Did you happen to read the sad story in the Times Free Press about the owner of a convenience store on East Main Street?
Charles Manis’ store, Charlie’s Quik Stop, has been burglarized, vandalized and robbed so many times — more than 100! — that the owner is thinking about calling it quits and closing the store.
On one occasion, Manis was even shot by a robber. He survived, but the bullet is still lodged in his body. His wife no longer dares to work alone at the store, which is in the Ridgedale community, since a robber threatened her with a knife recently and made off with cash.
Under those circumstances, it is hard to blame the couple for considering closing their business.
Of course, the majority of people who come to the store do not commit burglary or vandalism, much less acts of outright violence. But it doesn’t take many criminals to make it impossible for shopkeepers to run a business both safely and profitably. Thieves and other lawbreakers not only create direct losses of money and merchandise, but they drive up insurance rates for the stores themselves and for homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.