The owner of the Dairy Queen in Selkirk can’t believe what happened to his store’s poppy donation box, just days before Remembrance Day. Jinav Patel says it’s hard to even put into words. “It’s feeling from the heart, it’s not appropriate at all,” said Patel. Security video released from the store shows a woman standing at the front of the counter on Monday. At one point it appears she picks up the donation box, shakes it, and it appears she puts it under her coat and leaves the store. “She just stands at the counter and she was trying to take advantage.” Patel says the woman in the video had been in his Dairy Queen before, asking for free food. He says at that time his staff obliged. He says she returned on Monday again asking for food at no charge, but his staff denied her request. He says that’s when the box was taken. Patel estimates there was between $30 and $35 inside. His manager put the video on social media to warn others. “Try to let the town know that this happened to our store and not going to happen to other stores.” In an emailed statement to CTV News, Mounties said, “The Selkirk RCMP is aware of the theft and have launched an investigation. A suspect has been identified but no arrest has been made.” Allan Coumont is the poppy officer for the Selkirk Legion branch. “Totally disgusted by it, but what can you do,” said Coumont. He says the money collected in these boxes is used to help veterans and their families. “Say there’s someone in a personal care home, if they needed maybe a lift chair, you know something that they need, they apply for it.”
