Vandalism occurred at an Ellis Park playhouse for children sometime between Dec. 11 and 12.
“I discovered it on Saturday afternoon. I went there to get measurements to make roof repairs,” said Seth Needham, an organizer of the Citizens for Park Improvement group. “We assumed the original damage to the roof was wind damage.”
However, Needham heard from multiple people that some kids were bragging to their friends about tearing up the roof several weeks ago.
“Friday night they just finished what they started,” he said. “It also sounds like they may be responsible for the damage to the picnic tables, but there is no way to verify that because it’s hearsay.”
Needham also just recently became a member of the newly formed Fort Scott Park Advisory Board, organized by the city commission.
The FS Public Works Director Chad Brown did not want to comment on this particular case at Ellis Park since it is still being investigated, he said.
“But vandalism is a problem in our world, not just in Fort Scott but everywhere,” Brown said. ” Vandalism costs the taxpayers on so many levels you often have to wonder if the cost of having or re-building these things is worth it. Here in Fort Scott, we do not have much to begin with, so we as a community need to make sure that we are trying to take care of the amenities that we do have.”
Brown said the city is working to add security to the parks.
“In the future, we will be installing security cameras at various locations across the parks and other areas to make sure we can keep these things in as good a shape as we can and hopefully prevent this type of activity in the future,” Brown said.
- New roof, including rafters, shingles, sheathing.
- New floor joists and sheathing for the second story floor.
- New stairs to the second story.
- Exterior trim on corners and gables
- Window trim.
- Siding
