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Page 2*. PLAIN DEALER HER ALP, WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 28,19t4 Sports Vandalism dims future of McHenry youth baseball Ed Wolf has a headache. It's not one the president of the McHenry Junior Youth Baseball League can get. rid off easily. There probably isn't enough extra strength white tablets or capsules in the world to alleviate this one. Wolf's problem is vandalism. He doesn't commit it -- he's a victim. And he's not the only one. Other victims include innumerable donators, volunteers, parents and over 400 players who participate and-or make the league a success through hard work, caring and dedication. Since September, the league's fields, located behind the VFW on Route 120, have been vandalized three times. Once, a 64-foot section of outfield fence was torn down. The second time, a light pole was chopped down with an ax. And the third time was no charm -- a two-story building which housed equipment and served as an announcing and scoring booth was burnt to the ground. C ADDITIONAL INCIDENTS have included a breaking into and entering of the concession stand, and the use of the field as a motor­ ic cycle trail. \ Wolf explained a problem the league has is that the fields are out of ** the city limits. The McHenry County Sheriff's Office had to be called In, and help from the city is limited due to the field's location. Wolf estimates the cost of repair to the field at $4,000-15,000. But the I' money isn't the half of it, % "I can remember last spring, 16 guys spent a weekend putting the > (equipment and announcing) building up. We had $1,200 worth of lumber donated. When we finally got it up, we were very proud of it." <\ The first week of October, all the work went for naught, as the > building was reduced to ashes. "We lost rakes, tools, bases, hoses, liners. It may not sound like % much, but it adds up," Wolf said. "In the past, we've had some small I- damage done, in the $100-$200 range. But now it's in the $1000's. We're •I not sure if we want to go through the effort again." "I DON'T KNOW what motivates kids to do this," Wolf said. "We all did crazy things when we were kids, but this is dangerous. Chopp­ ing down a pole? Lighting a fire': They don't comprehend how dangerous it is. "We (the league) don't do anything to hurt anybody. We like to take the positive approach, and we have in the past, saying it was the winds that caused things to happen. But this time, we can't." WOLF CALLED the vandalism "senseless." As he said, there's no gain for anyone involved. Nothing was stolen, there's not an ad­ vantage to be gained from any of the acts. "And you know who suffers? The kids. The 400 some-odd kids who want to play baseball." Could Wolf have chosen a more inopportune time to take over as president of the beleagured league? "Is there ever a good time to be a president?" he asked. "I don't know. I just hope we can solve the problem." Ed Wolf's got everything right, except one thing. It's not just a pro­ blem -- it's a shame. Chris Jwzwik Sports Editor Will scenes like the one to the right become obsolete because of scenes like the one below? Van­ dalism problems have plagued the baseball fields at the VFW, which are used by the McHenry Jr. Youth League. The league brain- trust is beginning to wonder if it can afford to sponsor a league In the 1985 season. THE BOTTOM line is that the days of youth league baseball in McHenry may be numbered. "We have a $25,000 budget," Wolf explained. "The 20 percent van­ dalism cost isn't figured into our overhead. We have to ask ourselves 'can we afford to put the program on?"' The league is entirely self-sufficient. The money to run it comes strictly from donations, registration fees and fundraisers. "We have three fundraisers already," Wolf said. "Every organiza­ tion has fundraisers. We'd be pushing it to have any more." So where does that leave 400-plus would-be baseball players during the summer months? "I don't know if the city could support another 400 baseball players. They already have pigtail leagues and softball leagues. Where would they play? Could the city take over the league?" City of McHenry Parks and Recreation director Pete Merkel says no. "Money wouldn't be the problem," Merkel said. But we just don't have the staff. Soccer has outgrown our staff. We could find places to play, but it would make the crowding problem even worse." MERKEL SAID THE city used to cut the grass on the fields, and take care of bleachers, but stopped doing that when city fields came into being. "We just haven't got the time to deal with the VFW fields," Merkel said. "We have Knox and Petersen parks to take care of. The VFW fields have always had problems, vandalism included." Merkel said it's common knowledge the VFW is up for sale, and the city has reasoned it doesn't make sense to toss money into something that tomorrow may be sold. "The city contributes $1,500 to the league every year," Merkel said. "And they have every year I've been here (since 1979)." City workers, using donated lumber, built new bleachers for the league last season, Merkel said. Wolf said the league has offered a $500 reward for anyone helping with the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Thus far, he said he knows of no action. "We could probably get the money to fix everything," Wolf said. "But how do we keep them from doing it again. VFW MANAGER Wally Scarbrough said the sheriff's police patrol the area often. "Five, six times a day. And they always have," he ad­ ded. Scarbrough explained the VFW has no windows in the rear, making it impossible to see anything on the baseball fields behind the building. "We can't take too many of these hits anymore," Wolf said. "We've been fortunate with donations from businesses, and all the volunteer time we've gotten." But, as Wolf said, who's to say it will continue? 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