Photo by Whitehorse Star
Antoinette Oliphant
Shock ensues after restaurant’s latest break-in
“It just gets to be too much.”
“It just gets to be too much.”
Antoinette Oliphant is expressing anger and frustration after discovering yet another break-in to her restaurant on Fourth Avenue this morning.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she told the Star.
Her voice broke up as she recalled coming into work and discovering the vandalism left behind.
She made the discovery on the same day she had a meeting to look at security measures to protect the restaurant.
Oliphant came into the restaurant this morning and set to opening windows and doors to let cooler air into the business.
It was in making her way to the back of the restaurant that she discovered the cooler door – which had features on it aimed at keeping vandals out – had been busted open.
Two cases of pop had been stolen and a plywood partition had been torn off. A hammock that was on the back deck was found in the kitchen.
The break-in comes just a couple of weeks after a fundraiser was held to help Oliphant with the costs of installing better security following 14 break-ins over two years.
“It starts to feel personal,” she said of the break-ins.
The fundraising event and a gofundme campaign raised $14,000.
Oliphant has expressed her gratitude to the community for the fundraiser.
This morning, Oliphant was scheduled to meet with Paul Baker about producing wrought-iron window features as part of that.
Her friend Gary Lachance, who had led the fundraising campaign, had brought Baker down to the restaurant for the meeting.
They walked in to find RCMP officers starting yet another break-in investigation after Oliphant had called.
“I’m just in shock,” Lachance told the Star.
He went on to state that given the community’s support of the fundraiser and attention it garnered, he assumed there would be time to get the new security measures in place before vandals might attempt any more burglaries.
This reinforces the need for those new security measures to be installed even more quickly, Lachance said.
“Our plans are in motion,” he said.
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Comments (19)
Up 2 Down 1
Mr Facts on Jul 4, 2017 at 6:20 pm
Nothing personal here. But why is it the community's problem to protect her business? You wanna donate money, all the power to you. But I know she does very well with her restaurant, so why would anyone donate? If so, if I get broken in at my house I'll start a GoFundMe page. But I probably wouldn't get a dime. Sounds like a popularity contest to me.
Up 6 Down 5
T on Jul 3, 2017 at 3:37 pm
Move locations... Seriously. Your landlord isn't going to help you.
Up 23 Down 5
Groucho d'North on Jul 2, 2017 at 12:07 pm
Our legal system is a joke. Too many social architects in the judicial system are attempting to get the bad boys and girls onto the divine path of responsible citizenship and seem to think that by not punishing them for crimes committed, these long-time criminals will see the light and change their ways. All too often we witness some holier than thou justice official waxing on about how these poor lost souls are not to blame, but rather it is society who is to blame for a long list of BS excuses dreamed up by social workers and similar “experts” who do not take any responsibility for the society/community they have created.
The problems we are witnessing today are the result of the best of intentions and ill-conceived justice policies with too much social experimentation included. I feel for merchants in the Yukon who bear the brunt of government’s failure to address the real issues of right and wrong and citizens accepting personal responsibility for their actions.
Up 8 Down 21
SmileYouAreOnRCMPTerritory on Jul 1, 2017 at 12:50 pm
Yup, relocate next to a doughnut outlet such as Hortons or a coffee franchise such as Starbucks where the RCMP have loyalty cards, and see them arrive on site within ten microseconds of a CCTV activation !!
Up 27 Down 0
Sue Greetham on Jun 30, 2017 at 8:57 pm
Get caught, get photo and personal information posted in both papers and on social media for a month with all the other criminals. This must stop, the perpetrators are laughing at our justice system. The courts need to become accountable.
Up 24 Down 9
Josey Wales on Jun 30, 2017 at 2:11 am
matt ...agreeing matters less than the ability to have a conversation, topic irrelevant.
Too bad she cannot release and daily roundup...say a dozen rattlesnakes?
Maybe if we had more rainbows on the roads, pass a group hug by-law
there may be some better adjusted citizens Vs. the seemingly feral ones
proliferating in a hood near you?
Young offenders act? Liberal.
Hug a thug justice policies? Liberal.
Identity politics infecting the legal system? Liberal.
Diluting and destroying cultures historically and currently? sigh...Liberal.
Will things get better for this restaurant and our communities given the clearly illustrated string of factoids above?
Well we have a proud liberal mayor in town, have team red minding the territory and a part time substitute drama teacher at the helm waaaaay out east? ...and no one stupider ever...like EVER grabbed that wheel.
Short answer...no.
Suggestion get dogs, plink lots, get wired for audio and HD video, brush up on your hand skills and remember...
When seconds count, the police are many minutes away.
We are on our own out here in this sty as it relates to crime.
As per...act accordingly.
Up 23 Down 13
Freeman on Jun 29, 2017 at 8:56 pm
Is it not ironic that all of this happened within a 5 minutes walking distance from the RCMP Detachment? What we need in Downtown is bobbies on the beat, not officers cruising on their way to Starbucks.
Up 20 Down 5
Matt Newhart on Jun 29, 2017 at 3:46 pm
Not sure if Josey Wales will agree with this but we have to deal with this problem.
Free pop for the break in types and free food and drugs and alcohol and housing. If we do not provide for them they will just keep breaking into nice people's businesses and go in and out of our lenient court system.
The length recovery programs will be needed and some people will just not get better because they are the way they are.
If I were a business owner I would have bars and metal doors and maybe even electric fencing.
Up 47 Down 1
Anie on Jun 29, 2017 at 3:43 pm
I hope the slime who are doing this are caught, and that we learn their names. The owner of this business works hard, and she deserves better
Up 25 Down 7
north_of_60 on Jun 29, 2017 at 1:39 pm
Comments in previous news articles on this same restaurant advised the need for security cameras and a loud alarm system, DOH!! Community support, fundraising, and then spend the money collected on ineffective measures. We can't force people to do the smart thing. This is a recurrent problem with the social media i-toy crowd. Lots of good intentions, but not much smarts for making good decisions.
Up 33 Down 1
M. Hamm on Jun 29, 2017 at 10:51 am
This is just getting ridiculous, this isn't the only business suffering from these petty crimes and the thieves are getting more and more brazen. This is not two blocks from RCMP headquarters! Our community needs to be feel safer and better protected from these kinds of crimes, it's well past the point where we need to have solutions and not just more and more open investigations that bear absolutely no fruit.
Up 27 Down 8
Josey Wales on Jun 29, 2017 at 7:00 am
Yup...total bummer...again.
Perhaps relocate to a location closer to Starbucks, seem to be a visible police presence there. Better than bars, expose the scumbags via CCTV HD like. Seems to be a reluctance to do so in these parts for some odd reason? Anyone see photos in our "papers" in the form of crime stoppers updates...like in the old days? I certainly have not...anyone?
Up 24 Down 4
Cindy Cuthbertson (Pugh) on Jun 29, 2017 at 3:13 am
It is disgusting that it should happen in Whitehorse. The sooner you get the cameras in and the perpetrators caught, the better. There must be friends and family that know what is going on! They should stand up and be counted.
Up 39 Down 3
jc on Jun 28, 2017 at 8:56 pm
I paid less than 600 dollars for my security system and got it up and running in less than 2 hours. Sheeesh!
Up 38 Down 1
a couple of ideas on Jun 28, 2017 at 8:01 pm
An alarm system definitely helps. Motion detection cameras are available in town too. I feel for you, but stop being shocked. It's downtown Whitehorse and you can't leave a building empty without taking measures. I had a business downtown with a motion detection security system - no break ins. Had another building downtown with no system - spray paint, vandalism, break in. You need a presence in there overnight or you need motion detectors and cameras, immediately. It is ludicrous, but that's the way it is in this town. We are supposed to put up with these thieves and criminals.
Up 33 Down 8
Gary Liddy on Jun 28, 2017 at 7:30 pm
This type of restaurant makes a city a better place.
It would be sad for WH to lose it.
This gal needs to get a better location because she sure ain't getting any help from the police or the city politicos.
Up 27 Down 1
Ted Parkinson on Jun 28, 2017 at 5:47 pm
For two cases of pop? That is just sick.
Up 34 Down 5
Darrel Drugstore's Smartest Neighbour on Jun 28, 2017 at 3:21 pm
Not surprising - our "bread and circuses" city government continues to do nothing about the late night crime problems in downtown Whitehorse
Up 13 Down 19
Seriously? on Jun 28, 2017 at 3:20 pm
My heart goes out to the owner... Is there any possibility that some of these are inside jobs - I mean really - FOURTEEN break-ins in two years??!! Yikes