Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Police charged two youths last week for trespassing on Weddle Bridge at Sankey Park last week.
The bridge has been under a continuing assault by vandals and trespassers since it was generally closed to the public last year.
On Feb. 2, police caught Kyle Wingate, 15, and Patrick McNees, 14, on the bridge. Wingate was charged with first-degree criminal mischief for alleging kicking out some boards. McNees was warned for trespassing.
On Friday, the two were both allegedly caught trespassing on the bridge again and were both charged second-degree criminal trespass. Wingate was transported to Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility.
On Feb. 2, the bridge was actually damaged, and someone was building a warming fire underneath the bridge, Police Chief Bob Burford said.
Wingate allegedly “damaged the property, using his boot to gain an exit,” Officer Timothy Trahan said. Others also were on the bridge that day but ran away.
The damaged boards will cost approximately $1,500 to replace, Community Development Director Carol Lewis said. The damaged clear-rated lumber was 20 feet long, 12 inches wide and an inch thick.
Recently, teens have been removing boards under the bridge to get inside the bridge structure rather than the deck, Lewis said. She also has had problems with teens jumping the fence to get on the deck.
The bridge was closed and gated to deal with continual vandalism problems last year.
“We have a lot of graffiti problems going on,” Lewis said. Teens have been getting under the bridge and generally tearing things up around the bridge and park.
City officials have been finding blankets and junk left behind where people have been staying in the bandstand and the gazebo, she said. They’ve been ripping the wood logs out of the bandstand.
“We’ve tried to get everything painted over,” Lewis said. The graffiti is offensive, and some parks users feel threatened by it.
Problems with vandalism, including fires, in the park bathrooms were curbed by closing the bathrooms, she said.
The park has been without a caretaker since December, Lewis said, and she is hoping the new caretaker will help combat the problem.
The real solution to limiting the vandalism is for people to use the park, Lewis said. The people vandalizing the park structures like to be left alone. They don’t like people around when they’re committing vandalism.
“We need a ‘Take Back Our Park’ program,” she said.