CLEARLAKE, Calif. – As it's busy preparing for its annual community Christmas dinner, the Rotary Club of Clear Lake is dealing with the theft of important equipment and Christmas decorations after its storage unit was burglarized.
“It's kind of a bummer,” said Terry Stewart, the club's past president.
On Tuesday, a Rotary member had gone to the club's longtime storage unit to retrieve items for the Christmas dinner in December and found that that the lock had been changed, Stewart said.
Stewart went over with bolt cutters on Wednesday morning and removed the lock. That's when he discovered the theft.
Items Stewart said were stolen included 26 large fryers used for the club's February seafood boil – its main fundraiser of the year – as well as three large watering troughs used for drinks and a lot of restaurant supplies, table cloths and napkins, as well as all of the decorations used for decorating the Burns Valley School for the Christmas dinner.
“Basically they just cleaned out our storage unit,” said Stewart.
He said whoever burglarized the unit had to have known they were stealing from Rotary. Items left behind in the storage unit included club signs, club minutes going back to the start of the club's founding in the early 1970s and wine glasses with the Rotary emblem etched on them.
There also were some containers of wooden mallets for cracking crab at the seafood boil there were left behind, Stewart said.
A brand new – and expensive – Santa Claus suit that the club had purchased within the last few years was safe since it was at a member's home, according to Stewart.
It's not clear exactly when the theft occurred, as it had been some months since club members had gone to get anything out of the unit, which is located in a complex on Old Highway 53, Stewart explained.
The Christmas dinner is planned for Dec. 12. “Now we're scrambling to replace that stuff in time to put the event on,” Stewart said.
Stewart said the break-in has been reported to the Clearlake Police Department, which took a theft report.
He estimated that losses ranged between $500 and $1,000 for the Christmas event, with at least a few thousand dollars in losses associated with the seafood boil equipment.
He said it's going to put a pretty big dent in the Rotary club's budget to replace the items stolen. They have no insurance to cover the theft, although they are seeking assistance from Rotary International.
Rotary Club of Clear Lake President Kinene Barzin said the February seafood boil is the group's biggest fundraiser, averaging about $25,000, which goes toward scholarships for students at Lower Lake High, Carlé High and Yuba College, as well as other Rotary projects.
In addition, this year the Rotary Club of Clear Lake has joined Rotary clubs from around Lake County in raising funds through the Lake Area Rotary Club Fire Relief Fund. Barzin estimated the effort has raised $400,000 so far.
Barzin said that, despite the setback of the theft, the club – which has about 50 members – is pushing forward with its annual community Christmas dinner, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at Burns Valley School, 3620 Pine St. in Clearlake.
“Christmas dinner is our gift to the community,” Barzin said, noting everyone is invited.
In past years, the club has served as many as 900 people at the dinner, and they are expecting that many – and possibly many more – because of the impact of this year's wildfires, she said.
Santa Claus will be on hand to visit with children, all of whom will receive a photo and a gift.
This year the club also is distributing winter coats, with the assistance of the Boy Scout Troop 44, as part of the annual “Warm for the Winter” giveaway, Barzin said.
The club asks that anyone who has information about the stolen equipment call the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.
If anyone would like to help the club recoup its losses through a donation, checks can be sent to the Rotary Club of Clear Lake, P.O. Box 549, Clearlake, CA 95422.
Visit the club online at its Facebook page or its Web site.
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