Childish prank or senseless vandalism, either way the theft of a plaque honouring Terry Fox in Silvercreek Park is very upsetting for some people.
The plaque marked the location where the annual Terry Fox Run is held each year. It had been cemented to a large rock adjacent to the trail.
“I got a phone call last week so I went down to take a look,” said Dave Picard, who has been a driving force behind the local Terry Fox run for the past 18 Septembers.
“Personally, I just think it’s sad,” Picard said.
He assumes someone took it on a lark without giving much thought to the significance of the event or the person it honours.
“I think that what’s happened is that somebody wanted it and thought it would look good in their apartment,” he said.
“It’s a shame because it really has no value to anyone.”
The plaque has been at the site, on the north side of the Speed River and just east of Edinburgh Road, for 27 years.
It read:
“Permanent site
TERRY FOX RUN
MARATHON OF HOPE
City of Guelph
Dedicated Aug. 17th, 1990 by his parents Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Fox.”
The Guelph Terry Fox Run has raised almost $1 million for cancer research since it started in 1981.
A man walking his dog along the trail Monday afternoon shook his head when informed of what had happened.
“Why would somebody do that?” said Allan Morris. “It’s been there a long time and I can’t think why someone would go and do that.”
Another lady walking the trail who declined to give her name just shook her head. “Stupid,” she said.
Picton was asked about possible efforts to replace the plaque but said that wouldn’t be likely from the run organizers’ standpoint.
“My personal attitude is just leave it. If you put it back it’s going to be a target for someone else,” Picton said.
He hopes that the person that took it returns it or that it eventually turns up somewhere and can be placed back where it belongs.
