One more act of vandalism and Richard Moore, owner of Moore’s General Store, warns that he’ll have no choice but to shut his doors for good.
Set in the heart of Sault Ste. Marie, his establishment has become a recurrent target of petty crime. Reports show it’s the sixth time this year that Moore has been forced to replace a damaged window. A continued expense, which, he stated, has left him teetering on the edge of economic viability.
“The financial strain is insurmountable. If it happens once more, I’ll have no choice but to call it quits,” Moore admitted, worn and frustrated.
Moore recalls how smoothly his business sailed during its inaugural year. However, a disconcerting shift came with the dawn of this year, when vandalism and burglaries started to teem. The frequency of these incidents has escalated to the point of occurring twice-weekly.
The devastating aftermath has inflicted financial losses to the tune of approximately $20,000 – $26,000, an amount accumulated even before he’s received the assessment on his last hurrah with the vandals.
Opting for prevention over cure, Moore invested in several state-of-the-art security cameras, primarily to deter potential shoplifters. Nevertheless, the miscreants seem to have evolved in their brazenness, apparently taunting Moore and law enforcement by primarily targeting sections outside the surveillance ambit.
The local law enforcement, crippled by the lack of video evidence, lend little more than a case number to Moore’s continual plight.
“I requested their presence, asking, ‘Won’t you inspect the damaged window?’ Their response, an apathetic dismissal, ‘It’s just a window. This is an inevitable part of city business nowadays’,” Moore grimly disclosed.
Echoing his frustrations are the proprietors at CJ’s Dehydrated Products, who suffered the same fate last year, culminating in them deciding to vigilantly guard their premises overnight against thieves who decimated their inventory.
Owner Corey Tucker mirrored the sentiments. “It’s an uphill battle that’s incredibly exasperating,” he shared, “We restock, then they break in and steal. It’s monumentally challenging for us smaller businesses to remain functional under these circumstances.”
Like the owners from CJ’s, Moore is finding himself prepared to take justice into his hands, ignoring police advisories against doing so.
While acknowledging there’s no swift resolution to his predicament, Moore advocated for the city to extend aid to those on the streets, steering them away from their aberrant paths.
A plea for understandings transforms into a call for action as Moore – and countless other businesses – weather the storm of continued vandalism, on the brink of despair yet clinging on to hope.
