Vandals damage soccer fields

By Wayne Laepple
The Daily Item

March 27, 2008 05:21 am

— TURBOTVILLE -- Someone with big wheels and a small mind extensively damaged the AYSO soccer fields near Warrior Run High School, and the same person also may have been responsible for damage at Moser Field in Turbotville.
According to Warrior Run AYSO officials, someone drove a vehicle onto the field last week and did major damage to the field, tearing up the sod and leaving huge ruts in the field.
"We're going to have to redo the entire field," said a dejected Mike Stump. "We got an estimate of $5,875 to repair the damage."
Stump said the extent of damage is especially disappointing because AYSO volunteers spent a great deal of time last fall leveling the field and seeding it.
"We didn't plan to use that for spring soccer so it would green up good and thick," he said. "All that work is ruined."
He said spring soccer would be played at the Moser Fields. The same vehicle that damaged the Warrior Run field also did some damage at the Moser site, he said, but it wasn't as extensive.
A work party is planned at the Moser Fields at 8 a.m. Saturday to repair the damage. In addition, volunteers plan to install posts and cables to protect the fields, he said.
"We'll be there rain or shine," he said. "Anyone who wants to help can bring rakes, shovels and digging bars."
Stump asked the Warrior Run school board Monday to install a gate at the entrance to the field's parking area and lock the gate at the entrance to the field. He said he would meet with Daniel Sheaffer, Warrior Run superintendent, next week to discuss additional security measures.
On Tuesday, Warrior Run maintenance workers used a Bobcat loader in an attempt to smooth out the ruts in the field, along Warrior Run Boulevard about half a mile from the school. They were only partially successful, and the field still will require work and reseeding in some areas.
At the entrance to the parking area, a steel post lay on the ground at the right side of the driveway. It appeared to have been knocked down by a snowplow. Its twin across the driveway still stood. A chain or cable between the two posts would have denied entry to the area to the vandals. Stump said the post has lain there for years.
As word of the vandalism spread, several businesses in the area offered help with equipment and materials, and donations are being collected for a reward for information leading to the vandals.