Thirteen bicycles and 19 helmets were reported to have been stolen from the Terrace Spirit North program on Thursday, Sept. 11.
Spirit North is a B.C. Indigenous organization lending sports equipment such as bicycles, skis and more to schools, free of charge. It was created by Beckie Scott, an Olympic gold medallist in cross-country skiing for Canada, and member of the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, and Canadian Ski Hall of Fame.
Since 2017, it has provided bicycles and programs to on-reserve and public schools in the Terrace area.
“It’s stolen property, but it’s also just stolen opportunity for the kids in the community,” said Liam Mcilvenna, community program leader for Spirit North in Terrace. “The cost of the bikes is nothing compared to all the potential that was there for programs.”
“We do introductory days at schools where kids are just learning the fundamentals of how a bike operates, brakes, how to move it around, how to get on and off,” he said.
“Sometimes we take them to Ferry Island or on the Howe Creek trails, showing how much fun you can have just on a bicycle in a group.”
The programs begin in the spring until children are on their summer break.
As it was the break, the bikes were locked away in a trailer on private property. Access was gained by knocking over a fence and then breaking into the trailer.
“We were going to be doing some more programs this fall, but the rug got pulled out from underneath with the bikes being gone,” said Mcilvenna.
Only five of the bikes are left, which is not enough to run the program.
Mcilvenna urged people to be on the lookout for stolen bikes up for resale.
Of the 13 stolen bikes, four are Devinci Blackbirds with 27-inch tires, three are Devinci Puprle Ewocs with 24-inch tires and six are Devinci Pink Ewocs with 26-inch tires.
“Hopefully we can get them back and get kids back on bikes again,” he said.
Those with information are asked to call the Terrace RCMP at 250-638-7400.
