made.

In the meantime, please be vigilant. If you see something that is not normal for your neighborhood, call the police immediately. If someone knocks on your door and asks a strange question, call us. Frequently thieves will knock on the door to see if someone is home. One of the questions they ask is if  “John” is home. The potential thief will then say they must have the wrong address and leave.

Prior to leaving your house or going to bed, take time to make sure your house is secured. When leaving your house, check the street to see if there are any cars that should not be there. If you see a suspicious car, if possible, write the plate number down and call the police department. If possible, hide your valuables. Don’t leave valuable jewelry in plain sight. If you have jewelry that you don’t wear frequently, hide it in a place not located in your bedroom.

If you have any questions, please call the Holden Police Department.

Although this scam has been around for some time, no Holden resident has encountered it until today. A resident came to the police station with a letter and a check. In this scam, you are asked to deposit the enclosed check and, posing as a Western Union customer, wire the money. If this resident had fallen for the scam, she would have owed her bank $4,975.00.

If you receive an unsolicited check in the mail and are asked to cash it and then wire the money to someone, please don’t do it, as it's most likely a scam. Click here for more information regarding what to look for. Again, if you have any questions please contact the Holden Police Department at 508-829-4444.

Area towns have been experiencing car breaks over the past few nights. Although we have not yet had any reports of recent breaks in Holden, HPD urges all residents to remove valuables (including windshield- or dash-mounted GPS units, MP3 players in docks, purses, loose change, CDs, etc.) from your vehicles. Close your car windows and lock all doors and hatchbacks, etc. whenever your vehicle is unattended, especially overnight.

If your car is broken into, please let us know as soon as you discover it, even if it appears nothing is missing. The more information we can gather, the more likely it is we can apprehend suspects.

If you see or hear anything suspicious, please call Holden PD anytime at (508) 829-4444.

Once again we are experiencing car breaks in the Holden area. The Holden Police Department urges all residents to remove all valuables from your vehicles and lock them whenever they are unattended, especially overnight.

If your car is broken into, please let us know as soon as you discover it, even if it appears nothing is missing. The more information we can gather, the more likely it is we can apprehend suspects.

If you see or hear anything suspicious, please call Holden PD at (508) 829-4444.