They’ve been brought to the brink of tears after being terrorized by a thief. For three months, the Nutana Lawn Bowling Club has been the target of numerous break-ins.
The latest happened Monday morning and its made for a summer filled with frustration.
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“He ripped this door and hacked the whole thing apart,” Robert Hackett, head of maintenance with the club, said.
Since June 5, the non-profit organization has been broken into nine different times. According to Carolyn Jones, president of the Nutana Lawn Bowling Club, during five of those occasions everything from cookies and pop to tools were stolen.
“Just the repairs have cost us $1,500 like in locksmiths, deadbolts and new framing. This latest one I’m not sure how we’re going to fix it, it’s going to require a carpenter,” Jones said.
Members say they have now been forced to turn the club into Fort Knox in an effort to keep the burglar out.
Security cameras have since been installed, capturing the man believe to be behind this series of break-ins.
The club is now asking the public to help identify him, fearing at some point somebody is going to get hurt.
“I would hate to think somebody that we hire just to clean the clubhouse, gets injured because of somebody who wants to break in and steal cookies.”
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Some of the members considered camping out and confronting the man but changed their minds after he appeared to be armed with a machete in some of the videos.
What’s worse, Jones says the man left a threatening message on the backdoor after a failed attempt to get in.
“I”ll let you have a break this time. You must be stressed that you can’t stop me but I’ll be back.”
At this point, the club with some 200 members is under the impression the man is working alone.
“It’s difficult knowing your place is constantly being invaded.”
For many the clubhouse is like a second home or their only weekly outing, adding to the distressing and disheartening situation.
“It means a lot to people, it’s a social outlet – a lot of our members are older members and this is their socialization time,” Jones added.
A Facebook post created Monday has already been seen by more than 10,000 people and shared 1,780 times.
A few leads so far have been forwarded onto the Saskatoon Police Service in the hopes the thief may be one step closer to getting caught.
“It’s just disappointing to think no matter what you do and all your efforts to stop him from coming in, he still manages to get through the system,” Hackett said.
“I don’t know what the answer is.”