JAY — The Jay-Niles Memorial Library has fallen prey to a burglar that netted more than $400, mostly in raffle proceeds that were to go toward the children’s summer reading program.

The burglary, reported Friday, has joined a list of burglaries that continues to grow.

The break-in is believed to have occurred either late Sept. 28 or early Sept. 29.

The library was entered through a window that was pried open, Police Chief Richard Caton IV said. He declined to disclose the amount of cash taken from an office area.

Detective Michael Mejia and Cpl. Jeffrey Fournier are investigating.

Library Director Tamara Hoke said more than $400 is missing. That much money is rarely kept at the library, she said, but it had been running a raffle for a couple of months. The raffle ended Sept. 24 at the Apple Pumpkin Festival in Livermore Falls.

Hoke believed she had put the $350 in raffle proceeds in a safe place at the library until she could get it to the treasurer that week to be deposited. 

“Obviously, it was not as safe a place as I thought,” Hoke said.

She had noticed little things that went against her typical habits at the library but thought she may have been tired and had done things differently as a result, Hoke said.

But all of the inconsistencies were beginning to add up, and she decided to take a look around the outside of the library Friday. She noticed a screen had been removed from a window and it appeared that someone had broken in. She reported the burglary to police.

People are rallying around the library, including owners of nearby My Dad’s Place, to help restore the money that was taken.

Financial security changes have also been made, Hoke said, including the immediate deposit of any money that comes into the library.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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