Kenora, Ont., residents woke up New Year’s Eve morning to a troubling sight. Sometime overnight, the city’s massive Christmas tree on Main Street had been felled.
Kenora Mayor Andrew Poirier said the community was gripped by shock, sadness and anger.
“We’re trying to figure out how something so heinous and stupid would have been done to our Christmas tree,” he told Global News. “It took a lot of gumption to do that.”
Community pages on social media were filled with outrage and calls for police to find and charge the Grinch-like perpetrator.
“Whoever cut the Christmas tree down… I hope you’re properly punished,” wrote Tyler Robb.
“I think this is a first but I’m not surprised based on what has happened to Kenora,” wrote Darlene Fontaine-Davidson
Kenora OPP say they were made aware of the mischief just after 11 p.m. Saturday. An investigation is underway and they’re looking for witnesses or others with first-hand information.
“There are a lot of video cameras in our downtown,” Poirier said. “Hopefully, they’re caught and prosecuted and justice prevails.”
City crews spent Sunday morning cleaning up the mess and removing the tree.
The Main Street Christmas tree is a decades-long tradition in the city, located 200 kilometres east of Winnipeg. The mayor says roadwork years ago considered the tree, and hydro was built in to make sure the tree would shine bright downtown each year.