ATHABASCA – Repeated acts of vandalism at Lions Centennial Park recently have members of that organization wondering what can be done to keep the iconic park overlooking the town from the north side of the river the attraction it has always been.
At Athabasca town council’s Oct. 5 regular meeting, Lions members Mike McLean and Dave McGuire told councillors about some of the problems they’ve been having at the park.
“If you haven't been there recently, go have a look, it's one of the best views of this area,” McLean said. “We're seeing the worst vandalism up there that I think we've ever seen. It's bad enough that we're thinking of removing the outhouses … We've identified a group of high school-aged youth that seem to be up there and we're awfully sure that it's them doing a lot of this.”
McLean went on to commend community peace officer Brian Bandura for making regular appearances at the park during the day, but said he has been there himself at night and is ill-equipped to handle a group of high school-aged kids damaging property by himself at that time of day.
Coun. John Traynor, who is also a high school teacher, offered to join McLean the next time he was checking on the park, and would perhaps be able to identify the youth suspected of causing the damage.
“If they're coming from the high school, I would probably know who they are and could put a name to a face and see if we can corral that before it starts and maybe cut it off the pass,” Traynor said. “Sometimes it's just a bunch of turkeys doing their thing, but if its escalating and there’s property damage it's not fun and games anymore.”
He also thought making it known at the school that the culprits were being sought might help see the number of incidents start to trend downward.
Mayor Colleen Powell commented that getting the school on board was a great start.
Coun. Tannia Cherniwchan said even more input from other members of the community would be helpful as well.
“There are so many people who believe that that park is the diamond of our community, so I'm sure that input from some residents in town, if you get the right people, I'm sure that you could come up with some really great ideas, so that's something to keep in mind as well,” she said.
