Ma Murray gets new water tank after weekend theft

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Principal of Ma Murray School, Kathy Scheck, says the school has received an outpouring of community support after their water tank was stolen over the weekend.

“We’ve had at least forty businesses and individuals offer to give us a water tank. And we’ve had a lot of phone calls this morning offering donations of money to purchase one as well,” Scheck stated.

Ma Murray received a replacement tank from United Rentals and will be getting a second tank thanks to a donation from Knappett Industries.

The school’s water tank for their community garden was stolen at approximately 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning in what Scheck calls a “very intentional, targeted theft.”

“They came in off the west bypass road, instead of driving past our school, they pulled right beside the bed, loaded it up, and they didn’t drive again in front of the school where they could be caught,” Scheck said.

“They backed out, and it was too dark. We couldn’t have seen the license plate from that far.”

Scheck said without the tank, students would have to carry heavy watering cans from the school to the gardens for projects, which wouldn’t be accessible for all the children.

“We have quite a few seniors that live across the street in the apartments, and they like to access our bed and water, weed, and harvest. So it’s really important for us to have that water source there,” Scheck said.

Scheck says the community’s support restores her faith in people and helps to solidify lessons the school has taught to its students about kindness.

She adds that she wished the individuals responsible would have come forward and returned the tank to make things right, which she says would have been a learning opportunity for the students.

“I was really hoping that we could say to our students, you know, someone did something that was not honest, and they have now made it right and returned what they took from us,” Scheck said.

“The bottom line is it needed to be made right by the individuals that took that tank. And I sure hope that they decide that the right thing to do is to bring [the tank] back.”