Thieves make tracks with community club’s ski-trail grooming equipment

Thieves struck a south Winnipeg community centre over the long weekend, grinding through padlocks before making off with close to $100,000 worth of specialized ski trail grooming equipment.

Wildwood Park Community Centre lost an orange Polaris side-by-side with a track plow kit, tow-behind trail groomer and a 6.5-metre-long double-wide trailer.

“Yesterday, we went to grab it and it was gone and the locks were laying on the ground,” volunteer Brent Prusak, who manages the centre’s cross-country ski trails, said Wednesday.

“I just kind of felt sick to my stomach for a few minutes.”

Prusak, who owned the trailer, loaded it with the equipment and was temporarily storing it next to the centre. He planned to transport it to a friend’s secure facility Friday, but was sidelined by other commitments over the long weekend.

He estimated replacing the side-by-side alone could cost about $60,000, while replacing the groomer and trailer could cost $19,000 and $15,000, respectively.

It’s a major blow for the community centre, where volunteers have used the equipment to maintain a network of ski trails for three seasons, he said.

“We are just working on, hopefully, recovering it, No.1, but if we can’t recover it we are going to have to replace it all,” he said.

“It’s a big haul.”

Based on accounts from neighbourhood witnesses, who said they last saw the trailer during the day Sunday, Prusak believes the theft occurred sometime overnight or early Monday morning.

The community centre reported the theft to the Winnipeg Police Service, and spokesperson Ally Cox confirmed an investigation is underway.

Efforts are ongoing to locate surveillance footage from nearby cameras and identify the suspects and vehicle used in the theft, Prusak said.

“Someone in the city saw this thing going down the road; you cannot miss it,” Prusak said. “The only thing with that is (suspects) usually use stolen vehicles to do this type of work, or stolen licence plates.”

Prusak said he and his fellow volunteers are trying to remain positive in the wake of the theft by focusing on the fact that nobody was hurt.

“It’s just equipment. It can all be replaced,” he said, adding trail grooming will continue next season, whether or not the stolen equipment is recovered.

Lora Mesemen, executive director of the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres, said thieves have targeted several community centres in recent years — resulting in frustrating losses for spaces operating on limited civic grants and run primarily by volunteers.

“It’s awful. Many community centres are experiencing higher than previously experienced crime,” Mesemen said. “These things happen and it just sets everybody back and causes such unfortunate situations.”

Chalmers Community Centre was broken into three times in 2023, resulting in charges for two men who made off with tools and equipment totalling more than $11,000, and an ATV and trailer worth $7,000.

Last February, thieves cut through multiple fences and break windows to enter the Tyndall Park Community Centre. Once inside, they trashed the canteen and broke into the office, causing thousands of dollars in damages.

Months later, in May 2024, the Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre lost thousands in damages and theft when suspects cut through a batting-cage fence and swiped a pitching machine and baseball equipment.

Those are just a few recent examples, with other centres also suffering from theft and vandalism, Mesemen said.

“I think this is just a sign of the times. Just like other businesses, everybody is being targeted and I don’t know what the answer is. It’s really unfortunate,” she said.

Mesemen encouraged managers at all crime-affected community centres to report them to police. It is important to keep an updated inventory list of goods belonging to the centre so investigators know what to look for, she said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca