Original Published on Aug 17, 2022 at 10:39

By Emily Plihal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Municipal District of Smoky River Director of Operations Kevin Cymbaluk noted in his monthly report to council that regional landfills have recently had incidents of vandalism and theft.


Cymbaluk explained in this report that both Guy and Jean Cote have had over a dozen break-ins, forcing the municipality to take extreme measures to prevent any more issues from occurring.


“The thieves are targeting electronic equipment that is being collected for recycling,” says Cymbaluk. “The municipality is doing everything in its power to put an end to the break-ins.”


Break-ins are happening at the two locations on days when the landfills are not open, with caretakers coming to open the landfill and noticing locks cut and items missing from the disposal sites.


“There is a financial impact to the MD when property is damaged and that is always concerning,” says Cymbaluk.


“Also, there could be a real liability concern with having the landfill gates open without our knowledge when not manned.”
Public Works staff will not go into detail about what type of measures are being taken to curb the issue, however; they warn the perpetrators that they will be caught.


Other regional municipalities have been noting theft occurring on their community’s property as of late.


The thievery includes Northern Sunrise County that noted during its monthly council meeting three locations where firewood was stolen.


Falher also experienced vandalism on multiple buildings (including the Recreational Complex and a school) earlier this summer, with RCMP able to catch the culprits.

Emily Plihal
This item reprinted with permission from South Peace News – southpeacenews.com, High Prairie, Alberta