Several years ago, the Knights of Columbus, with the help of community sponsors, purchased a giant white event tent to help the town and county residents have affordable options for their special occasions.
Sometime between 9 p.m. on Monday, June 22 and 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23, a person or persons wrecked the tent by driving their vehicle through it several times, tearing canvas walls, rigging, and bending one of the tent's posts nearly double.
Joe Gendre handles the rentals for the Knights of Columbus and phoned the Independent to invite the paper to come see the damage.
"(My family) was having a reunion but no one in Stettler rented tents," Gendre explained. With help from several community businesses, the Knights of Columbus purchased one for use in the community, offering rates much cheaper than that of nearby city competitors.
"A tent like this is rented for $1,500 in the city," Gendre explained. "We rent it for $800."
The vehicle that struck the tent post left behind a significant amount of paint chips, indicating the vehicle was damaged, RCMP Const. Bill Lewadniuk said. The paint chips were silvery-blue in colour.
While Gendre said the tent was insured, the cost of the deductible will probably eliminate any profit from the use of the tent at the recent community events.
Though the tent had been vandalised before, it hasn't been touched in eight years, Gendre said.
"There are some people who don't have enough to do in this community," Gendre said as he looked at the torn tent, rigging dangling.
Girl assaulted, robbed
A young woman is recovering from an assault and robbery north of Erskine on Wednesday, June 17. Shortly before 8 p.m., the 17-year-old girl was heading home from work when she was flagged down by a man who appeared to be having vehicle troubles near the intersection of highways 835 and 601. The man, described as a slender Caucasian man with black hair and a cast on his arm, asked her if he could use her phone, then punched her in the face and robbed her.
He then allegedly locked the doors on the victim's vehicle, tossed the keys, and drove off in his black pick-up truck, which had Saskatchewan plates. He headed east.
The victim suffered minor injuries in the altercation.
Boat breaks down, rides through storm
Police were out on Buffalo Lake on June 19 after receiving a 911 call from a 55-year-old man. He and his 10-year-old grandson were boating on the lake when their boat suffered mechanical trouble and they were stranded, RCMP Cpl. Cameron Russell explained.
The pair were from Strome and weren't familiar with the lake, making it difficult for police to locate the pair. While police searched, the stranded pair had to ride through a downpour with hail. Though the weather had cleared a bit by the time police found the pair around 7 p.m., another storm was on its way in as police towed them to safety.
Russell urged all boaters to take precautions before heading onto lakes familiar and unfamiliar alike, making sure the boaters have everything they need on board to ride through weather or mechanical trouble.
Arsonist turns self in
A 33-year-old Red Deer man turned himself into Blackfalds RCMP, confessing to one of two Nevis fires earlier this year.
The man, who has a lengthy record, originally hailed from Stettler County, and had lit the first fire, one which burned an old machine shop to the ground.
No one was injured in the fire.
"His guilty conscience led him to confess," Russell explained. "We weren't looking at him as a suspect."
The second fire in Nevis, which burned down a store that was in the process of being renovated, as well as a fire at the Stettler Motel and the Shoe Closet and Boutique, remain unsolved.
Anyone with information about these or any incidents are asked to phone the Stettler RCMP at 403-742-3382, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).