The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the person or persons responsible for vandalizing the Bristol Consolidated School athletic field, located behind the school on Route 130 in Bristol.
Sometime during the overnight hours June 11-12, someone used a motor vehicle to damage a large portion of the school’s outfield.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Rand Maker said deputies are actively investigating the case and invited the public’s help. Anyone with any information is encouraged to contact the LCSO.
Maker said people could call anonymously if they preferred. “We will treat it however way they want,” he said.
The public is invited to call 563-3200, or 882-7332 with any information. The Bristol Consolidated School can also be reached at 677-6278.
“Right now we are confident we are looking for a full size, probably four wheel drive vehicle,” Maker said.
BCS Athletic Director Chris Perry said the damage to the field was extensive. “It’s basically the entire grassed area of our (baseball) outfield, which basically encompasses our soccer field,” Perry said.
He expressed empathy for Bristol taxpayers who face the burden of “thousands and thousands of dollars” in repair costs.
“Basically, they destroyed the field sometime last night,” Perry said June 12. “The sheriff’s department is working on it. Hopefully, we will find out who is responsible.”
Perry said the field was intact at least as of 8:30 p.m. June 11, when the last people are believed to have left the building for the day. Custodian Bob Onarato noticed the damage when he arrived for work around 6 a.m. this morning, Perry said
The school will begin the process of obtaining cost estimates for repairs in the next few days, Perry said.
The school recently completed its baseball seasons, so the school team is unaffected. However, some local Babe Ruth teams had planned to use the field for at least part of their current season and now they will have to scramble to find another place to play, Perry said.
The Bristol Boosters were actively undertaking a capital campaign to raise money to improve the school’s soccer field, Perry said, adding that task is now that much harder.