Country Store dealing with repeated vandalism
Donated items lay strewn about the area behind the County Store in downtown Polson after being rummaged through overnight. (Photo courtesy of Peggy Milner)
Many items donated to the Country Store in downtown Polson are not making their way to the store’s shelves.
According to board member Phyllis Dresen, vandals have repeatedly been ransacking evening and weekend donations left outside the store, taking whatever items they want and leaving the rest strewn across the ground behind the business.
“The boxes and bags are gone through by vandals or thieves, the better articles taken and the rest strewn about and trampled on. If the weather is bad, they are rained and snowed on,” the store told its supporters in an open letter. “The result is that the items that are meant for good are ruined and must be picked up and thrown in the trash.”
Dresen says that the incidents wind up taking away items that were meant to help benefit local charities and creates more work for the store’s employees.
“We don’t sell computers or electronic equipment, and I think that might be what they are after,” Dresen said. “If these are people that are truly in need, they should come into the store while it is open and we would be more than happy to help them. That is what the store is there for.”
According to Dresen, steps taken to help curtail the problem have been completely unsuccessful, as bulbs in motion lights have been unscrewed and even broken.
Dresen says the incidents have been investigated by the Polson Police Department, but the culprits have not yet been indentified.
The Country Store is run by a collaboration of 10 area churches and donates to several charitable entities in the area, including the Boys and Girls Club, Cheerful Heart, Helping Hands, Loaves and Fishes Food Bank, Senior Center, YWAM Tribal Wave Program and Lake County Hospice. Any proceeds left over are used to help fund outreach programs at the churches. Any loss by the store truly affects the entire community.
In its letter, the Country Store sent the following message to whomever is taking from the donation area:
“If you are truly in need of things, visit the Country Store during the hours when it is open, 10-4 Monday through Friday, and they can help you out or contact Helping Hands, who can provide you with a referral to the store. If you are taking goods to resell for your own profit, please be aware that you are taking away from a program which benefits the needy in your community.”