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Vandals mess up field of dreams

by MADISON HARDY
Staff Writer | April 15, 2021 1:07 AM

RATHDRUM — After vandals tarnished Lion's Field with over $2,500 in damage, the community rallied behind Lakeland Little League to restore the property before opening day.

Monday morning, League President Samantha Tuskan received a call that the league's beloved fields had been spray painted and damaged. Based on estimates by Tuskan and league Vice President Shaun Tunnel, without adding the cost of labor, the damage was about $2,500.

"There was significant vandalism," Tuskan said. "They spray-painted everywhere, pulled the helmet case out onto the pitching mound, stacked and spray-painted all inside and out of the dugouts."

For years, Lakeland Little League has rented the Rathdrum Lions Club's baseball fields for $1 annually, Tuskan said.

A Lions Club member first notified the Rathdrum Police Department about the vandalism at 11:25 a.m. Monday, Sgt. Brandon Friis said. Under Idaho Code 18-7001, "malicious injury to property is typically guilty of a misdemeanor but can be as extreme as a felony charge."

"In Idaho, if the value of the damage done is $1,000 or over, it is considered a felony. Anything under is a misdemeanor," Friis said.

Some of the destruction included a broken lock mechanism, damaged Diamond Dry, dumped Roundup on the field outskirts, and tipped and graffitied porta-potties. Vandals also graffitied two score boxes, three bleachers from two fields, and three dugouts. No items were stolen from the fields.

"It's been years since anything like this happened," Friis said. "It was very disheartening to see it."

While the investigation is still open with the Rathdrum Police Department's detective division, Tuskan said she and the board believe the damage was likely the work of juveniles based on the language and drawing content.

"A lot of the spray-painted things were incorrectly spelled or something that an adult most likely wouldn't say, and then the drawings were pretty vulgar," Tuskan said. "We had to cancel practice that day because we didn't want the kids to be exposed."

When Tuskan first heard about the vandalism, she was devastated. After COVID-19 canceled Lakeland Little League's spring season, she said the grounds were running down and needed significant attention. For the last two weeks, Tuskan said volunteers, the board and families got the fields in tiptop shape for opening day this Saturday.

After a series of photos of the damage were shared by the Lakeland Little League's Facebook Page, Tuskan said community support poured in.

Through the league's sponsors, Rathdrum Trading Post Hardware Store, volunteers were given all the materials to remove the graffiti and restore the fields through donation. The Lakeland High School softball and baseball teams also dedicated part of their practice time to paint, scrub, and clean the grime away.

"They got our fields back to shape, and we were able to hold practices yesterday. You wouldn't have even known they were damaged," Tuskan said Wednesday.

Kicking off its spring season this Saturday with an opening ceremony, Tuskan was excited to put the vandalism in the past and focus on the 180 players and the next three months of playing ball.

"I think this year with COVID, the kids need to know that sports are there and to come out and play. Anything that gets in the way of that we are all working with each other to remove," she said. "We'll be able to move forward with our plan with a little more community spirit, too."

If anyone has information about the vandalism, contact the Rathdrum Police Department at 208-687-0711.