Trending
Many families are finding it hard to believe that Black Friday is less than two weeks away -- Black
Friday being the day when careful planning gives way to what usually is about four weeks of holiday shopping frenzy.
But this year offers another kind of "gift" opportunity that hopefully Logan Township Police investigators and the Blair County court system -- either the juvenile court system or adult court, or both -- will be able to deliver.
We're referring to arrests of those responsible for the approximately $100,000 of vandalism inflicted on Lakemont Park in four incidents this year.
The "gift" that we have in mind is a special "tour" of the county's criminal justice system, beginning with the filing of charges and leading eventually to the handing down of appropriate sentences or financial penalties.
Yes, the county's criminal justice system is open around the holidays and willing to provide appropriate accommodations, as needed. No holiday decorating will be necessary.
According to Andrea Cohen, park president, severe damage was done to the park's four basketball courts, and go-carts and a holiday lights display were damaged.
Additionally, two projectors for use in a Halloween event were stolen.
A Nov. 7 Mirror article reported that the individuals responsible for at least some of the damage might have a key to the park itself, judging from the fact that a gate was left open after one of the incidents.
Meanwhile, having left a scooter and bike behind in a late October incident indicated to police that the perpetrators might have fled the scene quickly because of fear about possibly being caught.
Logan Township Police Chief Dave Hoover said the damage to the basketball courts is believed to have been caused by bikes, go-carts and perhaps a scooter.
Restoring the courts apparently will not be a simple task, and when a repair is not simple, it most likely will be costly.
The incidents point to the need for enhanced security, including video surveillance. And if such beefed-up measures are put in place, they must not be kept a secret.
Publicizing their existence through signs and other means can serve as a deterrent to future damage.
"I'm very disappointed," Cohen said. "It's very sad that people think that breaking into a park is acceptable behavior."
The individuals responsible for the damage knew full well, going in, that what they were planning to do was wrong, but they engaged in their despicable, destructive conduct nonetheless.
The quicker the better, even if the onset of punishment occurs close to or within the holiday season.
Lakemont Park has provided fun and entertainment for generations of Altoona area residents, and there is hope within this community that many more generations will grow up fondly remembering the park as the place where they preferred to be.
If the vandals have any semblance of a conscience, they have to be experiencing some pangs of troubled uncertainty about where they might be spending the holidays.
Even if they are not apprehended by then, uncertainty and anxiety are likely to remain entrenched within them as they ponder whether a special unwanted holiday gift awaits them -- one not delivered by Santa or one of his helpers.