Burglars rob newspaper, get away with $125 and some cameras

http://www.oldhamera.com/articles/2007/08/23/opinion/opinion01.prt

TUESDAY AUGUST 28, 2007 Last modified: Thursday, August 23, 2007 9:11 AM CDT

Choice of newspaper office shows the ignorance of those committing crime

by Julie Satterly, General Manager

You have to be really hard-up to break in to a newspaper office.

Especially ours.

All you have to do is look at the 1989 Plymouth van sitting outside — with windows busted out and the number 13 spray-painted on the back — to see that it’s not exactly the Taj Mahal. Our walls are painted odd colors, some not even completely. Our desks range in age from the day God was born to maybe 1973. I can’t bring myself to take down the cross-stitched sign in the bathroom that says “Taking Care of Paperwork,” because as horrid as it is, it’s the only decoration in that small area. And the smell in the building? Well, some say it’s the smell of old paper and print. I say it’s just plain awful.

If I were going to pick a place to be a thief, The Oldham Era definitely wouldn’t be the first. There’s a very limited amount of money here in the building — literally and figuratively — though that’s not to say we don’t have valuable equipment. But said equipment is easily traced. Any intelligent person would know that.

The person or people who smashed through our front door glass the morning of August 15 found all these things out quickly. It was at 5:30 a.m. that day that I discovered our office had been burglarized. The place was in shambles — or at least, in a much worse state than we left it the night before.

Drawers were yanked out. Papers were tossed. The burglars escaped with about $125 in petty cash and several digital cameras — not a whole lot, in the grand scheme of things. Shattered glass covered the outside stoop and the front office, and as it crunched beneath my feet when I walked through the door, my heart began to sink.

Because the truth is this: Though there may be times I abhor this building, this is where The Oldham Era calls “home.” This is the place that my team produces an award-winning newspaper. And the items within it have meaning.

The only words that can describe how I felt at that particular moment are “completely” and “violated.” I immediately lost all trust that I work in a safe environment. And I felt certain that there were no more good guys left in the world.

Though that couldn’t be any further from the truth, it’s a feeling I’ve been fighting for several days now. Steps have to be taken to make sure something like this never happens again. But can that be guaranteed? No. All I can do is make sure my building is protected, my equipment is protected and my people are protected. Unfortunately, I can’t control the horrible actions and ignorance of a criminal.

I can’t even imagine what the pastors and congregation members of several local churches are feeling. The police believe the same person or people who broke in to our office are involved in these burglaries — where thousands of dollars have been taken places of worship. Their loss makes mine look very insignificant.

I hurt not only for what happened to my building, and not only what happened to our local churches, but for the people who continue to commit these horrible crimes. They must be hard-up for something. Whatever addiction may be fueling their need to take from good, honest people has to be addressed.

I can only hope our justice system will take care of that in time.

The views expressed in this column may not necessarily represent the views of The Oldham Era.

 

If this were a Gannett paper, I'd suspect management.

 

lol

 

Singleton paper?

 

If it were, they would have to cut staff to pay for the replacement of cameras and petty cash.

It's a Landmark paper, and the place I first worked out of college. Sorry to hear about this. LaGrange is actually a very nice place, surpised this happened.

 

...and a great ZZ Top single.
Ow-ow-ow-owwwww...

 

Different LaGrange, but hey, it was a good play anyway.

 

Look at it this way, with the windows broken out, the building had a chance to lose the smell...

 

Anyone but me surprised to see a GM saying their building stinks? I did a double take when I read it, even though it's true.

 

I thought we were doing ZZ Top, and you switch to Skynard. Stay in the game, slapster.

 

I never noticed it stinking, but the ONLY bathroom in the building is right up front by the front door.