Max
12-18-2002, 07:10 PM
Wheelchair-bound man robbed of Christmas
David Wylie
Sterling News Service
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
CREDIT: Sterling News
Ronald Ginther had his family's Christmas money stolen.
PEACHLAND -- A wheelchair-bound man lost his $600 savings -- along with his dreams of making Christmas a little merrier for his two children and his parents -- while shopping at a Kelowna mall.
For about two weeks, Ronald Ginther, 40, thought about what he was going to buy Christine, 15, and Bradley, 11, and his parents for Christmas.
On Monday, he drove his van to Orchard Park mall to buy the gifts. He brought his stash of cash which he'd been saving throughout the year -- "$5 here, $10 there."
But while Ginther was being wheeled around the mall, a man sliced his fanny pack off his waist. The small, black nylon pouch contained all his gift money.
"A four-inch cut into my pants, a small cut into my leg and it was gone," said the former Peachland councillor.
Ginther didn't notice the cut because he has no feeling in his legs. He didn't even notice the pack was gone until he reached for it to pay for goods in Wal-Mart.
After he'd realized what happened, a shocked Ginther sat outside Wal-Mart for a half-hour in the rain trying to recognize the thief. He gave up, reported the incident to police and came home to break the news to his kids.
"What type of person goes out of their way to steal from somebody who's in a wheelchair?" he said yesterday.
"They didn't steal from me. They stole my kids' Christmas."
"Christine cried for about an hour. Bradley cried for about half-an-hour. They weren't crying for themselves. They were crying that their grandparents and friends weren't getting anything.
"I was up the whole night worrying and wondering, 'What am I going to do for Christmas?' When you're on a tight pension, it's paycheque to paycheque."
Ginther, wheelchair-bound with a degenerative disease since he was 16, said he "wanted this Christmas to be real special" but now thinks it's going to be a bleak holiday.
© Copyright 2002 The Province
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story.asp?id=%7B6B0F4C24-6B64-443E-A8CD-9557653A07E9%7D
David Wylie
Sterling News Service
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
CREDIT: Sterling News
Ronald Ginther had his family's Christmas money stolen.
PEACHLAND -- A wheelchair-bound man lost his $600 savings -- along with his dreams of making Christmas a little merrier for his two children and his parents -- while shopping at a Kelowna mall.
For about two weeks, Ronald Ginther, 40, thought about what he was going to buy Christine, 15, and Bradley, 11, and his parents for Christmas.
On Monday, he drove his van to Orchard Park mall to buy the gifts. He brought his stash of cash which he'd been saving throughout the year -- "$5 here, $10 there."
But while Ginther was being wheeled around the mall, a man sliced his fanny pack off his waist. The small, black nylon pouch contained all his gift money.
"A four-inch cut into my pants, a small cut into my leg and it was gone," said the former Peachland councillor.
Ginther didn't notice the cut because he has no feeling in his legs. He didn't even notice the pack was gone until he reached for it to pay for goods in Wal-Mart.
After he'd realized what happened, a shocked Ginther sat outside Wal-Mart for a half-hour in the rain trying to recognize the thief. He gave up, reported the incident to police and came home to break the news to his kids.
"What type of person goes out of their way to steal from somebody who's in a wheelchair?" he said yesterday.
"They didn't steal from me. They stole my kids' Christmas."
"Christine cried for about an hour. Bradley cried for about half-an-hour. They weren't crying for themselves. They were crying that their grandparents and friends weren't getting anything.
"I was up the whole night worrying and wondering, 'What am I going to do for Christmas?' When you're on a tight pension, it's paycheque to paycheque."
Ginther, wheelchair-bound with a degenerative disease since he was 16, said he "wanted this Christmas to be real special" but now thinks it's going to be a bleak holiday.
© Copyright 2002 The Province
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story.asp?id=%7B6B0F4C24-6B64-443E-A8CD-9557653A07E9%7D