There’s no doubt there are really smart people out there that do naughty, inadvisable and/or illegal things.
But, there’s also a shwack of folks out there that clearly don’t think much before they act, too.
Here’s five of the more head-scratching stories of the year that have us asking what?!? (and the Good Samaritans that gave us hope in the end).
Our June 9 paper had a plethora of You Gotta Be Kidding Me stories but three that stood out were: the thief that stole a widower’s walker while he was at a celebration of his late wife’s life, the one about dirty needles on a t-ball field, and the one about a deer shot in the head with an arrow then left for dead.
In the story: Pub patron steps up after widower’s walker is swiped Marina Gerwing, mother to Craig Street Brew Pub co-owner Liz Steward had died and a celebration of her life was held at the pub on a Sunday afternoon in early June. At some point during that event, the walker of Gerwing’s husband Howard was stolen.
Who steals a grieving widower’s walker?
But things ended up OK. As soon as word got out, a Good Samaritan who wished to remain anonymous sprang into action, donating a barely used one to Steward’s father.
In the story: Needles found at Evans Park T-ball field members of the Duncan Junior Baseball Association sounded the alarm after finding used needles on the playing field at Evans Park. Users of the facility were implored to check the field for hazards prior to playing. Volunteers stepped up to scour the area.
“I know this adds more to your plate but the alternative is just so scary,” said DJBA vice-president Tina Baker.
The situation came a month after drug users were found to be discarding drug paraphernalia, including used needles near Cowichan Preschool on the other side of town.
In the story: Needles found at Evans Park T-ball field members of the Duncan Junior Baseball Association sounded the alarm after finding used needles on the playing field at Evans Park. Users of the facility were implored to check the field for hazards prior to playing. Volunteers stepped up to scour the area.
“I know this adds more to your plate but the alternative is just so scary,” said DJBA vice-president Tina Baker.
The situation came a month after drug users were found to be discarding drug paraphernalia, including used needles near Cowichan Preschool on the other side of town.
We also published a piece entitled: Deer shot in head by arrow.
Maple Bay resident Heather Bertrand came across a mamma deer wandering the neighbourhood. The deer had been shot in the head. With an arrow.
Fortunately, and apparently unlike the person who left the deer impaled, Bertrand had the presence of mind to call conservation officers. They were able to tranquilize the animal and remove the arrow and it didn’t appear to be too affected.
One the biggest head-shakers of the year ran on the front page of our Aug. 23 paper.
In our story: Bike thief rides stolen cycle to RCMP office a woman was caught red-handed after a social media savvy family posted surveillance video of her taking their daughter’s bicycle from their yard.
A friend quickly noted the woman was by the RCMP station and by the time the father got there, she was inside the office on another matter, the stolen bike leaning against the front steps outside. The dedicated dad showed police his video and the woman was arrested on the spot.
And finally, in our Nov. 24 paper, we reported on a story that still has us shaking our heads. In Cat torture recorded on Snapchat, sent to owner a group of youth and one young adult recorded themselves drugging Gigi the cat with MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, a synthetic drug that acts as a stimulant and hallucinogen, dousing the animal with bleach and shaving its back before throwing it out the window.
A Good Samaritan found the disoriented cat and returned it to its horrified owners who had been receiving Snapchat messages detailing the abuse in the wee hours of the morning.
Arrests have been made.
sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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