Armed men ignore sign and rob UDF store near my home

By John Fenton

According to news reports, a United Dairy Farmers convenience store a few blocks from our home was robbed just before midnight last night by three masked men. The good news is that no one was hurt in the robbery.

The most shocking part of this story is that in addition to violating several state and federal felony statutes, they ignored the small "No Weapons" signed displayed on the window next to the entrance door. It appears that the criminals, intent on committing armed robbery, didn't care about UDF's rights as a property owner.

And they are apparently not alone.

Click 'Read More' for the entire story.

Other armed robbers in Cleveland, in Columbus, and in Cincinnati, have likewise ignored UDF's signs. Given the rash of UDF robberies in the last three years, they may even have decided that they make the stores attractive targets.

UDF is the only retail chain in southwest Ohio that has persisted in posting useless "No Weapons" signs in their stores. Despite their delicious ice cream, I will continue to pass them by as long as they continue to put their customers in danger by advertising that they are "Criminal Protection Zones." UDF did business in Indiana for 60 years and in Kentucky for a decade with discretely armed patrons. Only when Ohio enacted its concealed carry permit system in 1994 did UDF decide to post the signs. Perhaps when UDF gets a more enlightened chief of security than John Osborne, they will reconsider their position.

In the meantime, I'll buy my milk, ice cream, and groceries at Bigg's, Meijer, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, Graeters, or any of the other countless grocery, convenience, drug, or ice cream establishments in the area who respect their customers' rights.