String of break-ins at solid waste, recycling centers

NORWAY— A rash of break-ins has Norway-Paris Solid Waste (NPSW) and Oxford County Regional Recycling (OCRR) officials reviewing their security systems.

According to Margaret Cedroni, manager of Norway-Paris Solid Waste, burglars entered the offices on Brown Street on three consecutive nights from March 11 to March 13. The thieves smashed a window and a door lock to let themselves into the building. Once inside, they made off with two computers, along with the hardware that went with them, and the keys to several town-owned vehicles.

At OCRR, also on Brown Street, crooks entered only on Saturday and made off with a laptop that officials had recovered from the recycling stream, as well as several hundred dollars stored in a cabinet.

Warren Sessions, the manager of the facility, said the laptop had little to no value and described the money as "petty cash." He personally repaired the door that had been kicked in as part of the burglary. Nonetheless, he said that staff members were considering installing a burglar alarm system at the building and would no longer be storing any cash there.

Cedroni said that NPSW was also considering the installation of a burglar alarm to prevent future break-ins. She is concerned that last Sunday's theft may not be the last. The ignitions on the two vehicles from which the keys were stolen have also been changed.

The Norway Police Department is currently investigating the burglaries, but no charges have been made. Officials from NPSW and OCRR have their own suspicions regarding who might have targeted the two related organizations, and are working with the police to identify suspects.