Vandals hit Goshen centre, ditch burnt-out truck

GOSHEN — Residents in northeast Nova Scotia are still reeling after vandals hit everything from roadside mailboxes to a community hall during a freeway stroll that stretched from Antigonish to Goshen on January 26.

Police are looking for one or more people believed to have used a stolen Ford F-150 pickup truck found burned and abandoned near Giants Lake early January 27 to investigate the crimes to commit, Nova Scotia RCMP Public Information Officer, Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay, narrated The diary in an interview on Monday (January 30).

“The information and evidence our investigators found on this stolen truck [them] to believe that [its occupants] were directly implicated in the vandalism of mailboxes in the Antigonish area,” as was the Goshen Community Center on January 26.

In a subsequent email, he stated: “About 8 a.m. last Friday (January 27) the Guysborough County RCMP responded to a report of a vehicle accident on South River Lake Rd. in Giants Lake. At the scene, RCMP officers spotted a smoldering Ford F-150 veering off the road and coming to a stop in a ditch. The vehicle was not occupied. The vehicle found was reported stolen to the Richmond County RCMP in September 2022.

“The aggregate of evidence and information gathered at the scene of the accident, the destroyed mailboxes in the Antigonish area and the destroyed community center in Goshen indicate that the incidents are related.”

St. Mary Borough Deputy Parish Administrator James Fuller, who represents Goshen and the area, said the parish remains shocked at the damage to its center, which lost its front steps and most of its back door during the vandalism. “These front steps were built voluntarily. This is a meeting point for seniors so good luck getting them there using those steps down.”

He added that while the perpetrators did not “reach the back access ramp … it appears they attempted to drive through the basement.” It’s a terrible shame.”

Indeed, Roselyn McDermott of the area said: “It saddens me to see this being done to our center and surrounding properties. I moved back to Goshen three years ago to escape the chaos of city life. It’s disappointing to see this in rural Nova Scotia.”

Others on Facebook, where she posted pictures of the damage at the center, agreed.

One said: “I will never understand … What an absolutely horrible thing.”

Adding another: “No need for…that. Hopefully they get caught and punished harshly.”

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to contact the Antigonish County District RCMP at 902-863-6500 or the Guysborough County District RCMP at 902-533-3801. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips app.

Tremblay said: “Every piece of information, no matter how small, that we receive is valuable and can be used to find those responsible.”