By Andru McCracken

It had been a quiet spring for Valemount police, but that quickly change last Thursday night. Police responded to three separate incidents in the moonlight of that night.

Sergeant Georgie Kenzie is investigating a vandalism incident that occurred in the parking lot of the Loose Moose Pub. Police believe that the culprit flung two colours of hair dye onto cars in the parking lot. Kenzie said that the dye discoloured the paint of four cars, and the interiors of two, which had their windows open. The following morning it was discovered that another vehicle that had been parked on 3rd Avenue had been vandalised in the same way during the same timeframe.

“Who knows if it ended there,” she said. “We have a couple of leads we are knocking down and a couple of names.”

Later, Corporal Shane Parker responded to an early morning alarm at Melsview Golf Course. The alarm company alerted the owners, who found an open side door on arriving at the scene. Parker reported that a large supply of liquor had been taken from the bar.

Police have suspects and are following up on both these matters, and they are also requesting information from the public.

The most serious crime was committed the following morning. At roughly 7:00 a.m. police responded to an assault that had just taken place at the construction site of Fields Department Store on 5th Avenue.

“The workers onsite were approached by two obviously intoxicated men who had staggered across the street to inquire about a job. One of them became agitated and sucker punched a 29 year old construction worker from Clearwater,” reported Kenzie. The punch broke the man’s glasses and injured his mouth and teeth.

“The suspect, who is a 32 year-old Valemount resident, was located Friday night, arrested and later released.”

Kenzie said police are pursuing assault charges against the man.

Kenzie said it’s not certain whether the files are related, though some very early evidence points in that direction.

She said that they have some forensic evidence from the golf course break-in.

Kenzie said that the hot weather brings out the partiers, and didn’t discount the fact that it was a blue moon, the second full moon in the month of May. Just 41 blue moons occur each century.

“(When it is a full moon) all of us in emergency services say, ‘oh no.’”

A 2004 article on the subject of full moons and human behaviour published in the National Geographic said that rigorous studies disprove a strong link between astronomical forces and evil intentions. But they also quoted a British scientist who had a simpler explanation.

He said that people’s personalities change because it creates optimum lighting conditions for feeling carefree and mischievous.