The gazebo in the IGA parking lot was the most recently vandalized piece of Town of Falher property. Gerard Nicolet says that the council is urging residents to keep an eye out for vandalism occuring in our community.

Town of Falher council is concerned about the recent vandalism that has been happening around the community. Although the community is generally quiet and crime free, there have been some incidents lately where private and public property has been vandalized. Town administrator Gerard Nicolet says that the committee is looking towards the people in the community to help curb the crime. He explains that the vandalism goes far beyond the financial cost to the town. “The vandalism gives an image to other youth in the community that it is a normal change for the area,” says Nicolet. Nicolet says that there has been a number of small cases of vandalism over the last couple of years in town. “Most recently there was vandalism to the gazebo in the IGA parking lot,” says Nicolet. “There were parts of the railing on the gazebo broken off.” He says that there has also been vandalism on the street signs have either been bent or completely removed. There has also been broken benches throughout town where the vandal put the bench on the street and removed boards from the seat. He says that all the benches along Main Street were once knocked on to the road from one end of town to the other. Trees in town have been damaged with broken branches strewn across parks and streets. The most common vandalism in Falher has been the graffiti on the playground equipment. Nicolet explains that the big slide by the Falher Regional Recreation Complex is most often hit by vandals. “There have been incidents where the arena has been vandalized,” says Nicolet. “We are spending a lot of tax dollars replacing damaged items around town.” The town is urging the citizens of Falher to watch for the unsightly vandalism. If you should see the act being committed, council urges you to report the crime to the town office. “It’s important to make people aware of the issue,” adds Nicolet. “They may just be small incidents but all together they will make a big impact on our community.” Nicolet explains that vandalism gives the impression that towns are unsafe and not clean. He says that this could be a major deterrent for new families thinking about moving to the community. “We urge the cooperation of parents to discuss vandalism matters with their children,” says Nicolet. “It is important to get the message into schools to make students more aware of the implications of vandalism.” He says that often the incidents happen late at night but that there could be witnesses who are shying away from reporting the crime. “We need the community to help prevent vandalism,” says Nicolet. “Inform children about the benefits of living in a clean community.” If caught, fines will be charged to the vandal. Either community service will have to be completed or a price will have to be paid for their crime. Nicolet and the town council urge the community to report vandalism to the town office at 837-2247.