New London police investigating Hatten Park incident
By Scott Bellile
New London police have been investigating vandalism in two parks.
In an unsolved occurrence, a stone wall was broken behind Hatten Park.
Meanwhile, an incident in which youth attempted to break into a railroad car at Memorial Park was solved.
Hatten Park
In late May at Hatten Park, New London police discovered an approximately 6-foot-wide hole formed in a north-facing wall near the bridge in the back woods trail.
Parks and Recreation Director Chad Hoerth explained at the June 6 parks and recreation committee meeting that somebody pulled many rocks out from the wall, enough “that I could have crawled through. They made a huge hole and ripped the whole thing apart.”
Hoerth said there are no leads in the case yet. He said he doesn’t know an estimated cost of the damage, but the parks department will pay in the time it takes to fix it.
“It’s unfortunately getting to be an ongoing battle that individuals are ripping the wall apart,” Hoerth said, noting this isn’t the first time.
Anybody who has information on the incident or sees criminal activity in a park can call New London Police Department at 920-982-8505.
Memorial Park
The railroad car damage occurred on June 5 after 4 p.m., according to a police report.
A neighbor next to Memorial Park reported she heard a loud crack and saw two boys approximately 12-14 years old flee on bikes. She found a padlock on the walkway in front of the train and discovered a broken latch on the train door.
An officer located two boys on bikes on Division Street at Quincy Street and questioned them. They initially denied being at Memorial Park, then said they were there when they heard a crack and saw two boys leave on bikes. Neither offered descriptions of the suspects.
Security footage from the park confirmed the two boys were involved. They admitted to the damages but blamed each other. They were both cited and ordered to pay restitution of $25 each.