WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Over the weekend, the village of Copenhagen lost a long-time member of the community.
In the last days of his life, the village was decorated in his honor. But, the night before his funeral, vandals struck.
Kim Sheitz lived and worked in Copenhagen his whole life.
“He loved this community. He’s always been active, a member of the fire department, a member of the drill team, graduated from Copenhagen Central School, he was a co-founder of the athletic booster club program,” said Sheitz’s daughter, Heidi Petrie.
In the final days of his battle with cancer, the community rallied around him, holding a benefit and decorating the village in his favorite color.
There was a ribbon on every post. Every tree had a sign and the village bandstand was #SheitzStrong.
Until vandals struck.
Wednesday night, Sheitz’s niece, Emily Lance, got a call that some of the pumpkins were smashed.
“We came upon the bandstand where everything was destroyed. The pumpkins were smashed. The signs were torn down. We hung orange lights. Those were cut with a knife,” said Lance.
And the destruction didn’t end there.
“As I turned down Washington Street, there were potted plants thrown in the road, kids’ carved pumpkins in the road. There was a smashed birdhouse. There’s a woman who’s always had a porcelain goose; the head was knocked off of that,” said Lance.
“I’ve had these beautiful geese for years. They’ve been in my garden. They have outfits and I’m broken-hearted that people think it’s funny to come around and be destructive,” said Gale Parker, resident.
Eventually, Lance says she caught one of the three vandals in the act. He took off running and she called police.
Fort Drum officials say the three alleged vandals were soldiers ages 19, 20 and 22.
“When we came down, that was completely off on the ground. It looked like they had stomped all over it,” said Lance.
When community members heard what happened, many of them got up early to rebuild the tribute.
“You can break things. You can tear decorations down. But, the spirit of Copenhagen and the giving spirit of Copenhagen will always be there and they can’t break that unless you let them,” said Petrie.
The family says Fort Drum representatives called to apologize and even sent some soldiers to help them clean up the next day.
As for the alleged vandals, they’ve been handed over to military police.
“I hope whomever they are, that they find peace with themselves and learn from their mistakes,” said Petrie.
Copyright 2021 WWNY. All rights reserved.
