COMMUNITY

Starlite Roller Rink hosts fundraiser for families whose homes were emptied overnightNothing left through the doors

Three families on Creek Rd. woke up to empty rooms. Police say the doors were still locked.Every emptied house sits within a block of Hollow Creek. Police found the locks still warm.

BY MARJORIE ELLISBY R. CALLOWAY STAFF WRITERUNEDITED MONDAY, OCT 26, 2026

The Starlite Roller Rink will host a fundraiser on Saturday night for three Creek Rd. families who woke up last month to find their homes emptied: furniture, clothes, dishes, even the light bulbs.The Starlite Roller Rink will host a fundraiser on Saturday night for three Creek Rd. families who woke up last month to find their homes emptied: furniture, clothes, dishes, even the light bulbs. They woke up on the bare floor.

Police Chief Walt Hennig says there were no signs of a break-in. All three houses were locked from the inside, and no one heard anything.Police Chief Walt Hennig says there were no signs of a break-in. All three houses were locked from the inside. The locks were warm.

“We've got no suspects and no vehicle,” Hennig said. “You can't carry a sofa out of a locked house without somebody hearing.”“We've got no suspects and no vehicle,” Hennig said. “Nothing went out the doors.”

SKATE FOR A GOOD CAUSEWHERE IT WENT

All proceeds from Saturday's skate go to the families. Rink owner Donna Pruitt is donating rentals, and the Bellwether Lions Club will run a bake sale in the lobby.Every emptied house sits within a block of Hollow Creek. On the creek bank behind them, under the water line, divers found three living rooms, arranged as they were, chairs facing the current.

“You can't carry a sofa out of a locked house without somebody hearing.”“Nothing went out the doors.”

WALT HENNIG, POLICE CHIEF

Residents who want to donate household items can drop them at the rink's side door during the day. The families have asked for privacy.Residents who want to donate household items can drop them at the rink's side door. Don't leave them on the porch overnight.

Three road workers, one in an orange safety vest, stand behind a striped road-closed barricade on a rural road at dusk. — From left: Ray Dunleavy, Gus Pell, Marv Toivonen and Ted Lusk, Baraga Dr., Tuesday.From left: Ray Dunleavy, Gus Pell, Marv Toivonen. Ted Lusk is standing on the right. Look again.

LOCAL CONSTRUCTION

Road work will close a stretch of Baraga Dr. through NovemberThe crew on Baraga Dr. isn't fixing the road

Public Works director Ray Dunleavy calls it routine. "Nothing down there worth worrying about."No asphalt has been delivered. Neighbors hear drilling after midnight. Dunleavy: "Nothing down there worth worrying about."

An abandoned wooden sawmill with a sagging roof on a misty riverbank surrounded by autumn trees. — The old Pell Sawmill, Hollow Creek.The old Pell Sawmill. Do not walk here after dark.

ENVIRONMENT

Residents near the old sawmill report a sweet smell along the riverSomething blooming at the mill is putting the east side to sleep

Several east-side neighbors say the smell is strongest just before they fall asleep.Residents who walk the river after dark wake up three days later on their porches.

A wooden telephone pole on a quiet residential corner covered in layers of stapled lost-pet flyers. — Flyers on the corner of Elm and Third.Flyers on Elm and Third. Every one is the same dog.

COMMUNITY

Hundreds of lost-pet posters appear across town in a single weekAnimal control stops counting. Keep pets inside after dark

Animal control says it has never seen anything like it. Most of the missing pets were last seen near Hollow Creek.The posters are real. So are the tracks along Hollow Creek.