It's summer, and the neighborhood boys have decided to get together for a little basketball over at the park. After a long, hot ride up there on their bicycles, a cold soda water sounds pretty good. Only one problem -- someone jammed the coke machine last night.
Oh well. Just play a little ball and . . . what? No basketballs. Seems the coke machines vandals were out for more than just a little money after all. The park employees sit inside a half-emptied office cooled by a fan while park maintenance removed the rocks that were jammed into the air-conditioner units. This is no new scene to them, however, and they pass their time making another list of things destroyed or missing this time. Very soon there are no more kids playing at the park. "I don't get it. They pay money, build a park, and supply all this stuff, and, then watch it get torn up. And who cares? Who does anything about it?" said one park employee.
The situation at Beverly Hills Park has been less than good, even the neighborhood children agree, for years. Pat Hunt, an area resident, is not alone in her fears to even let her children do near the park. . . . [vandals put things] down the drain pipes, glue, play-dough, and liquid crayon graffiti covering the floors, walls, and ceilings, and even the building being set on fire have plagued the park.
Buggage recalled April of 1980 when the park was broken into at least two or three times a week, with the culprits finally deciding to take someone's purse, keys, and credit cards with them. That child was caught and taken to court, but released because "he was the child of a friend in the neighborhood."
What scares me is that if these kids are doing this kind of stuff now and nobody cares, what are they going to do for an encore later," said Renae Jenkins, director of the park for seven months. The question of an encore by the vandals was raised to Sanders who said that about 60 percent of the juveniles arrested once are likely to become "repeaters," and the crimes tend to get progressively worse. If they mess up as a juvenile and nobody tries to show concern, then they are going to mess up as an adult. Most of the juvenile delinquent repeaters are finding themselves dead or in the state penitentiary not long after their 17th birthday," said Sanders. . . .
When Buggage and Jenkins were purposely locked into the Beverly Hills Park building by three kids one day, it took the park police two hours to get there and let them out. To Jenkins' knowledge, they have never taken fingerprints, either. According to Chief Burke, this is because of the time demands on the largely undermanned police department.
Beverly Hills Park is part of the southeast Houston district, containing between 20-23 parks. One two-man police car is assigned to each district. "With two policemen to patrol an area that big, there is just not much we can do, " he said. "The only thing we can do is ask for community support. If everybody would write a letter to the councilman of this district that would certainly help a lot," Letters should be addressed to Frank Mancuso, PO Box 1562 Houston 77001.
. . . I am deeply frustrated at the lack of response we have been able to muster from those in positions to actually improve the drainage problems.
The inconsistencies of the situation have been exemplified this past Monday and Tuesday.
On Monday C. Harold Wallace, chairman of the executive committee . . . took time from his busy schedule to meet with the South Belt Leader and inspect the erosion. He said the situation was a "bad one" and agreed to have his crews fill in the ditch and diver the water the direction it was supposed to to -- away from the equalizer ditch.
On Tuesday, crews from Harris Country Flood Control were filling in the ditch and installing an 18-inch pipe to transport the water into the equalizer ditch -- even though it should not drain there.
The problem can be licked but it is going to take area residents demanding proper action be taken and soon.
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