By Steve Hubrecht
Vandals hit Windermere Beach last week, leaving a broken and graffiti-plastered public washroom and damaged emergency equipment in their wake.
The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK), which manages the beach, outlined on Monday, July 11, that the incidents occurred as a “string of vandalism over the past week.” The RDEK has reported the damage to the Columbia Valley RCMP and, for the time being, is changing the hours that the Windermere Beach public washrooms are open. The facilities will now be shut each night at 7 p.m. in an effort to stop more vandalism from occurring.
“Vandals not only broke a sink and toilet and left graffiti all over the facility, they broke the Automatic Defibrilator (AED) case. There is no excuse for this behaviour and it’s beyond frustrating to see such flagrant disrespect at our park,” said RDEK environmental services manager Kevin Paterson. “If anyone has any information on who is responsible for these acts of vandalism, we encourage you to report it.”
The RDEK is hoping to the Windermere Beach public washrooms will go back to their normal hours of operation within a few weeks.
