For decades, staff and volunteers at the Santa Maria Valley Historical Museum have worked to collect, preserve and present the history of the local community.
Museum curator Shelley Klein says doing so becomes harder when they also have to deal with break-ins.
Klein says when she got to the museum Friday morning, she found windows shattered, her office thrashed, and cash donations stolen.
“Our office area was a mess. Things had been scattered, there were paper and things on the floor, trash on the floor. And of course, we noticed right away that our cash box was missing,” Klein told KSBY.
She says it does not appear that any of their irreplaceable museum exhibits and artifacts were stolen or tampered with. Regardless, she admits the break-in has put them roughly $2,000 in the hole.
“We need cameras. We need to be able to see what is going on and be notified more quickly,” she added. “Our alarms did go off, but we weren’t able to see who it was that was doing this.”
Meanwhile, just down the street from the museum, Santa Maria Valley Railroad President Rob Himoto says trespassing and break-ins are a common occurrence for his business.
“It has definitely been growing the last several years but lately, it has been the worst it has ever been,” Himoto said.
He says at least once a week, his staff will find homeless encampments on right of ways, litter left behind, and large holes dug along the tracks.
Himoto tells KSBY that despite increased patrols and staffing by police this year, the issue has persisted.
“Even though there is more resources, the problem is getting worse,” he said.
To prevent future thefts, Klein says that this week, the museum will add a protective layer on their windows and front door, making it harder to break in.
“Every day I come to work now, it is always, 'is everything going to be alright?' It is probably going to be a while before that goes away. We are free, we are open to the public, we want to be welcoming, but now, we are much more cautious,” Klein said.
Klein says her team is also encouraging community donations right now so they can purchase and install security cameras at the museum.
