Vandals damage donations bound for Standing Rock community

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) – Police in Mandan are investigating after vandals damaged boxes of donations bound for a Standing Rock Indian Reservation community that was turned upside down by a wildfire this month.

The boxes for Cannon Ball were stacked outside the Community Blessings thrift store. The items including food, clothing, dishes and mattresses were damaged late last week to the point of being unusable, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

“Everything was neat and tucked in, everything was in a box,” store owner Theresa Stockert said. Now, “We’re going to have to send it to the dumps.”

Stockert planned to gather more items from the store’s back stock to send to Cannon Ball this week.

The grass fire on the Dakotas reservation on Oct. 11 destroyed three houses and a church and damaged the school in Cannon Ball, and prompted hundreds of people to temporarily evacuate their homes.

Community Blessings frequently leaves free items outside its store. Stockert said she had placed a sign asking people not to take the items destined for fire victims in Cannon Ball.

“There is no excuse to do this when we give things for free all the time,” she said. “Cannon Ball is a poor community that needs stuff anyway. It’s not a wealthy community.”

–––

To contact Community Blessings, call (701) 425-8837 or visit them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Community-Blessings-180380206236/timeline/

 

Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com