Little League faces $1G in vandalism damage

LYNN – The players are focusing on the upcoming championship game.But the president of Lynn Shore Little League has his eye on another task: replacing an estimated $1,000 worth of equipment and facilities damaged by vandals Friday night.”I don’t think (the damage) is enough to meet the insurance claim, but 1,000 bucks for Little League is a ton of money,” Lynn Shore Little League President David Dorgan said Monday evening. “It’s disheartening.”Dorgan said the league is concluding its fall fundraising tournament and a team of 9-, 10- and 11-year olds are practicing almost daily at Kiley Park in East Lynn. When a coach arrived Saturday morning to prepare for practice, the coach reported that somebody had gotten inside the batting cage and torn apart the nets.Dorgan said the suspected vandal or vandals also smashed bricks in some stairs leading to the clubhouse and smashed in a window to try and break into the clubhouse building. Dorgan said coaches held practice on Saturday, then he returned after dinner and fixed the clubhouse window.Dorgan estimated the damage at $1,000.He said the players weren’t told about the damage; they have other concerns.”It’s not really something we want to concern them with; they’re here to play baseball,” Dorgan said.But the kids may nevertheless be affected. Dorgan said plans to extend the warning track may have to be shelved due to the vandalism.Meanwhile, the police are trying to identify suspects in the case, noted as a breaking and entering in the Lynn police log.Dorgan said he is not only frustrated with the financial impacts of the vandalism, however.”We’ve spent a lot of time on improvements [at the field],” he said. During the past four years, the league has redone the field using a local landscaper, and the program has grown from 90 players to 173 players, Dorgan reported.”We had a waiting list this year because we only have two fields,” Dorgan said. “We could have had another team but we didn’t have any field for them.”Dorgan said this isn’t the first time the field has been vandalized, either. Somebody walked away with the bleachers once, and police found a man in his driveway trying to cut the stands up for scrap metal, Dorgan said.”We were surprised but not shocked,” he said of the recent vandalism. “The field’s off of Chatham Street in Lynn.”And the league has no choice but to fix and/or replace the damage. Dorgan said the nets are necessary for safety in the batting cages, for instance. He said the stair repairs may have to wait until spring. And the money raised in the fundraising tournament may have a different purpose than originally intended.”We’ll try to figure it out,” Dorgan said. “We don’t have a choice.”Update: Those looking to make donations may contact:President, Lynn Shore Little League31 Kings Beach Rd, Lynn, MA 01902781-596-3006