Christmas tree stolen from Sliter Park

One of the specially decorated Christmas trees that once sat alongside the Pioneer Woman statue at Sliter Park was stolen early last week and none of the 10 security cameras in downtown Bigfork captured the theft.

“The goal was to be able to capture people doing damage in public areas and see if we can catch a license plate,” Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork president Paul Mutascio said. “In light of the Christmas spirit, replacing a tree is pretty simple. Someone could have taken it that needed it.”

Sliter Park was supposed to have a camera but one wasn’t installed because there wasn’t a way to connect it to the rest of the cameras according to Jerry Murphy, chairman of the Sliter Park Memorial Committee.

Mutascio said the cameras that are installed downtown are only meant to monitor public streets and not residential areas or businesses.All of the security cameras are high resolution, insulated to 40 degrees below zero, capture 30 days worth of data at a frame-per-second and are available for the Flathead County Sheriff’s Department to use.

The tree was approximately 3-4 feet tall with red ribbons, red garland, and lights, making it relatively easy to put inside a car trunk or cover up. Although this was the first reported theft from Bigfork’s Christmas decorations so far this year, it’s not the first time vandalism has dimmed the lights on the Bigfork’s downtown scenery.

In the past, the large tree near the Bigfork Inn was damaged, lights were stolen from near Mosaic, and garland was pulled down near Persimmon Gallery. Sliter Park had a minor bout with vandalism last year when the flag was pulled off the pole and thrown to the ground.

“Thank God the percent of our population that pulls down flags and steals trees is small, but it exists,” Murphy said. “Maybe I should give the police a call, but it seems useless.”

Murphy said he would personally purchase a new tree for whomever took the original one if it was returned.

The tree was valued at about $50. Carol Beck-Edgar, a member of the Sliter Park Memorial Committee, said she chipped in $50 and the committee covered the rest to purchase two decorated trees for the park’s memorial. They were installed on Nov. 18 to compliment the undecorated Christmas trees that line the park and the rest of downtown.

“They aren’t that expensive, it’s just the idea of it,” Murphy said. “It is a season for joy, and I don’t like to really dwell on this.”