The city basketball/tennis court near the Petal Family Branch YMCA on Hillcrest Loop has been temporarily closed after a suspected vandal dumped trash on the courts over the weekend.
Brian Hall, director of the Petal Parks and Recreation Department, said he will keep the court locked for the next few days following the discovery of the trash on Sunday.
“There’s two cans, and they were full, so it wasn’t the wind and it wasn’t an animal, like some people put on Facebook,” he said. “It was purposely taken to the middle of the court and dumped out.
“There were a couple of people that asked why (the cans) were so full. Well, Monday is trash day, so security was pulling them on Sunday.”
Hall said it’s not his intention to punish everyone who uses the courts, but with limited funds, the department can’t afford unnecessary spending.
“We’re in a budget crunch,” he said. “I can’t spend an extra $45 on overtime for an employee to pick up some trash.”
Hall had initially planned to keep the court closed for a week, but said he will probably re-open it by this coming weekend.
“Nobody has (come forward),” he said. “But I’m getting quotes on cameras and I have somebody, depending on price, offering to sponsor the cameras.”
This incident marks the second time in three months the park has been vandalized, as Hall had to replace a backboard in June after he discovered a large hole shattered through the goal on the left side of the hoop. Because of the vandalism, the basketball court was temporarily shut down for repairs, and Hall offered a $100 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of a suspect.
Hall was able to work with Hoops Inc. to get a new backboard for lower-than-normal cost, and was able to get the backboard for $432 rather than the usual $848 price tag.
“If you see someone vandalizing any of our parks, please report them to my office or the Petal police,” said in a previous story. “That isn’t being a snitch; that’s just caring about your city and parks and not wanting to see those parks destroyed or locked up.”
