In the first week of September, the Monroe Bike Shop on Davis Street in Monroe was broken into, twice.
Jay Lawrence, who manages the program, was disappointed after Sept. 3 when the first break in occurred and then disheartened when he was called in again on a second break-in on Sept. 6, but he didn’t let it get him down. The regular Thursday night session on Sept. 10 was used to repair the damage and secure the building.
“Great time at the bike shop last night,” his wife, Jennifer Lawrence, wrote on the Bike Shop Facebook page after last Thursday night’s regular workshop. “Bikes were fixed, building repaired, and good fellowship. Not going to let a small few who broke in ruin our community bike shop.”
According to the police reports, Jay Lawrence first discovered that items were missing on Sept. 3. Tools to the value of about $80 were noted, including several wrenches, a socket set and three hand air pumps. It was determined that entry was made through a window. The second occasion was reported to police by neighbors who noticed on Sept. 6 that a window had again been pried open and the back door kicked in. Lawrence was called and he noted that this time a green mountain bike, valued at about $30, appeared to be the only thing missing.
The Monroe Bike Shop is a non-profit community project to help teach youth in the area how to work on bikes and the value of work ethic while enabling them to earn bikes for themselves. The building is owned by Grace Monroe at the Mill and the project is funded by donations and, in part, by the Dance Community of First Baptist Church.
Monroe Bike Shop. Contributed photo