Vandals damage more playground equipment

By Kathy Johnson

THE COAST GUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Children in Shelburne now have less playground equipment thanks to the recent efforts of vandals.

The Town of Shelburne has been forced to remove the largest piece of apparatus from the George Street playground, after vandals destroyed three of the slides by poking holes through them. Vandals also cracked and damaged parts of the main structure, rendering the equipment unsafe.

And by month’s end, it’s likely the ramps at the King Street skateboard park will also have to be removed because vandals have damaged the ramps.

“It’s not little kids doing it,” said Jerry Locke, parks and recreation supervisor for the town. “And it’s not things breaking because they’re wore out. It’s big kids.”

Over the past several years, vandalism seems to be on the rise, said Locke, with damage being done to the walking trail and the ballpark as well as the playground.

Last spring the two teeter-totters had to be removed from the George Street playground and repaired due to vandalism. The ball hockey nets also had to be removed because they were destroyed by vandals.

Along the walking trail, signs have been damaged and trees cut down, said Locke. At the ball field, the field has been tore up and the locks smashed off the bathroom doors.

While some of the other playground equipment that was damaged has since been repaired, it’s not going to be that simple with this latest destruction, said Locke.

To replace the broken pieces will cost $3,000, he said, and to replace the entire structure would cost $6,800.

The money’s not in the budget,” said Locke. “Now I’ve got to try and figure out how we can afford to replace the broken parts.

“If we spend all our time and money fixing things up that are damaged then we can’t spend it on making improvements,” said Locke.

In an effort to curb vandalism at the George Street playground, the town is offering a $250 reward for evidence leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandal(s). Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCMP.

CUT

Parks and recreation supervisor for the Town of Shelburne, Jerry Locke, looks over one of the slides from a large piece of playground equipment that was damaged by vandals. The apparatus had to be removed from the George Street playground because it was unsafe. Fed up with increasing vandalism, the town is offering a $250 reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who damaged the playground equipment. Kathy Johnson photo