SAUGUS -The wind is blowing foul at World Series Park where vandals struck Friday night or early Saturday morning damaging a weathervane and pushing out a screen in the new concession/storage building.
Park Superintendent Bob Davis discovered the destruction Saturday morning and Monday his frustration was still palpable.”I just hope this isn’t a preview of things to come,” Davis said. “It’s a beautiful weathervane. I just don’t understand why people do such things.”The vandals snapped off the east and west arms of the weathervane, which also sports a baseball mitt and bat and sits roughly 30 feet off the ground atop the new building. Davis said with no ladders around it’s a bit of mystery of how vandals reached the rooftop.”There are some boards around,” he said. “They could have propped one up. If you can get to the lower roof you can get to the upper part but I just don’t get it. I don’t understand it; it’s a lot of energy to expend for something so stupid.”David said a screen was also poked out in what Davis said looks like a lame attempt to enter the building.Davis said he initially was going to let the incident slide but in the end called the police and filed a report. His hope is that by filing an official report and telling people what happened it will make people a little more vigilant.”And if they see something they’ll report it,” he said.Davis spends much of his time at the park and has been known to drive through the area at random times of night or early morning to check on things. He said he would love to catch the vandals red-handed one day.Had the vandals waited a few days to strike, Davis might have caught them on tape.Security cameras are being installed today in an attempt to stave off incidents such as this and, Davis said they would have been in the correct position to catch the troublemakers.”It’s too bad it comes to this, where money has to be spent to monitor people who don’t respect what we’re trying to do to make things better for the youth of Saugus,” Davis said. “I just don’t understand what enjoyment someone gets from doing this.”The cameras are being installed in part because last weekend was not the first time World Series Park has been the target of vandals. Last summer, vandals hit an excavator being used in the construction of the building. Other incidents include three instances of damage to the dedication monument, four instances of damage to the portable concession stand, the theft of 40 feet of fencing and a smashed windshield on the loader used in the original field excavation.Davis said there have also been objects, such as trash barrels, thrown onto the field, cinder blocks thrown through temporary fence, beer cans and bottles thrown into dugouts and throughout parking lot, and damage to the rented portable toilet.The new building, which is still under construction, is being built entirely through donations, much as the park itself was built.”The park was created to provide more opportunity to play baseball in Saugus, to give kids a nice place to play, and then others come along with the intent to destroy it,” Davis said. “It drives me crazy.”Davis went on to say that he encourages people to drive through the park at night. “If they witness any suspicious activity call me at 781-233-4555 or the Saugus Police at 781-233-1740,” he said. “There are some people who are already doing this and we appreciate their help.”
