Volunteers at Fort Coulonge’s arena are facing a setback after discovering last week that a set of posts they planned on installing had gone missing overnight.

Earlier this year the committee of volunteers at the Centre de Loisirs des Draveurs Century 21 Elite used fundraised money to buy a set of boards at an auction, replacing the existing boards which had been in place since the 1960s.

Last week, the group began to remove the boards and adjacent pieces from storage in preparation for the installation work which is set to begin in the coming weeks. Part of the equipment was a set of 100 or so aluminium poles to hold the glass in the tops of the boards.

But one morning last week members discovered those poles had gone missing after they had been placed to the back of the arena building the night before.

“In between the time that they were dropped off and that we could bring them in, they were taken,” said committee vice-president Christine Bourque, who estimated the poles could not have been sitting outside for “more than a few hours.”

Bourque said the group suspects the poles were stolen, adding that the poles may not have much meaning to the potential thief, but for their disappearance may mean the committee will have to buy a new set of poles at a higher price tag.

“The unfortunate thing is that someone might get $500 at a scrapyard [for the posts], but the replacement cost to us is $5,000.”

Bourque said now the group will have to use more of the community’s hard-earned money to replace them.

“We’re definitely disappointed because that means the money raised now needs to go to replace the posts. So we’re starting at zero,” she said.

Fort Coulonge mayor Christine Francoeur was disappointed to hear of the events, adding that theft and general vandalism have been widespread in town since this spring.

“There’s always something that’s happening, either they’re cutting flowers or they’re fighting in the streets or they’re stealing cars or they’re vandalizing our parks,” she said.

Francoeur said this incident is a blow to the group that continues to fundraise and make improvements to the town’s crucial arena.

“[The posts] aren’t anything important for anybody else, but for us at the arena it’s very important,” she said.

Bourque said the mishap could have been avoided if someone was there to receive the shipment of posts and place them inside the arena, where they could not be touched. But she said this is not always possible with a busy team of volunteers who have other responsibilities.

“We don’t have the funds to be able to pay for full-time staff,” she said.

Bourque said the committee has begun exploring other options for posts, and will look to buy used before they reach for new. But, she said, the missing posts should not delay the work the committee is doing to install the boards.

“The boards are going ahead as usual [ . . . ] we’re still starting next week.”

Bourque said the committee’s upcoming meetings will discuss how to avoid similar situations in the future, including making sure someone is there at the time of delivery, and possibly buying security cameras for the property.

She said while cameras are not exactly the first thing the committee wants to be spending money on, they may be necessary in order to ensure the premises are more secure.

“You hate to spend [fundraised] money on camera systems, but that might be what we need to look into,” she said.