Vandalism
Vandalism spree leaves 74 Vernon parking meters damaged
VERNON - The City of Vernon is looking for information after numerous parking meters were vandalized, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage. Communications officer Tanya Laing Gahr says 74 meters were damaged in total, with the clocks from 72 broken or removed over the weekend. Damage is estimated at around $20,000. There was no...
Goodbye graffiti: Kamloops acquires new tool in fight against vandalism
KAMLOOPS - The Kamloops Graffiti Task Force has a new weapon in their arsenal which promises to improve their response to the inappropriate things painted around town. After staff pitched in to take on extra tasks to make some more money on the side, $20,000 was raised to purchase a Tornado ACS, a machine which...
ELECTION 2015: This probably isn’t the attention vandals intended when they hit Conservative election signs in Vernon
'IF YOU WANT TO SCRIBBLE SOMETHING, GO TO THE BALLOT BOX ON VOTING DAY.' VERNON - A damaged federal election sign making its rounds on social media is just the tip of the iceberg for one North Okanagan-Shuswap party. Vernon resident Chris Van der Molen walked out of his house Sunday morning to find vandals...
ELECTION 2015: RCMP investigate Kamloops campaign sign vandalism
KAMLOOPS - The Conservatives, Liberals and New Democratic Party are being targetted by election sign vandals in Kamloops and the RCMP have launched an investigation. Many of the large party signs across the city's south shore were flattened over the last two nights. Cathy McLeod, the riding’s Conservative candidate, says because of the weight of...
West Kelowna irrigation systems the target of a special brand of vandalism
WEST KELOWNA - Faced with an unusual type of vandalism aimed at its irrigation systems, the District of West Kelowna is asking for help trying to put an end to it. “This isn’t your typical loser kicking over a sprinkler head,” parks supervisor Stacey Harding says. “Whoever is doing this has a knowledge of irrigation...
Broken plate art a public safety concern in Penticton
PENTICTON - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but a recent art project is creating a danger to residents in Penticton. The City of Penticton has received a number of reports from residents complaining of unsafe art following incidents in three different locations. Some residents have asked if these are city art installations but...
Fire and vandalism draw authorities to Armstrong middle school
ARMSTRONG - A fire at Lenwood Middle School in Armstrong had 32 firefighters jumping out of bed at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. Initially reported as a structure fire, members feared the worst. But Armstrong-Spallumcheen Fire Chief Ian Cummings says it was just a small fire in a garbage can a few feet from the school. “There...
UPDATE: Who has been tagging Sun Peaks?
SUN PEAKS - The Sun Peaks community is trying to figure out who is damaging their village after more than two dozen signs, posts and electrical boxes were tagged since the beginning of February. With more than 100 incidents of tagging reported already this month - many of which were reported Feb. 12 - rural...
Graffiti destroying city parks, art and daycares
KAMLOOPS - It’s in our parks, on our signs and even adorning every last piece of art in Riverside Park, not to mention the number of fences and retaining walls recently hit with by graffiti. Ronnie Bouvier, the executive director of the Graffiti Task Force, is outraged by the recent change in the graffiti scene....
Vandals spray paint car, garage door in Glenrosa
WEST KELOWNA - Someone is tagging personal property with spray paint in the Glenrosa neighbourhood of West Kelowna. The latest incident happened last night, Jan. 28, in the 3200-block of McMahon Road, a few blocks from Glenrosa Elementary School, according to a post on Facebook. A Subaru Forrester and garage door were spray painted with pink...
Taggers no match for this trio
PENTICTON - When three locals saw tag vandalism spray-painted across the Penticton Legion, they rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Barbara Coburn-Jaager and Ivo Jaager were basking in the glowing aftermath of a job well done Thursday, the day after their successful graffiti clean up effort. The two were assisted in the clean up...
A famous Vernon mural was vandalized, then this happened
"IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE ACT OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT TO DISCOVER HER CLEANING THE MURAL" VERNON - Without being asked or paid, a young artist took it upon herself to undo the damage a vandal did to one of Vernon’s heritage murals. Marie-Anna Michaud, 19, saw a post by muralist Michelle Loughery on Facebook Monday morning....
Test results back on trees suspected of being poisoned
KELOWNA – Test results on a stand of trees the City believes were poisoned to improve someone’s view of the lake last month have come back inconclusive. Environment manager Todd Cashin says they still believe the trees were vandalized but whoever did it must have used a chemical that is quite common and ultimately untraceable....
Iconic Vernon mural hit by vandals
VERNON - It’s an iconic mural many have stopped to gaze at over the past 15 years, but Monday, something else was turning heads. The mural, which depicts a locomotive traveling over a trestle bridge, was vandalized with a series of obscene words, printed at the bottom of this article with viewer discretion advised. Michelle...
Action required to remove mark left by tagging and graffiti in Vernon
VERNON - The amount of unwanted graffiti and tags is multiplying around Vernon, and it’s going to have some unpleasant consequences unless the community takes action. Rachael Zubick, the coordinator at the community policing office in Vernon says it’s not a new problem, though it’s the worst it’s been in recent years. Safety Ambassadors recorded...