And the thing is, it could have been so, so much worse.
Build manager Fern Paulhus reports that a table saw, roll-away stand and other smaller items were stolen from the onsite garage, only days after most of the tools were moved inside the duplex, located on the 1000 block of Ominica Street East.
“So it was knock-on-wood and we were pretty fortunate,” Paulhus said. “That’s all that was taken, there were no other tools, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been if we had everything still in there.”
Paulhus showed up to the site after the holiday and immediately noticed something was off.
“The gate was left open in the front and the bungie cord I usually use was about six or seven feet from its normal spot and I’m going ‘wait a minute, uh, something’s wrong’,” he explained. “So I started looking things over, checked the front doors on both sides and everything was good, I walked around the backside and there was a board that was propped up against the garage, and that’s what they broke in through.”
Thieves entered through a window after removing the board and from there were able to make off with what was left in the garage.
Now Paulhus, Habitat for Humanity Moose Jaw and the Moose Jaw Police Service are hoping the public will be able to shed some light on the break-in.
“The community is always taking care of us, they watch out for us and this and that,” Paulhus said. “A couple years ago a couple of kids tried burning a garage before we even got going on this. A neighbour caught it, called the fire department and got it put out. So neighbours are always watching out for us, but unfortunately the time just came when someone got in and got away.”
If there is good news in such a situation, it’s been the response. Habitat for Humanity Moose Jaw posted news of the robbery on their Facebook page soon after hearing about it, and drew 1,300 hits within an hour. That on top of a host of readers -- including past Moose Jaw build recipients Mandy Eirich and Kathy Brown -- expressing disgust with the situation and pledging to keep an eye out on social media for anyone looking to offload the items.
As for the build itself, it continues unabated. Work continued on Wednesday afternoon on the now fully enclosed structure, with the interior the current focus.
“It’s slow but sure, but we’re getting there,” Paulhus said. “It’s two houses at one time and we’re used to doing one at a time so we have a timeline, but it’s coming along. We’re doing the framing in the basement and once that’s all done the plumbers and electricians will be in and doing their thing and we’ll be back outside.”
Anyone with more information on the incident is asked to call Moose Jaw Police at (306) 694-7600.
