Letter From Sierra Madre Gas Square

Editor's Note: We've had quite a week here in Sierra Madre, with the release of information that was found inside the Valero gas station. The owner of Sierra Madre's other gas station just up the street from , Sierra Madre Gas Square Inc., submitted a statement to Patch addressing the issue.

Sierra Madre Gas Square Inc. has a long term commitment to serve this community the best possible way we can and our doors are always open for anyone to come in and ask questions about our business.

Before jumping into an unsubstantiated conclusion about someone or a business, one must have all the facts and evidence at hand. I am confident that our Police Department is doing just that. With this latest and unfortunate incident at our neighboring Valero station, we definitely as a community have a problem and the best way to solve it I think is to define what it is.  As the old saying is “A well-defined problem is half-solved”.   

The recent credit card fraudulent activities, in my opinion, are just the tip of the iceberg! On the macro level, what we have here is an economic system that is dependent on a massive infrastructure made up of people, policies and electronic equipment (hardware and software) that is not well protected!

We all have the responsibility to do our part in order to ensure in this case the authenticity of our transactions. As owners of Sierra Madre Gas Square Inc. “Alliance”, we are taking additional steps and are investing in an elaborate security system made up of video surveillance, motion detection and remotely accessible digital recording 24/7 system. We are also asking our customers to check their monthly bank statements and immediately report any suspicious or unauthorized activities to the authorities. 

While all this may minimize the ability for some criminals to compromise the system, this massive infrastructure needs a better protection by our federal fovernment. The quick advancement of technology is far ahead of laws already on the books and we need to know more about what the government plans are to insure this vital infrastructure is well protected. What is the Department of Defense doing about it?     

Best regards,

Bishara Kawar

Sierra Madre Gas Square Inc.

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If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, e-mail it to sierramadrepatch@gmail.com.