DEC Police Officer Russell Ritzel takes notes on the damage by the bear as Candy Cottage owner, Larry Starer describes the incident. Photo by Carol Hansen
Larry Starer, owner of The Candy Cottage in Old Forge was surprised on Tuesday morning, July 24 with a call from a neighboring business informing him that a bear had ripped off siding from his building.
The bear was apparently trying to get inside but had somehow gotten scared off.
After Starer reported the incident, Department of Conservation Police Officer Russell Ritzel, arrived on the scene to investigate.
“He smelled the fragrance of the candy inside and he ripped off the siding and almost made entry. You can see the claw marks,’ said Ritzel, pointing out the deep scratches to Starer.
The baseboard at basement level had also been ripped away and showed signs of another attempt by the bear to gain entry. (Starer said if the bear had gotten inside the security alarm would have sounded.)
Upon taking a closer look, Ritzel said, “I’ve got to check this out. He could be in there sleeping.”
After Ritzel checked out the basement, he determined that the bear had made entry through the opening but presumably backed out because of the smell of the fuel tanks inside, which killed the aroma of the popcorn and sweets.
“Then he decided he was going to try going in through the wall,” he said.
“This (activity) is what I’m trying to prevent. With our dry conditions, we have the bears coming in town looking for food because there’s no food in the woods. The Bears are opportunist. People are throwing them ice cream and marshmallows and just creating problems like this. It’s a people problem,” he added.
Ritzel wants to remind the public to secure their garbage, secure their dumpsters, lock their car doors, do not leave food inside their cars, and do not leave screens open, to discourage bears from coming into town.
