Police Probe Theft Of Drugs From Kimro's

Sometime over the course of Labor Day weekend, a burglar crowbarred a back window of Kimro's Medicine Place and stole thousands of dollars of narcotics.

"I went to get a drug off the shelf" on Tuesday morning, said Rosemary L. Demers Thursday, "and it wasn't there."

Mrs. Demers, who owns the small store with her husband, Kim M., said she thought one of her employees was playing a practical joke.

"Then someone went to fill a prescription and that wasn't there either," she said.

Between Saturday afternoon and Tuesday morning, according to Mrs. Demers, someone had broken in and stolen thousands of dollars worth of medication.

"We had been in and out all weekend," she said. "It didn't even look like anyone had broken in."

Ogdensburg Patrolman Matthew R. Erwin said the point of entry was a rear window.

"There's only one reason to break into a drug store," Mr. Erwin said Thursday, adding that police found no damage, except for the crowbarred window.

While police continue to investigate, information has been hard to come by.

"There's a lot of why's right now," the officer said, noting that the store's alarm was never activated.

Mrs. Demers, who said a new, more modernized security system is in the works for her store, said times have changed for businesses in Ogdensburg.

"This is a serious problem. This burglary took some planning. For 25 years we haven't had too many problems, but the drug scene has changed out there," she said. "The public doesn't know how bad the underbelly of this county really is.

"But I suppose there's problems like this everywhere," she added. She also said that things could have been worse.

"Everyone's o.k. We didn't get robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight," she said.

While Kimro's will soon be more secure, according to Mrs. Demers, "We're not the Louvre Museum. We're just a little store. I'd like to have a vicious, killer dog here, but that's not going to fly."

She warned city residents to be aware of the problem.

"Don't have valuable medications handy," she said.

Anyone with information concerning the Kimro's Medicine Place burglary can call city police at 393-1555.