COLUMBIA FALLS — A new skate park, years in the making, is being built in Columbia Falls.
The project is facing a tight deadline with winter on the way and now, they are facing another challenge as their tools were stolen from the job site on Monday.
"We got to work on Monday morning, and the chain and lock were gone. We get to the container, and the locks off the container, and it's slightly open. And then there's that kind of gut-wrenching feeling like, 'Oh my gosh. We know, we locked everything up'," said Danyel Scoot, Co-Owner and Project Manager for Dreamland Skateparks.
Dreamland Skateparks and their crew realized about 90% of their tools had been stolen after looking inside the tool storage container.
"A drill, a sweatshirt, a hammer, you know, things that are really tools of survival for my crew, and, you know, it was unfortunate that all of Dreamland's large tools got stolen, but really quite upsetting that my crews did," said Scott.
The project to build a community skate park in Columbia Falls began in late August after years of planning and fundraising by the Badrock Skatepark Association.
Facing an already tight deadline due to winter approaching, losing these tools makes the project even harder to complete.
"You know, my guys are hard workers, and they're out there with limited tools, but tools, we're on a deadline and not being able to even have a hammer or a screw gun is it's hard. So, there's a little panic and a little, to be quite frank, angry that somebody would come in and walk by, you know, all these signs of hard workers and community movement that made this happen," said Scott
Everything from welders and chop saws to hammers and drills were stolen from the site, including workers' personal tools. Dreamland Skateparks is working with the Columbia Falls Police Department to get the tools back.
They are also working with limited resources to finish the skate park by early December.
"I think this affects everybody. It's not just Dreamland. It's all the community members that have worked for this, that have worked for donations. It's a bummer, and I don't want that to overshadow such a beautiful project and such a positive thing for the community," said Scott.
Some of the stolen tools have the Dreamland Skateparks logo on them and crew member tools have different colors spray painted on them.
Anyone with information about the missing tools is asked to contact the Columbia Falls Police Department at 406-892-3234.
