Sarnia police say an arrest has been made in connection with the theft of an historic school bell displayed outside the Lochiel Kiwanis Community Centre.
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The bell, which is said to be only remaining relic from one of Sarnia’s earliest schools, was reported missing July 15 from a cairn next to a sidewalk outside the community center.
The Sarnia heritage walking tour says the George Street school, one of the community’s original schools, was demolished in 1938. A plaque on the cairn says the school opened in 1878 and its first principal was Alexander Wark.
The name Meneely and Co., West Troy, NY, is inscribed on the bell.
The website for the New York State Library says Meneely and Company was founded in 1826 by Andrew Meneely in West Troy, which is now Watervliet, New York. In addition to bells, the company made town clocks, chimes, and civil engineering instruments, according to the library.
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Members of the Sarnia police major case action team returned the bell to the community center Wednesday after it was recovered by police the day before.
The weight of the bell was estimated at 136 kilograms or more by center officials and police said it took four or five officers to pick it up and load it on the back of a truck.
As the bell was being returned to the center, Police Chief Derek Davis said an investigation was still underway and charges were expected to be laid.
Police said in a news release Thursday an attempt was made to sell the metal bell to a local scrap yard but it refused to take it.
A suspect was later located and arrested, police said.
A 52-year-old Sarnia resident has been charged with possession and trafficking in stolen property.
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