Oak Bay News, January 30, 2013

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Oak Bay High student council members Maria Talalaeva, left, and Justin Lee, right, on bikes that will be given to students who may not be able to afford one. The two are joined by Oak Bay Police Const. Julie Chanin, left, student council member Claire Wood and Oak Bay Bikes owner Karl Ullrich. Sharon Tiffin/News staff

LOST AND FOUND Laura Lavin News staff

What was once lost has now been found. Bikes that were found property turned in to the Oak Bay Police and unclaimed for more than a year have a new lease on life. “Bikes get turned in for different reasons, some are found abandoned, some are stolen,” Oak Bay Police Sgt. Ian Craib said. “They all get processed and we hold on to them for a year to a year-and-a-half, depending on the value of the bike.” Police hang onto the bikes hoping to reunite them with their owners.

Oak Bay Police give new life to old bikes

“Some of the bikes are in rough suitable for donation locally, they would shape and have been outside for a long find a way to make that happen. time,” Craib said. Many “We felt it would be of those are sent to the nice to send a couple of “We thought if we Compassionate Resource to people in need can identify people who bikes Warehouse, which has here,” Craib said. “We them fixed up and ships thought if we can identify cannot afford to buy a them overseas to countries who cannot afford bike, it would be a great people such as Africa, where two to buy a bike, it would be wheels are commonly used way to help out in our a great way to help out in for transportation. our community. Oak Bay community.” Craib and his coworker Bikes stepped up to help - Ian Craib Const. Julie Chanin decided out and fixed them up that if they could find a for us.” couple of bikes out of the 40 or so that sit The staff of Oak Bay Bikes donated in Oak Bay Police storage that would be the time, energy, money and expertise to

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make the bikes as good as new and they were donated to the Oak Bay High student council last week. Student council members will in turn donate the bikes to a pair of deserving teens. Chanin said she hopes to continue recycling bikes this way, providing students in need with a fun, healthy, green and economical mode of transportation. “There are people in all sorts of economic situations here. Not everybody here can afford bikes. In my experience there are people here that need help,” Craib added. editor@oakbaynews.com