.

Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Within a week of opening for the season the Fort Simpson Curling Club has already suffered its first break-in.

The curling lounge opened on Dec. 5 and the facility, located in the recreation centre, was broken into on Dec. 12. One adult and two youth gained entry into the lounge during the middle of the day.

"We're still investigating how they got up there," said Const. Trent Hayward, with the Fort Simpson RCMP detachment.

Once in the lounge the trio breached the rolling security shutter covering the kitchen and bar area to gain access to the alcohol there, Hayward said. The two youth left the lounge with a few bottles of alcohol. A member of the recreation staff, however, caught the adult at the scene.

The adult was charged with break and enter, theft under $5,000 and breach of probation. One of the youth was also arrested and given the same charges. Based on his history the youth was sent to Yellowknife and could be held in custody until the next court date in the village on Jan. 6, Hayward said.

As of Dec. 12, the RCMP were still looking for the second youth, who has been identified. Because he wasn't on probation at the time of the incident he will only face the first two charges, Hayward said.

"Disgust" is the reaction Leah Keats, president of the Fort Simpson Curling Club, said she had when she learned about the break-in.

"I was just flabbergasted with the audacity that they would do it in the middle of the afternoon," said Keats.

The club is no stranger to break-ins.

The lounge was targeted twice, maybe three times last year, Keats said. Each break-in demoralizes the club because it seems that regardless of the measures taken people still manager to get in, she said.

The damage caused to the lounge by the incidents also hurts the club's finances, Keats added.

The club doesn't keep a large stock of alcohol at the bar, just enough for a week to week basis, said Keats. As a result of this break-in the club will now store the stock somewhere else between events.

"We'll have to until we can get some sort of assurance we can leave a dozen beer back there," she said.

Moving the stock around will be an inconvenience and it's something the club shouldn't be forced to do, said Keats. There should be more respect for property in the village, she said.