By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The latest memorial bench in Osoyoos suffering damage has been confirmed to be another act of vandalism, but town staff had the bench reinstalled by Monday afternoon.
The bench – dedicated to Kim Pendergraft – is located at Cottonwood Park not far from the washrooms and directly across from a condominium complex had its concrete anchors pulled out of the concrete pad.
The issue was first highlighted on Saturday in a FaceBook post by Bryan Holgate who posted a photo of the bench face down on its concrete pad.
Osoyoos CAO Rod Risling confirmed the uprooting of the bench was not a result of any structural failure, rather it was purposeful destruction.
The bench on Saturday morning lying face down. Bryan Holgate photo.
Memorial benches dot the shoreline around Osoyoos Lake with a number located around Cottonwood Park.
Comments on Holgate’s FaceBook thread suggest there are at least a couple of other locations where benches are missing from their concrete pads. Risling said he has not been able to immediately confirm with Public Works what the status is of these benches as the departure of staff has left the department short-handed.
This is not the first time a memorial bench has been vandalized, as just a week before Christmas last year (2023) a memorial bench on Lakeshore Dr. was set on fire and destroyed. That bench was in memory of Ted and Mable Takacs.
The aftermath of the December 2023 vandalism left the memorial bench dedicated to Tommy Takacs’ parents Ted and Mable Takacs, completely destroyed. Osoyoos Fire Rescue photo.
The benches are estimated to cost between $3,000 and $4,000 for those wishing to dedicate one. The cost of reinstalling the Cottonwood bench is minimal as it simply needed re-anchoring.
However, in the case of the Lakeshore Dr. memorial bench which was totally destroyed by the fire and because the value was too low (in relation to the deductible) it was not practical to make an insurance claim resulting in the town absorbing the replacement cost.
