By Greg Higgins

Local business will replace stolen wishing well from BUH

Nov 22, 2016 | 11:00 AM

A local car dealership decided to step up so one charity wasn’t out in the cold this Christmas season.

The wishing well which was reported stolen from the Battlefords Union Hospital Friday is being replaced by Scott Campbell Dodge. Trent Gatzke is the general manager and said he came up with the idea after an employee told him about the story.

“It was a crazy story so we had a meeting, I said ‘why don’t we just step up and replace the thing,’” Gatzke said. “It is an ongoing fundraiser for the hospital that is supposed to always be there. We thought it would be a nice thing to do considering it is Christmas time. It’s a time for giving.”

He added it will be a brand new “legit” wishing well, which will cost roughly $2,000 dollars.

“We feel it is important to give back to the community and be active,” Gatzke said. “We believe in the Battlefords and unfortunately there are people that make it a little less attractive. We like to do something positive when we can.”

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As for the Hospital, representatives were ecstatic to hear of the donation. Claudette McGuire is the executive director of the Battleford Union Hospital Foundation which is where the money put into the well goes to.

“We are very, very grateful to Scott Campbell Dodge for recognizing this need and fulfilling it,” McGuire said. “More than anything it was quite devastating that someone would steal from a charity. Steal right from within where it is housed and the building that it represents.”

McGuire hopes to get the new well as soon as possible but doesn’t have an estimated time as it must be ordered from the United States. She added the new well will be chained to the ground to prevent this from happening again.

McGuire still hoped the old one will be returned so it can be placed in another location to continue raising money for the foundation.

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins. 

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated the well was stolen yesterday. It was reported stolen on Friday, Nov. 18.