Theft of commemorative plaques calls for special justice
KAMLOOPS — There really ought to be a special place in hell for the contemptible lowlifes who have been stealing plaques from community monuments and memorial benches.
This isn’t your garden-variety vandalism. It’s serious theft. The metal in the plaques is valuable. Typically, they cost several hundred dollars each and, presumably, they’re being stolen for resale as scrap metal.
A walk through the park these days reveals a trail of stone cairns and concrete plinths that are now bare of the historical markers they once held. They’re bald, bereft of their bronze and copper plaques, with only sheared-off bolts and remnants of glue showing where they once told stories about our community.