Mission’s downtown flower planters are a little less colourful this week.
Thieves struck soon after the new displays were created and carefully removed dozens of plants.
“It’s very unfortunate that people are going around doing this. This isn’t vandalism that’s happening. It’s somebody actually coming and taking them away and replanting them somewhere else for their own use. It’s terrible,” said Carlo Billinger, president of the Mission Downtown Business Association.
“In the past we’ve had the odd problem with vandalism, but then they are on the ground afterward. You see the dirt everywhere. This is not what this is.”
To make matters worse, Billinger said this is the second time the flowers have been removed. He is hoping that the public will keep a careful watch out on the downtown displays and call police if they see anyone tampering with them.
“Because the Community in Bloom judging is coming up, we will be replacing the flowers, for a third time,” said Billinger.
Tami Klassen, owner of Magnolias on Main said she was disappointed to hear of the theft, especially considering she was one of the volunteers who spent a day planting them.
“They were gone within a week. It’s really frustrating,” she said.
Along with the many flowers that have gone missing, one of the huge hanging baskets have also been stolen.
“Since the baskets were hung and actually secured with metal wire, somebody would have had to have a truck or a ladder and wire cutters to remove it that way,” explained Jamie Hayes, executive director of the Mission Downtown Business Association.
She said one person would not be able to take them down on their own.