HOUSTON – Over the weekend, a little league field on Houston’s southeast side was vandalized twice in 24 hours, leaving the community upset.
Houston Little League field vandalized twice in 24 hours
Families, OFA Little League, and the community are trying to figure out the next game plan after the OFA Little League President said thieves broke into a gate and robbed them of wires to keep the lights on.
“They came back twice. On Friday morning, the first time they came. I arrived at the park on Friday about 9 in the evening and I went into the concession stand to check on the concession stand and I flicked on the lights and the lights didn’t come on. So I went to check the breaker and the breaker wasn’t working either,” said Amy Guerreo. “So I said let’s go to the big lights, so I came to the lights over here, and I noticed that the lock was broken, that gate was open a little bit for me to see.”
Why you should care:
Guerreo said when she noticed more wires were taken, after the first look, she immediately thought about the kids she serves.
“I came back Saturday morning. As soon as I entered the park, there was another piece of the bar that was broken. Both of these poles, the center poles were down, and the wiring was scattered onto the park, and I come back in here to check and the second part of the shelving of the wire was gone,” said Guerreo.
Gurrero took our FOX 26 crew back near the breakers and showed us cut wire, open breaker doors, and power lines cut down on the ground.
“I think they took — every single little bit of wiring is gone, whether it’s copper, aluminum, it’s all gone. There is nothing in there,” Guerreo said. “Honestly, I’m heartbroken that it happened here, just because they are taking from the kids. They are not taking from anybody else, they are taking from these kids that actually enjoy coming here.”
Gurrero said as the OFA President she felt upset for the kids who would be impacted by thieves. She said the lights are important because the players have practice in the evening.
“I serve children from the ages three up to 16. We start with tee ball all the way with junior to senior kids, and we play baseball, we play softball, they have practices during the week, they have games every week, and it keeps them out of trouble,” said Guerreo.
Guerreo said she hopes the power can be restored quickly so that kids can get back to the game they love.
“It powered everything, including my concession stand. I have no power to do anything,” Guerreo said. “But I refuse to go out with them, not being able to enjoy something before the season ends.”
What’s next:
FOX 26 spoke with two groups who will work to cut the power back on. The first is TPC Group, and they own the land where the little league field sits. They tell us :
“TPC Group has a long-standing partnership with OFA Little League. Since 1956, the OFA fields have provided a place for hundreds of children each year to play baseball, build friendships and engage with their community. We have supported the League’s operations with routine and ongoing field maintenance to help support a safe and fun experience for little leaguers and their families. It is very disheartening to learn of the theft and damage at the park this weekend. We are working with OFA Little League to help repair the fields so the league can finish out their fall season, while we assess the damage and determine a path forward for supporting further repairs,” said Sara Cronin, TPC Group, VP, Communications & Public Affairs.
We also spoke with CenterPoint about power restoration, and they tell us:
“CenterPoint Energy is committed to providing reliable service to our customers in the Greater Houston area. We are aware of damages to customer-owned equipment at 4903 Oriole St. in Southeast Houston. CenterPoint crews disconnected service, so repairs can be made safely by the customer’s electrician. Once repairs are complete, power will be restored.”
The Source: FOX 26 Reporter Leslie DelasBour spoke with OFA Little League President Amy Guerreo.