People ‘shocked’ by theft of meat kept for Remembrance Day
The Whitehorse Royal Canadian Legion has received an outpouring of support after food for a Remembrance Day dinner was stolen.
The Whitehorse Royal Canadian Legion has received an outpouring of support after food for a Remembrance Day dinner was stolen.
President Joe Mewett told the Star today that on Monday night, two locked freezers on the back deck of the Legion building on Steele Street were broken into and food stolen.
He noted the Ladies Auxiliary had stocked the freezers with prime rib and roasts for two upcoming dinners: a Remembrance Day dinner in November and an RCMP veterans dinner in early December.
“A lot of people were shocked,” Mewett said of the theft.
“They couldn’t believe it happened. Why would they target a non-profit group?”
But Mewett said there is good news to the story.
When community members learned about the theft, they offered to help replace the stolen items.
“The outpouring of support has been phenomenal,” he said.
“We’re probably going to get enough to replace what went missing.”
Now, Mewett said, the Legion’s goal is to “beef up” security at its building.
“The biggest thing is we’re a little concerned that this stuff’s happening,” he said, noting the recent string of break-ins in Porter Creek.
“If it’s people looking for help, they can come to us for help.”
On Friday, the Legion will also begin its poppy tagging campaign, with boxes of poppies for Remembrance Day being distributed to local stores.
Mewett said every year at least one or two of these boxes also get stolen.
“We don’t like to make a big deal of it,” he said. “It’s not just us up here; it’s a Canada-wide thing.”
Comments (10)
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Larry Liberal on Oct 31, 2017 at 5:57 pm
June you should move to a 'Liberal' neighbourhood where all that doesn't happen.
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AGREED on Oct 31, 2017 at 1:35 pm
Yukon Watchdog - 100% agree. Couldn't have said it better myself. I hate that because I am motivated, have a JOB and can buy things and others think they are entitled to steal them instead of earn them like I did.
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Yukon Watchdog on Oct 31, 2017 at 9:00 am
Can't blame the perps? They're just doing a job. Are you kidding me? It's thinking like that that has society all screwed up. I blame the parents that didn't raise their kids right; I blame a system that discriminates based on race where depending on the color of your skin, you get penalized or not; I blame the government for not having tougher laws; I blame the government for not funding the police force to have enough officers to work these kinds of crimes; I blame the governments (FN, YG, Feds) for not having enough housing available that makes the jail an appealing place to spend the winter. I worked long and hard to buy the things I have, the things I keep in my own personal yard. Something is very wrong with society when people consider it a job to rob anyone. Lost a lot of respect for your comments over this one, JC.
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June Jackson on Oct 28, 2017 at 8:59 pm
ANIE: I have been here since 1965 and Dave is correct.. No one, except you.. locked their doors, neighbors came in and kept the fire going if you were down the road, most of us who were not Federal employee's burned wood in those days, when we had our babies, the neighbor ladies came in and cleaned, cooked some meals. I remember a lovely lady named Jo Bailey, she had several children and came to help and guide me when i had my first.. So many memories of caring and sharing, ad hoc bbqs and the occasional bar brawl.. I suppose there was some petty theft.. but we didn't see it..and we sure as hell didn't see b and e's, 9 murders, fentanyl over doses.. and.. if there was any crime..we would not have seen someone posting.."Can't blame the perps, they're just doing their jobs." Crime is a job now? Can't blame them because.. they're doing a job? Pahlease.. Crime is crime.
I know we can't go back.. but, we could go forward without the garbage that has come to our community. There was a time when the RCMP bought a bus ticket and shipped folks right out of town.. As for camera's deterring a criminal? No it doesn't.. ever heard of a hoodie? I have camera's all over my place and a few places with powder on them..my thinking was fingerprints..then when I did get robbed (again) the RCMP that attended advised they don't print home robbery and.. was I sure the perpetrator wasn't borrowing my tvs, ipad, kindle, movies, money (thank God not very much) but did not inspire any confidence that I would see any of my belongings back, and I didn't, or that I had any expectation of being safe in my home. Too many of us in this boat.. no more neighborhood watches because frankly, most of us need to sleep...I wish a band of healthy, athletic, red hot mad men were guarding my neighborhood.. but then, maybe today's man in Whitehorse thinks aw..its ok to rob my car, house, because hey.. a guy's gotta have a job right? (P.S. jc is right that everyone should still have cams.. at the very least it alarms when triggered and you know your place is being hit.)
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Dave on Oct 28, 2017 at 8:20 am
Anie, 45 years ago neither I or anyone I knew here at the time locked our house doors or car doors either for that matter and never had a problem. I wouldn't dream of doing the same thing today as after almost every fresh snowfall you can see the footprints of people walking up driveways trying car doors and even going into back yards if they can. Whitehorse today and Whitehorse in 1970 are two completely different places as far as the level of crime is concerned.
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roy on Oct 27, 2017 at 9:17 pm
@jc: have you ever been to "the 5 star hotel on the hill"....? If not, you should
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Anie on Oct 27, 2017 at 10:51 am
The handwringing about the new Whitehorse is misplaced. I locked my door 45 years ago. I lock it today. Nothing has changed.
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jc on Oct 26, 2017 at 9:40 pm
And why is there no security cameras? The Commissionaires used to do security around the Legion. Are they not doing it anymore? It;s time businesses started to employ security cameras. Much of the crime in Whitehorse would be prevented. Cameras are relatively cheap today, and insurance costs would go down. Can't blame the perps, they're just doing their jobs. And as long as they don't get caught, they will continue to benefit. And they know, when they do get caught, it will be a nice vacation in the 5 star hotel on the hill. For them, it's a win win situation.
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Max Mack on Oct 26, 2017 at 11:53 am
Keeping thousands of dollars of quality meat on an unsecured "back deck" is an open invitation for theft. Locks on typical chest or upright freezers are easily bypassed. I realize this is Whitehorse and many folks have their guard down, but this is not the first time meat has been stolen in Whitehorse (e.g. Klondike Rib & Salmon). In my opinion, this theft should have been foreseen.
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June Jackson on Oct 25, 2017 at 3:42 pm
Why was anyone shocked? This is the new Whitehorse.. nothing is safe.. the article said 'why would they target a non profit group? Thieves and criminals aren't targeting the group..they are targeting two freezers....they don't care who owns them... Criminals are after the item.. nothing is sacred in the Yukon these days..its all stealable.