Volunteers frustrated with vandalism in Zephyr
Jan 23, 2010 - 02:02 PM
By Jeff Hayward
UXBRIDGE -- Zephyr residents are hoping vandalism to their outdoor rink will be put on ice.
Colleen McBroom said her husband, along with a couple of his friends and her son, spent weeks creating an outdoor ice rink by flooding the baseball diamond at Zephyr Park near the community hall.
"This is strictly volunteer work, they have donated their time, energy (and) equipment to build a safe rink for the local kids to skate on," she noted.
Since the creation of the rink, she said tire tracks "from a car doing donuts" have been discovered on the ice, followed by snowmobile tracks.
When the weather turned mild, donated snow fencing was put up, along with signs warning people the surface was too soft to skate on, "only to discover people skating on it anyway, taking huge chunks of ice out (of) the rink with their skates."
She added the fencing has even been torn down and posts bent.
"People complain all the time that there is nothing for the kids to do here in Zephyr," she noted. "So when a couple of hardworking volunteers decide to change that, one would think the community might be grateful. But instead, this is the thanks they get. It's a slap in the face."
Pat Molloy, chairman of the Zephyr Hall board, also expressed his frustration with the situation.
"It is always so disappointing for those community-minded volunteers, to have their hard work treated with disrespect, particularly when our own neighbours or neighbours' children are the cause of our frustration," he stated.
He noted lights are being added to the rink area to "discourage some of the poor behavior." Regarding the lights, "all of the material and labour is being donated by a local electrician," explained Mr. Molloy.
Ingrid Svelnis, Uxbridge's chief administrative officer, said she wasn't aware of the rink damage when first contacted by the Times-Journal, but indicated the Township's $1,000 reward for tips leading to a conviction would apply in this situation. A sign at Zephyr park encourages residents to report vandalism at the site by calling 416-990-1964.
"As we all know there are very few secrets in little hamlets like Zephyr, it's only a matter of time before we find out the persons involved here," said Mr. Molloy.
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