CLEARLAKE — Two organizations dedicated to serving the community and youth were the victims of burglary this past weekend. New Beginnings and Boy Scout Troop No. 44 both suffered damages and losses.
“They are picking on organizations that have no way of recovering from the damage they are doing. Non profits don”t know if they are going to make it from year to year,” Jennifer Rogers, New Beginnings program director said. “I sure hope we catch who did this. If they are doing it to us they are doing it to other people.”
New Beginnings, which is located on the former airport property in Clearlake, serves the needs of women in their struggles to find direction in life. The organization assists women in furthering their education, gaining employment and housing and other necessities. According to Rogers, the organization has been a target for past year. “We”ve had several problems over the past year. There have been several different incidents where the police came out because the alarm went off,” she said. “We”ve had graffiti and property damage with doors being kicked in but this is the first time they actually got into the building itself. This is the first time they actually stole any items.”
Rogers said she believes the suspect(s) waited for the police to leave after responding to the alarm that went off around 8:50 p.m. Saturday night. She said the burglar(s) stole a computer monitor and broke into the safe and took about $500 in cash as well as a checkbook.
“The thing that is so upsetting is the money and the checkbook they took was for our transitional housing,” Rogers said. “These women are working hard and it”s a little infuriating that they stole what little they did have.”
Rogers also said a bizarre discovery revealed that the suspect(s) also took drug testing kits. However, she said, the ones that were stolen have to be analyzed in a lab and are not the type used at home. Rogers further reported property damage was suffered as well.
“We are going to have to replace any money that was stolen from our clients. We are going to have to fix the property,” she said. “Now there is a general sense of fear. Our clients come here to get help and support and there”s been a sense of violation here.”
According to Rogers, the police were able to obtain evidence from the scene and the investigation is ongoing.
In a second incident, Boy Scout Troop No. 44 was the victim. “It”s really discouraging for our scouts who work so hard to better themselves and the community,” Melissa Swanson, whose son is a member of Troop No. 44, said. “They were going door-to-door collecting donations for the community and then they found out that they were broken into.”
According to Scout Master Russ Perdock, the scouts were engaged in a community service endeavor when they discovered the burglary.
“We gathered at the shed because we were doing a food drive. (The boys collected more than 250 pounds of food.) When we got there, we noticed the door had been pried open,” Perdock said. “With just a quick inspection we could see that propane tanks had been taken and other camping equipment was missing. There were some tools, some hatchets and hammers, those types of things, that had also been taken.”
According to Perdock, some of the larger items that were stolen have Troop No. 44 marked on them. “The propane tanks and the tents may have also been marked and there was a big shade pop-up stolen as well,” he said, adding that a meeting has been called to finalize property loss.
“Like you”d expect, the boys were very disappointed,” Perdock said. “We were planning a campout at Boggs Forest this weekend. Hopefully we still have enough equipment to go on the campout.”
The case is being investigated by Officer Melissa Reed. Anyone with information pertaining to the Boy Scout incident is encouraged to contact her at 994-8251.
Boy Scout Troop No. 44 of Clearlake is always excited to welcome new members. Boys age 11 to 18 are invited to join. The focus of the troop is teaching leadership while having fun.
There are several outings currently planned such as an overnight trip on the U.S.S. Hornet in San Francisco and a snowboarding trip in February. “Typically we do a lot of hiking and we go camping when we can. We also participate in several community service projects year round including parades and other events,” Perdock said.
Boy Scout Troop No. 44 meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of every month in the multipurpose room at Pomo Elementary School. Parents who would like get their children involved in the Boy Scouts is encouraged to attend.
The troop also offers volunteer opportunities for the parents.
Fundraisers are held throughout the year to help the troops earn the money they need to take their trips. Adult volunteers are subject to criminal background checks.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
