Tag Archive for: Vandals

Vandals Target Castlerock GC

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Vandals Target Castlerock GC: Police are appealing for information following extensive criminal damage caused to Castlerock Golf Club’s course and green hut during the early hours of this morning.

A police spokesperson said “Those responsible have caused damage which will cost thousands to repair.  A deliberate fire was started on the long grass on the course and we believe smoke and flames would have been visible from Circular Road and further afar.

Please if you have any information which you believe may assist us in our investigation please contact Limavady Police on 101 quoting ref CCS 731 of 15/7/18.”

Commenting on the vandalism Councillor William McCandless said “The vandalism at Castlerock Golf club has not just been an attack on the club itself, it has a serious detrimental effect upon our Tourism Industry.

Our Council area relies heavily upon Tourism for jobs and revenue and golf is an important factor in this. Golf tourism is a key priority at Tourism N.I. and courses like Castlerock are crucial to this strategy.
Castlerock Golf Club established in 1901 is located at the mouth of the river Bann with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, the hills of Donegal and Islay.

A tough links course Castlerock can certainly compete with neighbouring Portstewart and Royal Portrush for an enjoyable days golf. Recently extensive work has been carried out by the club to improve many of the holes.

I would appeal to anyone who noticed anything unusual to contact PSNI to assist in apprehending those who carried out this damage. Arson and breaking windows are serious crimes and must not be tolerated.”

A spokesperson for Castlerock Golf Club said “Anyone with information please contact the PSNI or to the club direct by emailing bert@castlerockgc.co.uk.”

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Vandals Wreck Sports Ground

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Vandals Wreck Sports Ground: HB Regional Sports Park management and users are understandably unhappy that over the weekend hoons in vehicles have ripped up one of the grassed playing fields.

For what was probably a few minutes of “fun”, these vandals have destroyed weeks of work that went into preparing the field, ruined a season of sport that players would have had on the pitch and cost the park a lot of money.

The damage is going to take the rest of the playing season to fix.

All for what? And why?

Rugby League Hawke’s Bay chairman Kevin Tamati has referred to the vandals as “idiots”. I doubt anyone will argue with him.

“While the vast majority of us would see the harm in wrecking a public playing field, there is a brainless minority that sees a grassed area as a chance to use their vehicle like a roundabout in a kids’ playground.

And any grassed area seems to be fair game … reserves and domains, picnic areas, river berms, school fields. I can’t understand someone that could delight in trashing what belongs to all of us. Where’s the pride in turning an expanse of grass into a swampy, muddy mess?

While all around us last weekend there were volunteers planting and beautifying our parks and reserves, why would you prefer to cause ugliness and ruin?

Not to mention that it’s illegal.

I have a suggestion – if these infantile souls like to go round and round, perhaps they could wait until all the smaller children have gone home from the playgrounds and they could spin on roundabouts all they like. Or go really high on the swings if it’s thrills they are after.

And they wouldn’t be breaking the law, exactly, though some playgrounds do have an age limit so that should give them a frisson of guilt, if that’s what they are after.

Or – and here’s an idea I bet none of them have thought of – they could grow up, act their ages and respect people’s property. Maybe even take up a sport and enjoy the playing fields in a whole – and wholesome – new way?”

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Vandals Tear Up Football Pitch

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Vandals Tear Up Football Pitch: The Gibbons soccer field recently suffered from vandalism.

Sometime between Sunday (Jun.11) and Monday, the soccer pitch was driven on while wet, causing significant damage to the grass.

“I feel for the kids who use that field because the local groups they’re really all we have for our entertainment,” said Gibbons councillor Amber Harris. “And then I felt bad for the tireless volunteers who work with the minor soccer folks because they put their heart and soul into developing those fields and making sure they’re playable.”
This isn’t the first time this has happened in the town.  A similar incident happened at the same time last year.
“It ticks me off that some people don’t have any respect for property,” added Harris.

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Vandals Cause Golf Club Closure

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Vandals Cause Golf Club Closure: A popular golf course heavily damaged by vandals in Skagit County is now temporarily closed while crews replace more than a dozen greens.

Roll by roll.

Green by green.

A transformation is underway at Swinomish Golf Links.

As soon as a row of new sod is put down, crews pull it into place.

They then trim each of the edges.

It’s a process they’ll have to repeat 16 times due to the extensive damage vandals caused at the course last month.

“7-10 days…we’re hopeful we can get all of the replacement and repairs done,” Dallas Widmark, Lodge General Manager for the Swinomish Casino and Lodge.

If that timeline seems quick, it is.

Employees made the difficult decision this week to temporarily close the course after vandals sprayed a grass-and-weed-killing compound called Glyphosate on 16 of the course’s greens last month and spelled out a swear word on the 11th hole.

Damages could climb to more than $400,000, Widmark told KOMO News. About one-third of that will likely be in lost revenue, he added.

“Historically, in this part of the state, this part of the country, your golf season is really Memorial Day through Labor Day. And the fact that it happened when it did and being closed essentially 1/3 of the summer… maybe more… it’s incredibly impactful,” Widmark said.

The clubhouse and the driving range will remain, Widmark said.

So golfers like Jeff Yoder can continue to take lessons.

“I was angry. Wondering why somebody would do that to the golf course. I don’t know what they’re trying to prove, but it just seemed to me like a stupid move,” Yoder said about the damage caused by the vandals. “It’s a good course. People that work here are good to work with.”

Some of the greens will require new drainage systems, Widmark said.

Crews will try to salvage what they can, he added.

The hope is to get the course back open in early July after the new greens have been watered and given time to settle, Widmark said.

“I really think we’re going to do everything we can to turn this into a positive,” Widmark told KOMO News.

It’s a setback Widmark wishes would have never happened.

But he and his crew are already making plans for a big reopening, that could include a free day of golf for the entire community, he said. Donations could be collected to give to various charities and fundraisers that host their golf tournaments at the course.

“The support that we have received from the community has been amazing,” Widmark said.

The course does have insurance, so that could cover some of the cost for repairs, Widmark said.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is still offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

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Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens

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Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens: Within the next few days, test results should reveal the chemical that vandals used to damage 16 greens at a popular golf course in Skagit County.

A swear word was also spelled out in the grass on one of the holes at Swinomish Golf Links.

Employees believe the vandal or vandals picked their targets here carefully. The greens closest to the clubhouse are covered by surveillance cameras and were not hit.

“It’s stupid. I don’t why people vandalize. It doesn’t make sense to me,” said golfer Walt Matye.

“Very disgusting. Just like graffiti and that, there’s no point. It doesn’t accomplish anything except make matters worse,” added his cousin, Marshall.

Sometime within the past week, the vandals trespassed on the 100-acre course overnight and sprayed some type of grass-killing chemical on most of the greens, investigators told KOMO News. A swear word was also left behind on hole 11.

“It had to be a very involved process. One that was thought out. And for them to have access to the course by either driving or bringing this stuff with them is something that was well planned out,” said Chairman Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

Tests are now being performed on the damaged grass and soil to try to figure out what chemical the vandal or vandals used.

If the chemical damaged the soil, it’s possible the course may have to temporarily close until expensive repairs can be made, employees said.

A temporary closure would be a huge hit considering the time of year.

“These individuals knew what they were doing. They know golf. They know the peak season. They know that the majority of the income produced by golf courses in the northwest is right around Memorial Day to Labor Day,” Cladoosby said.

Right now, this course is still playable.

Employees have drastically reduced rates for players because of the damage left behind.

“It just takes a few people to ruin it for the majority of the people to have a good time,” said Marshall Matye. “I guess the only thing they think about is themselves.”

The course does have insurance, employees said. But it’s possible the damage could climb to more than $500,000, they added.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

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