Vandal caught by RCMP

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Shortly after several Strathmore businesses were left dealing with the aftermath of a string of acts of vandalism, local authority charged the culprit with multiple counts of mischief.
The Strathmore RCMP detachment received eight complaints from downtown businesses and residents over several weeks in regards to graffiti displayed on walls, dumpsters, and benches. Among those tagged was Rocky’s Bakery’s dumpster and back wall in the alley behind main street, which now requires the business owner to provide clean-up to the infrastructure.
“My biggest problem as a business owner is that I’m a very busy person, as are most business owners, and for me to take time out of my day … it’s a nuisance,” said Rocky Blokland, owner of the Rocky’s Bakery. “I’ve been here 15 years and it probably happened 10 or 12 times. I keep painting my wall. I don’t know what’s going to happen to this person in court, but I hope it sets a precedent for other people.”
While Blokland felt some of the work was quite artistic, it was the waste of his time he took issue with. In an ironic twist, Strathmore bylaw officers had swept the town for similar acts two weeks prior to the incident. Since then, from May 9 to May 28, complaints piled up regarding graffiti at Value Drugmart, the Strathmore Dental Centre, Coldwell Agencies, benches on Thomas Drive and the Strathmore Skatepark.
“I would assume they would have better things to do than go around doing what they’re doing, but having said that I was a kid at one time too,” said Blokland. “I just find it all unnecessary. I don’t know who the people are, and I’m not interested in being the mean guy, but these kids have to be dealt with.”
A week after Rocky’s Bakery noticed the paint, H&H Huxted Enterprises was also made aware of an increase in the number of waste bins that were affected.
“It’s a pain,” Huxted said. “Over the years we’ve never had a real issue with it, just the odd one and we would clean it up right away.”
While he wasn’t able to provide a number of how many of his bins were hit at the time, Huxted said the situation could get costly.
Following a closer look at the complaints, RCMP were able to track down and arrest an 18-year-old Strathmore male, who was charged with eight counts of mischief.
“Typically, graffiti is done by the same small group of people, and we don’t usually see a string of similar incidences this close together,” said Staff Sgt. Steve Vince, with the Strathmore RCMP detachment. “There was a series of mischiefs around town, specifically graffiti artists, spray painting various objects around town. We started getting different complaints by different business owners and members of the public around town.”
With the rise in concern from residents, the RCMP compiled all the files together and had the Crime Reduction Unit investigate. Although the case was scheduled to come before the Strathmore Provincial Court on June 2, business owners like Blokland are planning on picking up a paint brush on the next beautiful day.