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Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: 10/02/2007
Vandalism casts pall over new Peabody playground

Children skateboard, in-line skate and run around the new playground at Carroll School in Peabody yesterday afternoon. There have been recent problems with vandalism at the playground, which has been up for about one month. Kristen Olson/Staff Photo
By Stacie N. Galang
Staff writer



PEABODY - Parents took nearly three years to organize, raise funds and erect two state-of-the-art play sets at Carroll School. Vandals took a little more than a month to deface, damage and disassemble a part of the play area.
Parent organizer Wendy Minton said she discovered profanity-laced graffiti - some directed at Principal Cara Murtagh - on Sept. 23, and it's only gotten worse since. The principal took a picture of the damage and called police and City Hall, the parent said.

The graffiti, defacing a sign stating play area rules, included a lot of vulgarity and drawings, including nooses, Minton said.
"But it's heartbreaking," Minton said. "The intention was for this to be a safe place to bring families."
Instead, the playground has become a gathering spot for unsupervised older children, putting the burden of preventing their misuse of the equipment on school staff like Murtagh.
"We've only been officially opened since Aug. 24," Minton said.
Vandals have also damaged the new slides with skateboards and in-line skates, removed hardware from a walking bridge, littered the area with beer cans and cigarette butts, and dropped chewed gum on the rubberized surface.
Minton said parent organizers expected some possible difficulties with graffiti but never imagined the sorts of problems they've encountered. "Something has to happen soon. We're nervous about Halloween," Minton said. "I think it's all motivated us to work even harder to make sure the problem is resolved."
Minton said the playground committee called an emergency meeting last week. They've written letters to Mayor Michael Bonfanti, sent home letters to parents, looked into placing video cameras in the area, thought about putting up new fences around the equipment and even considered offering a reward for the culprits' capture.
Bonfanti indicated at last week's School Committee meeting that he wanted to set up surveillance cameras at the school.
The Police Department has stepped up patrols of the playground after hours and on weekends. Police investigators are also looking into the vandalism.
"We're taking it very seriously," police Capt. Jerry Bellew said. "Our criminal investigation division is working it as well as the school officers."
Superintendent C. Milton Burnett said a video camera system could cost about $3,000. In the meantime, a portable surveillance system may be installed, he said.

School custodians will continue to check the playground daily to ensure it's free of litter and graffiti before students arrive, Burnett said.
"I think this has invigorated the intensity of people to ensure that this playground is going to continue to be a quality place for the children," Burnett said.
The woes have also discouraged some parents from going to the play area. Parent Denise Eon said she finds herself in the uncomfortable role of having to police other people's children.
"We never thought in million years we'd be up against this," Eon said. "I almost feel like I don't even want to go there. ... I don't want to go there and be a police officer. That's not fun either."
Minton's husband, Bill, said they are committed to ensuring the playground is used safely and properly. He'd be willing to form a task force to watch surveillance video, but they don't have recordable video yet.
"We just go up there every time hoping there's nothing been done," he said. "It just seems endless."
Parents also worried about retaliation from the troublemakers. Parent Debbie Murtagh said she's nauseated, frustrated and ultimately heartbroken.
"It's turned out to be a headache," Murtagh said. "We don't know where to go. We don't know where to start."
Parents of younger children are dealing with older unsupervised children, who should not be using the area, she said.
"We did a good thing for the children, and they're throwing it back in (our) face," she said.
Ward 3 Councilor Rico Mello said he's taken his daughter to the playground, and each time it's been bustling with children. He said the difficulties at the playground also indicate larger issues of parents who aren't keeping tabs on their children.
Yet Mello said that a minority of kids is ruining the experience for the majority.
"It's really a sad commentary about what's going on in our community," he said. "I'm not sure what the immediate answer is."
The police captain is asking the public at large to be on the lookout and to call the station if they see anyone defacing the property. Police have also been interviewing young people in the area.
"We're hopeful we're going to solve this thing because this is something we absolutely won't tolerate and don't tolerate," Bellew said.

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