KENORA – There’s a Grinch in the vicinity, and Mayor Andrew Poirier wants to know who – and why.
Somebody sawed down the City of Kenora’s 2023 Christmas tree at the corner of Main Street and Second Street South on Dec. 30.
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the “mischief incident,” as a news release puts it. Poirier said Tuesday in an interview that the city has “been updated regularly by the OPP. It’s an active investigation.
“I can use all kinds of adjectives to describe people’s feelings,” he continued.
“I mean, I’ve had people reach out from all over the country to indicate how disappointed they are, how angry they are.”
The premature downing of the tree, which would have otherwise stayed up another week or so, has “really struck a nerve with people in the community,” he said.
A holiday tree at that location in downtown Kenora is a decades-long tradition, he said, adding he “won’t speculate” on the tree vandal’s motive. “I’ll let the police tell us why someone would have done that.”
The 2023 Christmas tree was more than 50 feet tall and donated by a Kenora household, he said.
There was no infrastructure damage, the mayor said, but “there was a lot to clean up, because of all the lights on the tree … that were broken. A lot of that will have to be replaced between now and next November.”
Kenora residents want to see consequences for the tree felling because the downtown Christmas tree is “sacred in our community, like in many other communities, and it was a gathering place,” he said.
“You used to see people around there all the time and (the tree-lighting ceremony in November is) our kickoff to the Christmas and the festive season.”
Reaction on social media was swift and critical. “The best consequence for this crime would be a few hundred hours of chainsaw service,” one Facebook user opined. Another said the early tree toppling was “very disrespectful.” Yet another said it was “a selfish, shameful act.”
