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My kids and I arrived at the playground this morning to find trash strewn all over the grounds and equipment, a fire extinguisher expended on the grounds, and trash cans turned over with contents all over. I then noticed a pile of zip-lock bags outside the back door of the concessions stand. As I approached I noticed that the doorknob had been cut off. I pulled the door open and found the place trashed, with the door to the refrigerator pulled off the hinges, boxes torn open, and ketchup squirted all over the ceiling and walls.
To top it off the perps bent one of the soccer goals. The Sunday soccer players were going to try to bend it back as I was leaving.
In mitigation, they left some literature for the kids to read, right by the swing-sets – a copy of Hustler Magazine.
It’s heart-breaking, and how do you explain it to a 3-year-old and 6-year-old? Right now they are with their mother and some others to clean the place up. The Sheriff’s office was called and a deputy arrived at some point, but I doubt they took fingerprints or anything.
As far as I’m concerned it’s a hate crime against children. Whatever these people are angry about, they have no right to take it out on the kids. And if anyone has any information about it and you’re withholding it due to the perennial code of silence around here, then shame on you too.
Addendum: In addition to breaking through the back door, they tore off some of the siding from the front of the concessions stand.
But worst of all they broke into the school library and computer lab and may have trashed a couple of computers. They also tore down a tree in the courtyard. Probably we haven’t found all of the damage.
A Sheriff’s deputy is investigating. He says he probably won’t take fingerprints because it’s usually kids who haven’t been printed in the past. Congrats to the parents of these kids. Great job!
Second addendum: It turns out the refrigerator wasn’t busted. It was leaning, but after someone set it right the door appears to be intact. I have no idea if microwave machines or anything else are missing, but as you can see they left the cash register which was probably empty. They had also sprayed the fire extinguisher inside one of port-o-potties (which had recently been strapped to the fence after incidents of knocking them on their sides).
For some reason some of my better shots didn’t come in. I was having memory problems and I deleted some to take more picture, but I think I may have deleted some of those I wanted to keep. In any case, this should give you an idea.
Third addendum: I just spoke to a neighbor to the school who heard the commotion last night. He called it in and Sheriff’s deputies showed up with flashlights, but the perpetrators had left the scene. He says he knows the individuals whom he says range from 17 to 22 years of age. The deputies last night took some photos, but apparently weren’t interested in questioning the neighbor.
Fourth addendum: Just learned, they sprayed the fire extinguisher into the freezer. Nice.
Fifth addendum: Correction, the Sheriff deputy did fingerprint the premises, but he told the clean-up folk (I really wish more people had turned out) not to expect anything to come out of it.
Sixth addendum: I made it up to the computer room. The Superintendent and others had already been there, so I don’t know if this is the condition of this morning, but from outward appearances the computers appear to be intact. The room had been locked back up, so I had to take the photo through the glass.
You can click on the photos to enlarge them.
Seventh addendum: Just learned that computers were destroyed, though not as many as had been initially reported. That none of them was stolen suggests something about the socioeconomic class of the perpetrators.
I will be keeping my humboldt.net address for a while longer, but I’m beginning the transition. You can reach me at ericvkirk at gmail.com.
I’m also considering a near future move of this blog to WordPress. Stay tuned.
I don’t believe this poll.
Nor do I believe Obama is winning in Montana.
Nor do I believe he’s tied in South Dakota, even if Obama’s internal polling is justifying his campaigning there.
But I have to say, I haven’t seen reports of so many “outliers” ever.
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