Vandals Destroy Dogwood Memorial Trees in Kelowna

0:00It's April 21st. This is Canada News Today, your AI-powered local news. Families in Kelowna are reeling after vandals snapped off three out of five young dogwood trees at the RISE Memorial Garden in Noles Heritage Park. These trees honor the five men killed in a crang collapse at a downtown construction site back in July 2021. The victims included 23-year-old Kaelin Vilness, Jared Zook, brothers Eric and Patrick Stemmer, and Brad Zawasluck, who was in a nearby office when the crane fell. The memorial took thousands of donated dollars and volunteer hours to build as a place for grief and reflection. Danielle Pritchett, Kaelin's mom, discovered the damage while visiting with her daughter, calling it a stab in the heart that feels like losing him all over again and occupates Steven Zook, who lost his son Jared, said it's a slap to the whole community, especially with folks coming here to heal. This isn't the first hit. The site's plaque was damaged in March, and benches have graffiti from recent months.

1:03Meanwhile, with the National Day of Morning's ceremony set for next week at the park, organizers are reaching out to local nurseries for replacement. Trees to get it ready in time. RCMP are asking anyone with info to come forward, and Pritchett's urging the public to keep watch, snap videos if needed, since this spot belongs to. We wanted the community for remembering and moving forward.