To the Editor:
It’s time for the weekly larceny update here in Keremeos.
On Saturday morning (August 25) I was the first customer welcomed in the Bargain Centre.
I put down my shopping bag in an inconspicuous place and once I’d found a towel to buy, placed it on top of the bag and resumed browsing the shop. Minutes later, when I went to fetch my bag and towel - the towel was gone and my bag had been noticeably rifled through.
Quickly I searched for my money holder in the bag and was relieved to find it, so I made my purchase (minus the stolen towel) and proceeded to Valu Plus to purchase a bag of groceries, Next, I was the first patron welcomed in the Okanagan Regional Library. I instantly reached for my spectacles case in my shopping bag- only to find that my reading specs were sitting at the bottom of the bag and the case, still containing my distance specs had been removed at the Bargain Centre.
So, I rushed back to the scene of the crime to report this to staff, then proceeded homeward feeling naseuous, knowing I can’t afford the approximately $175 to replace my specs.
At home, I reminded myself to put the groceries in the fridge - when I suddenly realized I’d left the bag at the library downtown in my haste and shock to rush back to the crime scene. I walked the two kilometres back to the library, only to discover my bag of groceries had itself also diappeared from there, with staff not having had my grocery bag handed in.
I have always seen Keremeos as a hellhole, only now, I recognize it as a larcenous hellhole! All that remains for me is to walk to the village’s edge, shake the Keremeos dust and dirt from my soles and sail into the sunset - hopefully never to return.
Réal Saint Laurent, Keremeos