The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The park beside Mugsy's Deli has become the latest Main Street target for vandals, leaving the restaurant's owner shaking her head. On Sunday afternoon, Mary Lee Akert noticed that two of the small cement benches in the park had been destroyed overnight. One of the legs of each bench had been dislodged. "When's all of this going to stop on Main Street? That's what I want to know," said the frustrated entrepreneur. "I'm just not happy about it. I've invested a lot of money in that park and I want to invest more money in it next year, but why? So they can wreck it?" Akert is worried that the vandalism might discourage businesses from trying to enhance the look of Main Street. "They want us to improve Main Street, they want to have a drawing card down here, but people keep wrecking things," she lamented. "It's very discouraging." Akert commented that she believes the solution to the problem is to have increased police surveillance of Main Street. This was the latest in a series of incidents of vandalism that has afflicted some Main Street businesses in recent months. Last month, Akert said that the park Ñwhich she calls Mugsy's Patio and Park Ñ was marked with spray paint. The same colour paint was spotted on several buildings on Main Street as well. Not long after, a display in front of Christie's Flowers and Gifts was left decimated. It was the third time in recent months the store front was vandalized. Meanwhile, hanging plants in front of Subway were ripped down on three occasions over the summer, with the latest incident damaging one of the pots beyond repair. Flin Flon RCMP encourage anyone with information about any of these incidents to contact them at 687-7488 or Manitoba Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
