Nanaimo Dairy Queen offers up blizzards to help catch spray-painters

Some disturbing graffiti painted on an elementary school in Nanaimo has elicited an unusual response from a local business.

The graffiti showed up on the weekend and to help the police capture the culprit,  the owner of a local Dairy Queen is offering sweet reward.

School district staff removed the spray-paint Monday that was discovered this weekend at Randerson Ridge Elementary.

“[I’m] very mad because they drawed on the school,” said Eason Schweigert, a Grade 1 student.

“To have someone come and deface it is really disheartening but we also know it’s a really difficult time and you know people make mistakes and hopefully, this is a mistake that won’t be made again,” said Stephanie Schweigert, Eason’s mother.

Also, disturbed was the owner of a Nanaimo Dairy Queen, whose son attends the school.

“It just hit me like a punch in the face. I was mad,” said Peter Benda, who owns the Country Club Dairy Queen.

Benda is offering free blizzards to for people who have information about the crime.

“We’ll give the person 25 free blizzards for them and their closest friends and they can come have ice cream on us whenever they want and we had a lot of people phone in and give us information,” Benda said.

Benda says he’s passed that information on to police.

Vandalism is an ongoing problem in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District. In March there were 42 incidents that cost nearly $5,000 to fix but it’s unusual for anyone to offer up a reward.

“It’s very unique to hear a local business, especially blizzards I mean who doesn’t want to get a blizzard on any given day for them to offer that is great I mean it’s very uplifting. It’s nice to hear that from the community offering that support,” said Dale Burgos, executive director of communications with Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools.

“It’s a great idea,” said Schweigert. “I think nothing is more motivating than ice cream for kids.”

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