Letters to the editor...Reader frustrated by vandalism to vehicles

Dear editor, My husband and I are hardworking Canadians with four children. We've had our hard times, when weiners and stew beef were staples in our diet just to make ends meet. I work nights and my husband works days, so the kids are only on their own for an hour and a half or so without one of us present. (A special thank you to our oldest sons for filling in when we aren't around.) We've worked really hard, gotten things paid off (almost!) and decided last year that my 15-year-old van was just costing too much to maintain and I really needed reliable transportation to get to work. We bit the bullet and got a new van last year. We were so happy-- it was the first vehicle we ever had that didn't have a scratch on it, no rust bumps and everything worked. Imagine my horror when I went out the next day and it had been scratched all the way around it. I promptly changed my parking spot and haven't had a problem since. My husband took my old spot with his old car, and again we had no problems. This winter my husband's beat-up old car started acting up and we decided that it was time to retire it, and get another vehicle. We held our breath, waiting to see if it was going to get targeted too. Day one-- okay; day two-- okay. It wasn't until we had it for just over a week that it was vandalized. Emblems were stolen, paint scratched, the rear wiper was ripped out of its socket, and the antenna was bent. I hope the person who did this reads this and comes forward. We've worked really hard to get where we are and don't deserve to be targeted like this. It always seems one step forward, three steps back. My children thank you, now that I have to put in overtime so I can pay the insurance deductible. That's time away from my family and you have no idea how precious that is to me; you can't pay enough for that. If anyone has seen the person who did this, please call the police. A description would help us immensely, as I think it's time that justice was served. The damage occurred on July 2 sometime between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Sinclair Avenue. There must have been traffic going by, so if anyone saw anything, please report it. S. R. Brown, Georgetown