Staff with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island recently discovered damage to four of the vehicles caused by a BB gun. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

DAMAGE DONE

Smashed windows, BB gun holes among damage to Boys & Girls Club vehicles

Aug 12, 2020 | 5:28 AM

NANAIMO — The Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island (BGCCVI) are cleaning up following senseless vandalism to four of their vehicles.

A series of holes in the windshield, believed to be caused by a BB gun were discovered last week by club staff. The setback comes a short time after the back window of one of their passenger vans was smashed in.

BGCCVI executive director Karen Love told NanaimoNewsNOW it’s immensely frustrating.

“It really impacts the kids. We want to be able to provide our kids with opportunities to get them out, take them places and give them education outside…especially during summer time and summer camps.”

The damage will likely be covered under insurance, but will still cost BGCCVI between $1,500 and 2,000 plus the premium increase for insurance next year.

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Love said the only positive thing out of the situation is the timing, with the vehicles typically not as active during the summer months as they are during the school year.

Vandalism and tampering with BGCCVI vans is a somewhat common occurence outside their Beban Park home base on Bowen Rd.

Passenger vans and other vehicles have had fuel syphoned so frequently, Love said they were forced to change their morning routine before dropping kids off at school.

“When you’re taking kids to school at 8:50 in the morning, the last thing you want to have to do is go fill up, but now we have to do that because we leave our vehicles with no fuel in them overnight to stop that vandalism.”

Love noted they’ve also had catalytic converters stolen from their vehicles in the past.

“It’s that disappointment for the kids when they come in the morning and you tell them you can’t take them and we don’t want to call parents and say our vehicles are off the road and we can’t take their kids to school…that has a huge impact on families,” Love said.

BGCCVI provides before and after school programming to children from the Comox Valley to Ladysmith.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley