HEATHSVILLE—A quaint Heathsville building has been a number of things over the years since starting off as a drug store and lunch counter in 1965. For the last nine years it has been the home of Ye Olde Book Shoppe, operated by and benefitting the Northumberland Public Library. Most recently, it seems to have become a target, as four vehicles have struck the building in the last 14 months, creating headaches for the owner of the building, disrupting the fundraising efforts of the library, and sometimes temporarily displacing tenants in the apartments upstairs.
“There’s a lot of work involved” in resolving this each time it has happened, said Jake Baer, owner of the property. There are the “headaches of working with the insurers” which require getting police reports and estimates of damage, not to mention getting the damage actually repaired. “Getting someone out to look at it is difficult right now, let alone actually doing the repairs,” he said, “and the burden is on me.” In addition to repairs, Baer also installed a bollard at the front corner of the building to help protect it. It was of no use in the last collision since the car struck more towards the center of the building.
Baer said he has owned the building since 2005 without issue, until the first crash in January 2022…..