Salmon Arm’s Torch Runner is back in front of city hall after being damaged by vandals.
Up until the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 3, the sculpture stood next to Fletcher Park. But that morning, when city workers arrived to work between 6:30 and 7 a.m., they discovered the statue was missing
Upon further inspection, it was learned the statue had been severed from its pedestal at the ankles and left in one of the flower beds.
“We also noticed there were some catch basin lids that were dumped into the bottom of the catch basins as well,” said city engineering and public works director Rob Niewenhuizen.
Niewenhuizen believes some sort of prying device was used both on the statue and the manhole lids.
The city has contacted the RCMP, with the hope that something might have been picked up from city hall’s security cameras. However, police say the cameras pointed in the wrong direction, and they have no suspects.
In 2010, the city commissioned Blind Bay artist Peter Postel to create the Torch Runner to help mark the Olympic Torch’s stop in Salmon Arm as part of the relay leading up to the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver.
“We’re going to look to see if we can repair him,” says Niewenhuizen. “We’ve been in contact with the artist to see if we can get some tips to see if there’s anything we can do.”
Fortunately, less than a week later, the city devised a repair strategy and the runner is now back to fine form.
Police are urging anyone who may have witnessed anything related to the incident to contact them at 250-832-6044.
As a side note, it is commonly believed the Torch Runner was modelled after one of Salmon Arm’s 2010 Olympic Torch Relay torchbearers, Roy Sakaki. Mayor Nancy Cooper says she’s since learned this isn’t the case.
“I always think of our Olympic statue as Roy Sakaki and tease him about it whenever I see him, but I hear from staff it really is supposed to be generic,” Cooper explained.