NORTHAMPTON – The Northampton Police Department has recovered the yellow Yamaha golf cart stolen earlier this month from the Three County Fairgrounds.
The cart belongs to Mike Sklarski, 62, of Chicopee, who is a member of the Melha Shriners clown unit. As a clown, he goes by the name “Beeper” and often wears a New York Yankees jersey.
On Sept. 2, Sklarski locked the cart in the arena building on the fairgrounds which was monitored by security. The next morning it was gone.
Although he has not seen his golf cart since it has been recovered, Sklarski said he has been told by police that it was damaged and painted a different color.
Due to hip and back problems, Sklarski has trouble walking through fairs and during parades. Sklarski said his daughter bought him the golf cart so he could still participate.
“She didn’t want me to quit,” he said. “I’ve been clowning for 26 years … (The Shiners) are like family to me.”
Sklarski said he hopes he will have the cart fixed soon so he can use it in upcoming parades, but it may not be painted in his bright canary yellow.
“We want to thank the public for all their help in this case, which assisted in the recovery of the stolen cart,” Capt. John Cartledge wrote in a statement.
Northampton Police continue to investigate this case and anticipate that criminal charges will follow, according to the statement. No further details about the investigation were released by police.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.