By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Reuben Sims Field-the home of Hartselle's baseball Tigers-was overrun by vandals last weekend forcing Parks &Recreation Department personnel to work overtime to get it ready for Tuesday's playoff game against Pinson Valley.
Sometime after midnight Saturday thieves forced open the door to the concession stand and ransacked it. They ripped tissue and towel dispensers from the walls of the restrooms, rolled the infield with toilet tissue and painted the bases and base paths with blue paint. They also dumped trashcans on the ground and overturned picnic tables.
"Whomever was responsible was not in any hurry to get away," Frank Miller, P&R director said. "They fried French fries and ate them and also ate ice cream, candy and pickles in the concession stand.
"Some of us worked all day Sunday trying to clean up the mess," Miller stated. "The worst damage was in the restrooms. We're still working there today (Monday) to get it back in working order. And we're trying to decide what we can do to remove blue paint from the bricks at the bottom of the building."
"This couldn't have come at a worst time for us," Miller added. "With all of the rain we've had, we were struggling to keep all of the playing fields ready to play. Now, with spending so much time here, it will be even more difficult for us to keep up."
Miller said Hartselle police are continuing their investigation in an effort to determine who was responsible.