Rod and gun club vandalized by thieves

BY GIANNI UBRIACO

It may have been a nice, sunny day in Sudbury this past Wednesday, but it turned out to be a disastrous day for The Trailsmen Rod and Gun Club when it was discovered vandals had trashed the clubhouse.

The 40-year-old club promotes conservation of wild life, forest, water, fish, and ethical hunting.

A regular meeting was  scheduled Wednesday to discuss preparations for the hatchery that helps re-stock local lakes with pickerel. Guy Roberge, who's been a club member for the last four years, discovered the break-in.

"When I stopped to walk in, the door was wide open, and I was wondering why the door was open. Then when I saw the window was broken open and the door was smashed open, we knew they had broken in," said Roberge.

He was shocked at what he saw. There was toilet paper all over the place, countless items were missing, desk drawers were ripped wide open, and tons of other debris was splattered all over the floor.

"They took the deer head off that plaque up there on the wall and they even stole a phone," says Tilbury.  "They took about 25 fishing rods, tackle boxes, a flight pump, archery targets, lights we use to get to the eggs at night, and a bunch of tools too."

Members still need to do an inspection as well as an inventory to find out if anything else was taken. So far members are aware that approximately $5,000 in merchandise was stolen. Damage is estimated in the range of $1,000.

It's not clear when exactly the break-in took place because no one visited the clubhouse in the last week.

It's also unclear who was responsible, although Roberge and Tilburu  figure it was youngsters because there were no vehicle marks near the site.

"They didn't drive in, they walked in from the gates," Tilbury suggests.

"It was nice for two days in a row, and the tracks were all melted, so you could see a lot of footprints all over the place," adds Roberge.

This is the first time anything like this has happened to the club, but some members are already talking about making sure it never happens again.

"From now one, we're thinking of getting more security," says Roberge.  "Maybe we can get some outside lights or something. Some have even suggested maybe (getting) a camcorder or motion detector."

The club's hatchery is still expected to be opened in April. The club is made up of 72 members.