REEFER ON THE ROOFTOP

St. Thomas, Ont. -- In a novel twist on having bats in the belfry, a
St. Thomas, Ont., church has found reefer on the rooftop.

Climbing the roof Tuesday night to check on a leak, two members of the
Gospel Hall congregation found 29 mature marijuana plants.

"That's not a usual thing," said Alan Patten, one of the men who found
the plants.

"It's a little bit of a surprise to find it on the rooftop of a
church. You don't expect to find it there," agreed St. Thomas, Ont.,
police Staff Sgt. Chris Herridge.

The plants, each about one metre in height, were growing in pots
inside 29 large plastic garbage containers.

Police had no estimate on the value of the pot Tuesday
night.

Church elder Wade Steers speculated the plants had to be placed
sometime in the past couple of weeks.

There was a roofer on site three weeks ago and Mr. Steers himself was
up a week before that.

A parapet running around the front of the building kept the grow
operation out of sight.

After calling the police, Mr. Steers indicated the congregation is
worried that about the bad publicity the mini pot crop could reap for
the church.

"I'm 100 per cent certain it's no one in the church or people who come
to this church. One hundred per cent certain," he insisted.

While police are continuing their investigation, Mr. Herridge expects
it will be nearly impossible to track down whoever put the plants on
the roof.

"I would say the chances are going to be slim," he said.