An individual tried to pry open the food truck door, with what seemed to be a crowbar.
Image Credit: Submitted by Deanna Bell
April 17, 2020 - 1:03 PM
Deanna Bell of Cookshack Cravings gained a lot of fanfare when she became one of the first to serve meals to truckers on the road, just as many restaurants were shutting down.
But community goodwill didn't protect her from vandals and thieves.
Her truck which, since April 4, has been stationed at the Chevron Cardlock on Versatile Drive, was locked up Sunday night, as usual.
When a cooler maintenance worker stopped by the Cardlock on Monday, he found that someone had stolen the generator, cutting the lock.
The Kamloops RCMP was notified, and when officers checked the security camera footage from a nearby PetroCan, they observed an individual parking at the pump and walking over to where Bell's food truck was parked. The security footage of the Chevron lot showed the same individual taking the generator and dragging it across the lot.
"They found it at the back of the property covered up," said Bell. "Broken handle, scuffed all up, gas all over."
Bell recovered the generator on Monday and secured it in one of her coolers until she opened for the truckers again on Tuesday.
She left her truck for the day Monday at 6:30 p.m., and some time that evening an individual returned, and tried to pry open the door to her food truck with what Bell suspects was a crowbar.
Apparently, she was not the only target of crime in the area.
"They tried the doors at the Cardlock, they tried the doors at Nordcam and then the third night they broke into Nordcam’s lot… and they stole crowbars," Bell said.
While being able to leave her truck on location was a dream come true, this bliss only lasted two weeks. Now Bell will be required to set-up and pack-up her truck every day, which adds an hour to each end of her 12 hour shift.
Fortunately, Kamloops owner of Munden Truck & Equipment Co. Greg Munden stepped up to help.
"(Greg) fixed my door and my generator the next day, so that was awesome," said Bell.
Tolko Industries donated $1500 for meals for truck drivers at the CookShack Cravings food truck in Kamloops.
Image Credit: Submitted by Deanna Bell
Bell received a $1,500 donation from Tolko Industries to cover meals for truckers. As of Thursday, all of the money has been used.
Bell has since received $3,000 from a private donor, a Kamloops resident with ties to the trucking industry.
She says that because she is serving hearty, quality meals, the donations don't last as long as they would if she were selling hotdogs.
However, she is looking into options for further fundraising, simply because she wants to continue the kind gesture of providing the home-cooked meals for free.
"The truckers won’t mind paying," she said. "I can barely give them anything."
Bell said that the whole experience of feeding the truckers has been going very well.
"They are so grateful, and so thankful, and we’re having such a fun time with them," she said. "It’s just really great, (and) that’s the way it feels."
To contact a reporter for this story, email Brie Welton or call (250) 819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020