Agri Supply store owner Lynn Blake says the thieves that broke into her garden centre this past weekend tried to patch up the chain-link fence they damaged to get in.

(KAREN EDWARDS / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - A frustrated business owner in Kamloops is asking for the public’s help to stop thieves that have broken into her garden centre for the second time this spring.

Lynn Blake the owner of Agri Supply in Valleyview noticed her garden centre had been broken into sometime this weekend when she arrived to work yesterday morning, April 23.

“It was about $500 worth of stock that was stolen,” Blake says. “They took specific plants; ones used for landscaping.”

Blake says the garden centre has a six-foot high chain-link fence with barbed wire surrounding the area that was broken into and whoever broke into the centre tried to patch the fence back up when they left.

She believes the thefts took place sometime during the night on Saturday or Sunday. Blake says she has been working with Kamloops RCMP to resolve the issue, but says she still concerned about why this has happened twice this year already.

“I’m a small business owner, this hurts me and my staff and when these things happen. It’s a direct hit to our pocket book,” Blake says.

Over the years there have been issues with theft to a lesser degree, but recently it’s gotten worse, she says. Last year around Mother's Day roughly 30 hanging baskets were stolen, one of several thefts last year.

“This store has been here since 1986 and over the years we have had some issues but it's never been as bad as the last couple years,” Blake says.

She is trying not to take things personally, but after dealing with a second theft this spring, she’s hoping it will stop.

“I do feel targeted, I think there's definitely a problem here in Valleyview, maybe it’s because we are a little out of the way,” Blake says, but ultimately she is unsure why her garden centre has been broken into.

Blake says they are working on setting up more security cameras and yard lights in the garden centre.

She jokes that if the thieves are looking for a deal on plants they should come in and see her instead of stealing.

“If they want a discount, they can come in and see me,” Blake says. “They’re not just stealing from me, they are stealing from my staff."

To contact a reporter for this story, email Karen Edwards 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, 2018