Camp Tweedsmuir vandalized - again
By Kyra Hoggan
Camp Tweedsmuir has once again been the victim of senseless vandalism, according to property manager Heather Hamer.
“Probably, cost-wise, we’re looking at almost $1,000 damage,” she said, referring to a camp in Fruitvale owned by Scouts Canada (but used by church groups, cadets, and a variety of other community organizations). “They sent some picnic tables down the creek, along with a couple of benches.”
She said there were also lights smashed so hard their metal cages were broken, and damage to the door of the first aid room.
“Every few years, we get a group of kids who do this,” she said, adding she doesn’t believe this to be a spur-of-the-moment happenstance. “You have park your car an walk in – we’re not right beside the road.”
She said what makes the situation beyond frustrating is that the camp is 100-per-cent non-profit, with all the work and fundraising done by volunteers.
“Now we’ll have to raise money to replace stuff we already had.”
She asked locals to please keep their eyes and ears open, and if they hear anything about the damage or see any suspicious behaviour near the camp, to please contact police – as it stands, without any eyewitnesses, authorities don’t have much to go on.
“This is just stupidity, what they’ve done this year,” she said. “But we are putting up a security system, and anyone who is caught vandalizing will be charged.”
Camp Tweedsmuir has been around for 80 years, after the first 10 acres (it’s now a 40-acre compound) were donated to the Scouts by F.M. Barrett.
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