Vandals hit library, bank and merchants in village

MILLERTON — When NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson drove into work early Saturday morning, Dec. 5, she was greeted by an unwelcome sight — the library’s familiar sign lay broken and battered on the front lawn — the result of vandals who had partially destroyed the sign either late Friday night or in the wee hours of Saturday morning. She wasn’t totally taken by surprise as she had first seen some signs of destruction along the business district when initially turning onto Main Street. 

“I noticed a lot of planters were knocked down, and thought, ‘That’s not good.’ My initial thought went to the Tiny Libraries because they’re so exposed, but they were all right,” she said. “Then I noticed someone had torn down our front sign.”

Leo-Jameson said, “it looked like someone ran and hit it; I think someone was hanging off of it.” 

When she got inside, she immediately reported the vandalism to the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, as the Millerton Police Department didn’t have officers on duty at that hour. Deputies arrived to investigate shortly afterward.

“Every month there’s a new bad thing; if this is the bad thing for December, I’ll take it,” said Leo-Jameson. “In terms of vandalism, I’m grateful they didn’t do anything more severe. We have a lot of windows and the garden is still new. If they wanted to be more malicious, they could have been. But it was disappointing, to say the least.”

The sign, which had lettering posting library events along with its hours, had its pole ripped off and the left side was cracked in half, according to the library director.

“Thankfully, the better part of the sign where we put the letters in was OK,” she said, adding that the library wants to move the part of the sign that’s still intact onto a new backing. “Hopefully, that’s the plan. We want to try to keep as much of it as we can. It’s just one more thing in a year of unexpected expenses. As much as grants help to get the library up and running, we had to buy a lot of extra cleaning supplies and PPE, so to try to replace the sign [would be really expensive].”

Leo-Jameson didn’t have an exact estimate for the damage, but did say it’s “definitely under $1,000 after the insurance deductible,” adding that “a couple of people have graciously offered to help. We’ll wait to see what the ballpark figure will be.” 

When asked how long it will take to get the new materials to repair the sign, she said she wasn’t sure, adding an optimistic, “hopefully not too long.”

In addition to the property damage done at the library, signs were also damaged next door at the Salisbury Bank & Trust as well as at several businesses on Main Street. 

According to Capt. John Watterson of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, a report was filed on Dec. 7 by the bank at 87 Main St. Deputies responded to a report of criminal mischief done to the bank’s sign(s).

“At this time, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing,” stated Watterson, who added that “at this time there’s no evidence to suggest that the vandalism is connected to other incidents or part of any type of ‘spree,’ however… the investigation is continuing.”

The captain added that if residents and/or business owners are having issues with repeated acts of vandalism, the Sheriff’s Office would encourage them to invest in a surveillance system, “most of which are very affordable now and can be very useful in identifying those responsible and in deterring future acts.” He also said “anyone with information or who observes suspicious activity should contact the Sheriff’s Office at 845-486-3800.” 

Oblong Books & Music co-owner Dick Hermans said some miniature exterior decorations he’s had for years and years were destroyed, but that fortunately, his store was “not affected too much.” 

Hermans heard about the damage done to other merchants on Main Street and the damage to the bank’s signs, but said that he hasn’t heard of the Millerton Business Alliance (MBA) organizing to protect the retail district.

“Everyone’s too busy this time of year,” said Hermans, adding he hasn’t noticed any discussion among the merchants by email. “If nothing got broken and there was no damage to our buildings, then we’re probably going to move on and get through the holidays. We just hope it doesn’t happen again. It would be nice if they were able to figure who did it, but it might not be possible.”

Mayor Debbie Middlebrook commented on the run of property damage, noting it was negative behavior at a time when people should be trying to support each other. 

“In response to the recent vandalism, I am disappointed that during this very difficult time when we should all be working together there are those that feel the need to wreak havoc on our community and damage someone else’s property — adding to that property owner’s stress,” she said. “Shame on them.”