TOWN OF WALLKILL – Police
are looking for the person who took off with a Salvation Army kettle chained
to its tripod stand that was placed in front of the ShopRite supermarket
on Route 211 in the Town of Wallkill.
Middletown Salvation Army Major Mary Moore told Mid-Hudson News that the
bell-ringer had just taken a break around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, December
2 when a shopper saw the robber take off with the kettle and stand and
started screaming for him to stop.
The police were called immediately through 911. Surveillance video is
being studied by the police in hopes of identifying the perpetrator.
Major Moore said the kettles are locked and after a day in front of
the store, she estimated it contained about $500 in donations.
She warned that if shoppers see a kettle in an unusual location, check
to make sure it is an authorized person, not the thief. Salvation Army
employees and volunteers all wear aprons and have identification cards
to show they work for the organization.
