Vandals broke into the Queen Charlotte Community Hall last weekend, causing damage estimated at least $4,000 to the inside and outside of the building.
Some Northwest Community College students arrived for a course Sunday morning, and found extensive damage to the inside of the hall, says community club director Sharon Shultz. Five interior doors have been damaged. One door will have to be completely replaced, and three will need the frames replaced. The vandals broke into the electrical room and tried to damage the college's computers. A thermostat was ripped off the wall and smashed. They also sprayed pop all over the floor, creating a sticky mess for caretaker Reine Pineault to clean up. Outside, they spray painted a wall and left beer bottles lying around.
As well as the cost of the repairs, the community club's insurance company now requires the hall to have an alarm system because of all the recent vandalism. The system will cost several thousand dollars says Ms Schultz. The hall has been a target of vandals since September. The total-to date-including the most recent vandalism, amounts to about $6,500.
"Overall we live in a pretty good community. Let's hope this vandalism stops. All this money could be spent on other things like new playground equipment or a skate park at the tennis courts," says Ms Schultz.
The community club is offering a $500 reward to anyone who provides police with information leading the arrest and conviction of the culprits, says Ms Schultz.