LOCKWOOD — The Fourth of July is supposed to be a celebratory holiday but for Lockwood Little League board president, Lindsay Parks, it means inevitable hours of cleanup. Every year their facility gets damaged from fireworks, and this year was no exception.
“We definitely take pride in our facility out here. So for people to do that, it’s frustrating,” said Parks.
The Lockwood Little League board expected another post-holiday cleanup this year, but they didn’t realize it would be this bad.
“The damage to our property is getting worse every single year,” Parks said Wednesday.
Parks used this field when she played softball as a kid. She says it’s been this way since she can remember.
“This whole parking lot here was full of fireworks. They were all over the fields,” said Parks.
Both dumpsters at the facility were also set on fire, seriously damaging them. The Lockwood Fire Department had to come out twice during the holiday to put them out.
“They had to come down here and put them both out, so you know, spending their time,” said Parks.
The dumpsters are a donation from Republic Services. It costs the company about $1,000 to refurbish.
“We just can’t keep having stuff like this happening, damaging their property and costing us money as well,” said Parks.
The entire facility is run by volunteers, which means they’re the ones cleaning up the mess.
“We spent about three and a half, four hours here yesterday morning, cleaning everything up,” said Parks.
She even considered spending her Fourth of July at the facility to prevent the damage from happening.
“It’s stressful. We’re all thinking about it leading up to Fourth of July,” said Parks.
Though it happens every year, she’s hoping next year will be different.
“It’s kind of been a battle with the county getting things shut down and what not,” Parks said.
Parks spoke to Lockwood Fire Department on the fourth when they arrived to put out the dumpster fires.
“After speaking with the fire captain the other night on the Fourth of July, it sounds like we should be able to get things blocked off in the future,” said Parks.
She hopes the public can respect the property especially when kids use the field for little league.
“We’re ran off money that kids fundraise, so it’s taking away from them,” said Parks.
