Hello, OFRE volunteers, growers, and members of the community.
It is unfortunate that I must issue this statement to inform you that the OFRE cider shack at the McCauley School and the site of the OFRE orchard was broken into on the night of Saturday 13th, 2015. Critical components for our pedal-powered apple crusher were stolen from the shack, which makes our one-of-a-kind pedal-powered apple crusher unusable. These items include the stainless steel hopper, and two 20″ bike rims for the seat.
We are upset that someone would break into our shed and steal customized equipment that has no other purpose than to crush apples. We have used the crusher to bring joy to families, OFRE members, growers and volunteers by crushing thousands of pound of apples over the past 3 years. OFRE will continue to put on events, with slightly modified equipment to ensure that we continue to educate Edmontonians on the value of locally grown fruit, what type of fruit can grow in the city, and what you can do with that fruit.
We have reported the incident to the police, and a police report has been filled out. One of our volunteers also contacted the Edmonton Journal on behalf of OFRE to report the incident, and a story was published on Sunday night. You can find the article here:
If you or anyone you know has any information about this, please inform the police, as we would really like our custom equipment back, especially since this is our busy time of year and have events planned for the next two weekends which were supposed to showcase the pedal-powered apple crusher (pictured here).
We will also be starting a fundraising effort to rebuild the critical components to the pedal-powered apple crusher, and hope to raise funds. Please stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Mike Johnson
OFRE president