Goodwill Effort After Bicycle Stolen

    “It takes a lot longer walking.”
   Umatilla Public Library employee Ralph Howard was all smiles last Thursday, March 23, when he was presented a bicycle to replace the one that had been stolen while he was at work a day before. Howard was called next door to the Lubemaster II drive-through oil change outlet just after arriving at work at 1 p.m. for a surprise presentation put together by Lubemaster owner Chad Sines and his friend Brian Jensen.
   Sines was still grumbling at himself that he didn’t see the bike being stolen just feet away at the library while he worked in the oil change center’s bay area, but he didn’t let that fact keep him from trying to help out once he knew the bicycle was stolen. A call to bicycle enthusiast and friend Jensen set the wheels in motion, so to speak for a quick gift.
   “Chad called me this morning,” Jensen said Thursday. “I started calling around looking for something. We wanted to help and make it right.”
   Jensen hit gold when the Trek bicycle shop in Tavares offered up a quality used bicycle - for free.
   “They said they would donate it,” Jensen said. “They also adjusted everything on it and filled up the tires. It’s good to go.”
   Sines and Jensen kicked in to add a light and new, tougher lock.
   Howard, who was facing a walk to work from the south end of Umatilla as long as he was without a bicycle, voiced pleasure at the sight of his new wheels.
   “This is a really nice bike. Thank you so much.”
   Sines said cameras at the library caught the suspect in the theft around the area before the incident on Wednesday, but as of press deadline Tuesday no arrest had been reported by the Umatilla Police Department.