To the editor:

I want to thank the many helpful neighbors I’ve met since my husband and I bought the former Dew Drop Inn. They’ve welcomed me to the community and helped me in so many ways. Randy and I are trying to be good neighbors as well by renovating a blighted property and building a business that will create jobs, pay taxes and help revitalize downtown.

I’d like to appeal to these helpful neighbors to help me with a problem that really shouldn’t be happening — the continued vandalism and dumping at our property. Over the last few months, someone has broken windows, pipes and electrical conduit. Increasing amounts of trash are being dumped behind the building — most recently a sectional sofa, a treadmill, a mattress, electronic equipment and various household items. I’m sure whoever is doing this thinks they’re not hurting anyone, but the truth is we have to pay to fix the damage and haul away the trash. Every dollar we spend cleaning up someone else’s mess is a dollar we can’t spend on the renovation.

Please, good neighbors, if you see someone damaging the property or dumping trash, call me (my phone number is in the front window of the building) or the police so we can put a stop to this bad behavior. And to the person or people doing this, what you’re doing is hurting this community. Stop it!

Sincerely,

Calli Shelton

Saranac Lake