More than two dozen Jonesporters crowded into the town office June 25 to confront their selectmen over lack of action in response to a rash of burglaries and vandalism that has been ongoing since last winter. Also present was Trooper Barry Curtis of the Maine State Police, lead investigator on the crimes. Much of the discussion focused on the need to reverse the vote of last March's town meeting that turned down a renewal of a contract the town had with the county for police protection. That contract expired June 30.

Most of the houses broken into are located on or near the Kelley Point Road. Most are owned by non–native retirees who travel extensively, or by summer folk who are away in the off–season. According to Bill Plaskon, who asked that the matter be added to the selectmen's June 25 agenda, there have been 14 break–ins since last December. A 15th invasion was discovered June 26.

In nearly all cases, Plaskon told selectmen, not much of value was stolen, but property was severely vandalized, allegedly up to $20,000 worth in the first home where all the windows were broken and the walls were pierced with a pick axe. He circulated photos of the Degenhardt campground on Kelley's Point depicting food and toilet tissue strewn across the composite floor of the pavilion, spray paint on walls and doors, and signs of a fire in a sink and on a door. The campground is the site of the Degenhardts' annual camporee for the families they have created through Maine Adoption Placement Services, an adoption agency which connects international and bi–racial children with American families and which they run with the proceeds of their businesses.

“It sounds like whoever's doing this knows who's gone,” remarked First Selectman Ralph Smith. State Police Officer Urges Citizens to Pay Attention to Anomalies Curtis said his investigation had turned up leads, but he could not talk about them. (He would later state that he believed the perpetrators were between the ages of 15 and 25.) He said he was the only officer on the case, had asked for help, and had spent at least one of his days off working the case. He explained to the group how thinly the state police force is stretched.

“Not many people realize it,” he said, “but there are only 15 troopers for these two counties [Hancock and Washington].” Because of shifts, he continued, there are times when only five of those 15 are on duty. His sector reaches from Steuben to Route 9. Even when he was assigned to the Jonesport investigation, he said, he was called away to respond to complaints in nearby towns.

Asked by Third Selectman William “Bimbo” Look if the sheriff's department was assisting, Curtis said, “We work together.” Look then asked how the town could help, too.

“You people here are our eyes and ears,” he replied. “The police can't do it all. There are not enough of us to go around. Our eyes and ears are right here and they need to help us.” Anything suspicious can be reported by calling 9–1–1 and reaching the county's dispatchers, who will start the response process, he said. “The old days of leaving keys in your vehicles and your houses unlocked are gone. You all need to get involved,” he urged. Asked about retaliation, Curtis said in 25 years he had never known a witness' house to be burned down because he or she provided evidence. Revisit the Contract with the County?

Several times, Smith noted that the rash of burglaries had taken place during the time the town had police protection from the county. That provoked a number of critical comments about the quality of that protection.

“They arrived at 8 a.m. and sat up in my parking lot,” said John Lipinski, owner of Tall Barney's Restaurant. “They only patrolled days and evenings,” said Gene Hart, owner of Harbor House B&B on Sawyer's Square. Look noted that the deputy was only contracted for 43 hours per week and Smith added that those hours included court time and paperwork.

Dennis Higgins, who had done liaison between the town and the sheriff's office, asked if weekly activity reports were still coming in. “Not since town meeting,” responded Look. In response to another question, Smith said the town could not dictate when and where the deputy patrolled once he was in town. (Second Selectman Howard “Buddy” Mills was out of town on a bus run.)

Nevertheless, having seen town police departments come, fail and go, selectmen said they had favored continued protection from the county, but the 125 of the town's 900 voters who showed up for the annual town meeting last March rejected the measure. Look characterized the remarks aimed at Sheriff Donnie Smith, who came in person to explain the proposed contract, as “quite a blistering.”

Given the lawlessness that occurred later, Etta Abrahams and others wanted a special town meeting to reconsider that vote. Maureen Hart likened the importance of police protection to that of sanding the roads in winter. Seymour Bienstock asked rhetorically if Jonesport wanted to be known as the “crime capital of Washington County,” with resultant depressing effects on real estate.

Smith explained that, even if a majority of voters now favored police protection, no additional money could be raised now that taxes have been committed, although the town could authorize selectmen to borrow the money to renew the contract. He added that he didn't know if the county still wished to do so and still had the manpower, but observed that such a decision should be made at an annual town meeting instead of at a special town meeting that traditionally were poorly attended.

Neighborhood Watch/Constable

With renewal of the county contract apparently beyond reach at least until next March and a suggestion of joining forces with surrounding towns rejected because of failure to work in the past, those in the room began talking of hiring private security people to patrol at night and gather information on vehicles and individuals. Smith said that liability was a problem if such individuals were on the payroll. Look said the idea of a constable had been floated recently and rejected after legal advisers cited liability issues. “[The town] is responsible for what's done to them and what they do to others,” he said of town–hired law enforcers.

Curtis suggested a neighborhood watch: people out at night with a clipboard, writing down license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions. He promised help from his force to organize it and tell citizens what they could and could not do. He said no one would be armed, and confrontation with law breakers was discouraged. Witnesses' identities would be protected, he said, unless they had to testify in court, in which case restraining orders could be sought to protect them.

Abrahams, rejecting the suggestion, asked him to observe the average age of those in the room (approximately 60 years old) and factor in their feelings of intimidation and fears of retaliation. Sherry Fish disagreed. “Where crime's been reduced, it's been in areas where citizens helped,” she said. Look exhorted people to “look out for one another like we did 20 years ago.” Dorothy Higgins said home owners need to be responsible and secure their property with lights and alarms, and even hire a caretaker when they are gone. (Most of the Jonesport break–ins occurred in houses that were not only empty but remote from their neighbors, making patrol difficult.)

Constable Route to be Explored

Herbert Greenberg suggested posting a reward for information leading to the arrest of the vandals. Smith said selectmen couldn't use town money, not even the $20,000 contingency fund authorized at town meeting, since that money was to be used for budgetary shortfalls. He agreed to town sponsorship of a reward that was funded by concerned property owners.

At the end of the nearly two–hour session, Smith and Look promised to look into hiring a constable which, they said they would have no problem seeking authorization for in a special town meeting. They also agreed to get back in touch with county law enforcement for any possibilities there. The issue may come before voters later this month, when selectmen have already planned a public hearing and special meeting on changes to some town ordinances.

Vandals recently wrought havoc at the Degenhardts' campground for Maine Adoption Placement Service which connects overseas and black children with American families. Each year adopting families are invited for a three day camporee each Labor Day. Photos courtesy of Edwin Degenhardt.

Maine State Police and Washington County Sheriff's Department officers have arrested two adult males in connection with multiple break–ins and burglaries that occurred last week in unoccupied seasonal homes in the Haycock Harbor and Moose Cove area of Trescott.

Two hundred gallons of heating oil was removed from one residence and tools and personal property from others.

Mark Merrill of Trescott, property manager of the residence where the heating oil was taken, said he was pleased with the “good response” of law enforcement officials. “They took fingerprints, sneaker prints and DNA samples,” he said. Although the property he keeps an eye on is equipped with a telephone–linked security alarm system, because the fuel was outside and the house not entered, it wasn't activated. Merrill discovered the lost heating oil, he said, when he noted an oil spill during a routine inspection of the property. Although there was a locked gate at the driveway, the perpetrators used bolt cutters to gain entrance.

Another nearby residence, not equipped with a security alarm, was entered. The main door was bashed in and personal property and heating oil was removed.

While two arrests have been made, the investigation is continuing, said Sgt. Travis Willey of the sheriff's department on Monday, June 3.

Sheriff Donnie Smith, in a telephone interview June 30, said the four full–time officers covering the county are spread thin, as the number of reported burglaries has risen.