A piece created locally in honour of Swift Current's Jake Knelsen, who passed away at seven years old earlier this year, was destroyed sometime over the weekend.
Swift Current Municipal RCMP issued a release yesterday looking for information regarding the damage to the memorial bench.
The fabricator who built it back in the spring, Darrell Olderness of DLO Metal Works, was contacted about the defacing yesterday.
“I went and had a look at it, and it would have taken tools,” he stated. “It couldn't have been vandalized just by hand.”
The metal backing has been warped and bent, completely destroying the intricate tractor design in the middle of the bench.
Olderness explained that the powder coating was scraped off as well, requiring the entire piece to be re-sandblasted and re-power coated.
“I mean, it's a memorial piece,” he said. “Where's your respect? I can't actually see why it would happen to begin with, but especially a memorial piece. You know, how do his parents feel?”
Originally the structure had been funded by Central School, which Knelsen had attended. Its home of the Chinook Regional Library Swift Current Branch was a nod at the seven-year-old's favourite place to visit.
This time around, however, funding has not entirely been decided yet.
“Everything costs money, but this project was kind of close to my heart,” Olderness said. “So, if there's no funding for it, well, then I guess I'll foot the bill.
“The gal that was in charge of this project from the get-go wants to be involved in this as well. She was going to collect the donations if anybody wants to donate.”
He can be reached via his DLO Metal Works Facebook page, by phone, or by text.
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