Dear Mayor Jim Ferrell & Councilmember Kochmar,

My husband and I have been the owners of DJ Trophy & DJ Imprints since 1986; it is with great sadness that I have to write this letter to the most powerful man in Federal Way, asking him to please make changes to our crime policies. Drastic changes are needed for this city and every city in America to be safe again. Start by locking people up and holding them accountable for minor crimes, like walking out of a store with merchandise not paid for. Our elected officials have the responsibility to make their citizens feel safe. At this time, I don’t think that commitment has been made.

On Friday night, around 9:45 pm, someone drove through the front door of our shop and stole one of our engravers, a laptop, clothing without logos, and some cash. What saddens me most is that they stole our employees’ sense of security. In January of this year, we moved from our location of 34 years because of the homeless and drug problem on Pacific Highway. Now, This! This is not only going to be an expensive rebuild of the building, but it’s also going to be emotional stress on employees not only for our shop but every shop in the area. Business owners are responsible for their employee’s safety; I take that responsibility very seriously. Moving did not accomplish that goal.

Who would have ever thought someone would drive through the front door of a small business like ours, a Trophy Shop? Really!

You have a fantastic police department; those young people are amazing. They have always been there for us; they need to have the restrictions removed so they can do their job!

Janice Pool

Federal Way

Correction:

An Athlete of the Week feature for Sept. 30 should have spelled the athlete’s name as Ankit Gowda. The Mirror strives for accuracy and regrets the error.