Staff
The Lions Millennium Park on Second Street East continues to be hit by vandalism.
“This fountain costs money to run [and] it’s getting vandalized all the time,” noted Doug Brown, Operations and Facilities manager for the Town of Fort Frances.
“Kids are throwing [in] toilet paper and dirt and bubbles.
“It’s a mess all the time,” he stressed.
The fountain isn’t the only target of vandalism as the public washrooms also are being hit, Brown noted.
“The doors, the washrooms, are only open during daylight hours, and kids are prying them open and going down there after hours and vandalizing the place,” he said.
Just this past weekend, vandals overflowed the sinks and toilets, plugged the drains and filled the building with water.
Brown urged parents to be aware of what their children are doing to help prevent this sort of vandalism from occurring.
Ultimately, the vandalism means town workers have to go in and clean up the mess—especially since the park is in the middle of town and is a “tourist type” area.
“It costs us time and effort—and it’s all taxpayers’ money that’s being wasted,” he said.
Second Street East resident Kim Redford noted there’s always been vandalism at the park to some extent, such as on the handicapped swing and equipment.
“It’s absolutely frustrating if you expect the park to be kid-friendly and it’s not,” she said about the vandalism, especially the most recent round of it.
“It’s really kind of sad when you go to the park, and the little kids want to use the fountain and it’s gross, and they want to use the equipment and it’s trashed.
“And if you have a little kid and you need to take them into the bathroom, it’s flooded.
“That’s really ruining it for what it’s for,” she remarked.
Redford said she wouldn’t be surprised if the vandalism at the park is connected to what nearby residents are seeing to their own property.
“What has been happening in our area is there has been a lot of mischief and vandalism in our back alley recently, [especially] over the last year,” she noted.
Redford said residents can’t leave a car unlocked as loose change, glasses, iPod connectors, and other items are stolen, and garages can’t be left unlocked as cases of beer are stolen and things are wrecked.
It seems to be happening at night, and seems to be worse on nicer nights.
The OPP is encouraging the public to report criminal activity to police immediately.
“We want the public to know that we welcome calls for service to police,” said Cst. Anne McCoy, noting crime prevention is everyone’s responsibility and that the role of community policing involves both police and community partners working together.
“We need the incidents to be reported to police regardless of the amount of damage,” she stressed.
“Knowing about the occurrences in a timely manner helps officers link the pieces of the puzzle together,” she explained. “When police can respond within a short time frame, they will have a better chance of locating the culprits responsible.
“Property damage crimes cost everyone money,” Cst. McCoy added.
An example of how police and the community worked together in this “timely fashion” occurred back on May 12 when a concerned citizen called the OPP to report some suspicious activity in their neighbourhood as three youth were observed hanging around vehicles.
Police responded and caught the trio responsible for breaking into vehicles and stealing property.
“In talking to the officers, the call helped our members make a co-ordinated response as they parked their police vehicles and quietly walked up on the youth in order to catch them in the act,” noted Cst. McCoy.
“A perfectly-timed call from a community member, effective police response, [and] the culprits were caught and the stolen property was recovered.”
The public is encouraged to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 to report incidents of crime.
As well, anyone may contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS to offer information to police that may help officers solve a crime.
Meanwhile, Cst. McCoy said there are “fantastic resources” in the district, such as the Rainy River Victims Services Program, which can help support victims of crime.
