Maurice park vandalized

MAURICE — An area designed for Village of Maurice families to enjoy had a different look Tuesday morning.
Police tape sectioned off a portion of Maurice Park vandalized Monday night. At least one vehicle created ruts in the grass, leading Maurice officials to close off the area.
“It is in an area in front of the playground equipment and it is damaged in such a way that we will have to restrict access to this area,” Maurice Mayor Wayne Theriot said. “This is the area that the young children of our community run, play and utilize the equipment.
“We will have to repair the ground to prevent any youngsters from tripping and hurting themselves.”
The cost to repair the area is estimated at $3,000. A similar incident occurred last summer.
“Being this is the second such incident in the last six months, we are looking at fencing in the front of the park,” Theriot said.
The move is necessary at this point, Theriot stressed. The village placed new playground equipment at the park last year, which totaled more than $20,000. It is an investment Theriot said, that, while it has not been a target of vandalism, officials want to ensure stays intact.
“This was something we were trying to avoid,” Theriot said of putting up a fence, “being that it will be very costly, but we will have to do it to protect our investment and to allow our youth to continue to have a place for their enjoyment.”
Anyone with information that would help in identifying the individuals who are responsible, please notify the Maurice Police Department at 893-2540, City Hall, 893-6406 or Theriot on his cell at 330-3039.
“Let us ban together to prove that our community is better than this and will not stand for this type of activity,” Theriot said.