Camp Lion to replace stolen benches

LYNN – A local organization has volunteered to help pay to replace the stolen Little League benches after reading about the thefts in The Daily Item.Lynn Shore Little League President Dave Dorgan said he was speechless when he received the call from Camp Lion officials about the donation.?I was shocked,” Dorgan said. “We got the call Wednesday morning telling us it was a done deal and Camp Lion would replace the bleachers that were stolen at all the fields. There are good people in this city who really care about the kids. It’s awesome.”Camp Lion Vice President Sean Crowley confirmed that the organization would make a substantial donation to help replace the stolen benches.?Our mission is the betterment of youth in the community,” Crowley said. “We read in The Daily Item about the theft and wanted to do something to help out.”Police on Tuesday arrested Derek White, 35, 15 Evelyn St., Lynn, in connection with the theft of aluminum benches from Kiley Park.Several benches were also stolen from three East Lynn Little League fields sometime during the weekend, but White has not yet been charged with those thefts.Dorgan said he went to the Little League field in Kiley Park Tuesday evening with a small plastic pumpkin and collected what was left of the bleachers.?I picked up a bucket of bolts. That’s all that was left,” he said. “When I got home I was staring at the bolts thinking if we got the seats back maybe we could bolt them back together.”East Lynn Little League President Ryan Boisselle said the donation “reaffirms my belief that there are great people in this city, who really care about our city and the kids living here.”Crowley said he met with DPW Commissioner Jay Fink on Wednesday and there was more damage than originally thought.?The DPW is going to do an inventory and see exactly what needs to be done,” he said. “We talked about using alternative composite materials that are not scrapable ? Camp Lion will do what we can do and replace as much as we can, but the damage may exceed our ability to take care of it all.”Fink said the DPW is still compiling a list of what was taken and has not put a dollar figure on the damage yet.Fink said aluminum was used because it holds up well in adverse weather conditions, does not splinter and is relatively vandal proof. He added composite materials have the same characteristics.?The question is whether they make composite materials that would support a dugout,” he said.Camp Lion has established a fund at Century Bank to help replace the benches at the Little League Field. Donations may be sent to Century Bank, Camp Lion Little League Restoration Fund, 2 State St., Lynn, MA 01901.