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Title: Thefts, vandalism cost students training time and $10,000 Post by: junkie on December 14, 2007, 08:38:42 AM Found this in today's Vancouver Province.
Up the channel with fewer paddles Thefts, vandalism cost students training time and $10,000 Kent Spencer, The Province Published: Friday, December 14, 2007 A "river pirate" is blamed for playing havoc numerous times with boats at the Fort Langley Rowing Centre. "It's sad to see it, when somebody has been rifling through the building," said club founder Paul Sleightholme. "It's quite a serious problem." There have been six break-ins in the past eight months at the community club on the Bedford Channel. Rowing coach Liz Chisholm said the thief has been nicknamed the "river pirate" because many of the break-ins have originated from the river side of the clubhouse. He or she also likes to take boats on to the Fraser River. "It's disheartening," Chisholm said. "The kids -- university and high-school students -- are enthused about what they do. Training is interrupted." About 100 club members have absorbed an estimated $10,000 in losses; Chisholm has taken to keeping key equipment elsewhere. The pirate has taken a dragon boat for a joyride and brazenly used a blowtorch and cutting saws on a strongbox. Racing singles and outboard motors have gone missing, windows have been smashed with crowbars, and safety boats set adrift, never to be seen again. The nearby Langley Canoe Club has also been victimized. Chisholm does not believe the club is being targeted for any specific reason. Security conditions are substandard because it is remotely located in "no man's land" between a new residential development and park. Control of the parkland has not yet been assumed by Langley Township. Lighting is inadequate and there are no patrols. The club headquarters is an office building formerly used by a lumber company. "The township won't do any security until they upgrade to a permanent facility," said Sleightholme. Nearby guards at the residential development have never seen anyone and Langley RCMP have not made any arrests. Sleightholme hopes the situation will improve when the township builds the permanent clubhouse by June 2008. He believes the Bedford Channel can become a premier centre for provincial rowers. Both the University College of Fraser Valley and Trinity Western University already use its protected water. "The Bedford Channel is the best waterway in the province. It is very flat without a trace of wind -- a good place to row," he said. [email protected] Title: Re: Thefts, vandalism cost students training time and $10,000 Post by: tjl on December 17, 2007, 10:37:36 PM Hmmm, could they do any of the following to catch or deter the thief?
Motion sensitive flood lights? Obvious cameras (could be fake)? Hidden (real) cameras connected to a computer that uploads pictures and video to a remote server? |