Fort Smith (July 24/06) - Fort Smith has a new bison statue to replace one destroyed by vandals last year.

The life-sized statue was donated to the community by a company in Edmonton.

Fort Smith Mayor Peter Martselos said an Edmonton company provided the replacement statue after the old one was destroyed by vandals last year. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Identical to the original except only darker, the new statue was erected late last month.

Both were among 30 built for the 2001 World Track and Field Championships in Edmonton and placed in various locations around the city.

Despite its generosity, the donating company wishes to remain anonymous, says Mayor Peter Martselos.

The firm helped out after it learned of the town's dilemma about how to replace the statue.

Martselos says it would have cost about $5,000 to buy another statue, if it could be found, or roughly $35,000 to build a new one.

As it turns out, the town only had to pay about $500 for shipping.

"I'm very pleased, and on behalf of the entire community I would like to say thank you and we appreciate what they've done for us," he says.

The original statue was purchased by the town with the support of NWT businesses and government agencies, and erected on a pedestal in front of the Fort Smith Recreation Centre.

The first statue, which was erected in November 2002, was destroyed by vandals in August of last year.

The culprits - underage members of a Yellowknife rock group in town to perform at the South Slave Friendship Festival - pulled the fibreglass statue off its pedestal and attacked it on the ground.

Charges were laid, but were dealt with through alternate measures in Yellowknife.

As for protecting the new statue, Martselos says anything can be damaged by vandals and no one knows when they will hit.

However, he notes the statue, which stands about 10 feet above the ground on a pedestal, is good for the town and all residents are very happy to see it back.

"I hope this is going to be here for a very long while," he says.