By David F. Rooney
As three local teens await their day in court for allegedly slashing the Rotary Club’s tents at the Revelstoke Glacier Challenge, local business owners are discussing the possibility of holding a fundraiser to help the club defray the costs of repairing the damage.
The youths were arrested just hours after Rotarians organizing the beer garden at the annual softball tournament discovered the destruction. They are scheduled to appear in youth court next month. Under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act the suspected miscreants cannot be identified.
Rotary Club President Chuck Ferguson told the Rotary Club on Thursday that his son John and his partner Joel Asher, owners of the Village Idiot, are discussing the possibility of holding a corn roast or pasta dinner, perhaps at Centennial Park, to which everyone in town would be invited. Admission or donations would be used to help the club repair or replace the damaged tents. At least one — a brand-new one — is irreparable.
The beer garden is one of the club’s major fundraising activities. It uses the money raised to help local non-profit societies finance community projects. This year it raised $12,000 through the beer garden but that would be essentially wiped out if forced to repair or replace the tents, hence the proposal to hold a public fundraiser.
