To the editor:
On Monday Nov. 7, our 10-year-old son left early on his bike, as usual, to go to school at Casorso — his daily eight-km round-trip trek.
He stopped to collect his friend on the way, as usual, and left his bike leaning against their back fence, as he always does. He knocked on the door, stood inside the kitchen for a minute or two, and the boys came out to find my son’s bike had been stolen from the family-friendly back lane.
It had been recycling day, and apparently this makes the back lanes of our downtown residential area quite busy as people are looking for bottles. In the space of waiting for a friend to tie his shoelaces, and while his mom was washing dishes in the kitchen sink facing the back lane, my son’s bike was stolen.
He is certainly not the first in the area but it has been quite devastating for him.
Our son is a young entrepreneur. He sold lemonade and collected bottles all on his own for an entire summer in order to raise enough money to buy this bike. He is a very hard worker — he earned $450 last summer in order to buy a second hand bike worth about $1,000.
This is the sad part. He is now contemplating how he will raise money to buy his next much needed bike, as the summer tourist season is over. He is thinking of selling hot chocolate and popcorn, as well as, ironically, collecting bottles.
Aside from hoping to find my son’s bike through exposure of his story, I would also like to be able to use our experience to remind people to write down the serial number on their bikes, to keep them locked or with you whenever possible, and to report all suspicious activity in your neighbourhood.
Marianne Law, Kelowna
