Businesses and residents in the Canyon communities of Coram, Martin City and Hungry Horse are keeping an eye on each other through a Community Watch program promoted by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

In addition to reporting suspicious activity, business owners and residents are encouraged to report missing property as a way to help the sheriff’s office close cases. Business owners also are looking at locks on doors, outdoor lighting and video monitoring as ways to protect themselves from break-ins and vandalism.

About 50 people have attended three meetings in the area since last fall, one business owner said. A string of break-ins and vandalism last summer was the final straw for some residents and businesses.

Thieves stole a register with about $200 cash from the Glacier Distillery Whiskey Barn, vehicles parked outside the Stonefly Lounge were broken into, a window was broken at the Glacier Grill & Pizza, a chainsaw-carved bear was stolen just outside Hungry Horse, and a giant Indian dreamcatcher at the Trapline Trading Post was destroyed.

It’s believed the suspects in those cases have been apprehended — a group of teenagers who also got into trouble in Evergreen.

With a county the size of Connecticut and a large, dispersed rural population, a Community Watch program offered a tool for law enforcement.

“We’ve had several requests for a program of this type, and it’s been a year in the making, so we’re excited to finally bring it forward,” Sheriff Chuck Curry said.

Flathead County has the largest unincorporated population of Montana’s 56 counties and comes in No. 56, dead last, in the number of officers per capita, Curry said.

“Vigilante actions are in no way condoned, and no one is asked to take a personal risk or to be a hero,” Curry said about the program.

Det. Travis Bruyer heads up the Community Watch program for the sheriff’s office. Information and advice for neighborhood watch programs is posted online at www.flatheadcountysheriff.com.