MAYFIELD, Pa. — A vandalized storage shed, a concession stand in disrepair, and a deformed gate. That’s what organizers of the Mayfield Youth Little League saw when they returned to their field on Saturday to start prepping for the season.
“We needed to go into the shed, and when the shed was opened, we found that it was in disarray and not the way we left it, with graffiti and obviously disruption everywhere,” said Cindy Grabowski, the league’s treasurer.
Organizers haven’t been back to the field since last October, so they don’t know when exactly it happened.
But now, not only do they have to deal with the graffiti, but also the damage done to their lawnmower and the league’s uniform closet, which had spare equipment for young athletes.
“We no longer have access to any of those items because they’ve been ruined, so our uniform closet went from being very full with plenty of options to now having nothing,” said Grabowski.
The shed was not the only place that saw damage; the concession stand did too.
“We lost our fryers, they were broken, our hotdog roller, our cheese dispenser, our Keurig was smashed, our TV menu board was broken, we don’t know about the coolers yet, the door seems to be not in the best of shape,” explained Grabowski.
The stand was the league’s biggest fundraiser.
“That’s our number one money maker for the season, that’s what provides the improvements that the kids and their families see year after year, so taking that out of play is really detrimental to our program,” said Grabowski.
With only three and a half weeks left until the season begins, it’s a setback organizers and parents are now forced to deal with.
“It’s a range of emotions, there’s anger, obviously, we’re angered, we’re trying to provide the best environment for our children, our kids’ friends,” said Ross Tolerico, a parent of an athlete in the league. “So, anger, I would say, disappointment, but again, we’re determined, we’ll get this done.”
The Mayfield Police Department is looking into the damages done at the little league field.