Thieves ruined any possibility for Toledo to open its public pools a few days early to help people beat the sweltering temperatures, city officials said yesterday.
"These [metal] scrappers ended any chance at all," said Sherrie Shipman, manager of recreation for the city.
She said there had been discussion about opening some pools earlier because of the recent heat, although she acknowledged that was a slim possibility.
Detwiler and Jamie Farr pools, both of which straddle Summit Street in North Toledo, were the targets of thieves Thursday and Friday nights. Copper piping and other metal equipment were stripped from both locations.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080610/NEWS16/806100...
This isn't the first time pools in the city have not opened because of vandalism. I suggest when the pools are vandalized they stay closed until the next year or when funds can be found to make the repairs. Perhaps this approach would make neighbors more protective of their community assets.
I'm with Bill - close the pools, but I say keep them closed longer than a year. Then when the community gets sick of these losers (their own members) ruining it for the rest of them, they might be more protective like Bill said above. Crime & Punishment the old school way. It always worked then, and it will work again. Of course this is just a treatment and not a cure.
The cure would be the rebuilding of Good Old Family Values. An actively involved Church in the community and some self respect. When you respect yourself, you respect others and others will respect you.
But when you get down to it, this country is turning it's back on good moral values (church) and looking for easy answers in every place but the one they need (God). Meanwhile society is degrading into something akin to the movie Mad Max where every man is out for himself.
Wow....I really went on a tangent on that one. (laughing at myself)