With harvest just around the bend, Warren Callfas doesn’t have time to make the necessary repairs to his wooden grain elevator after recent vandalism, July 28.
“Things are to tight to harvest now and I probably won’t be needing the extra storage anyway considering the kind of year it has been,” said Callfas who farms in the rural municipality of Britannia, Sask.
“This puts the elevator out of commission for who knows how long.”
“It’s a landmark for our community. Lots of people like seeing it there.”
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A backhoe loader that was parked in a sandpit next to an old Pioneer grain elevator in the abandoned community of Rex, Sask., was used to commit the vandalism.
Callfas estimates the damage at $10,000.
Sections of wall were ripped out above the loading dock and the inside corner of the loading bay was separated from the main structure.
However, it could have been worse because Callfas said he is certain that whoever was in the backhoe was not familiar with how to operate it.
“The guys who took the hoe obviously didn’t really know how to run it. You could see where they made tracks in the pit and didn’t really know how to turn it, but managed to get it up to the door of the elevator and went from there,” he said.
Callfas has spoken with the owner of the excavator and said the keys were left in it.
RCMP const. Brenda Diachuk of the Maidstone, Sask., detachment said she has never seen a machine used to vandalize a grain elevator before, however there have been numerous oil field thefts and mischief in the area recently.
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward up to $2,000 for undisclosed information leading to an arrest and can be contacted at 800-222-8477.
Callfas is offering his own monetary reward, although he has not yet determined the amount.
Contact william.dekay@producer.com
