Vandalism At McAlester Parks Leads To Search For Suspects Who Caused Thousands In Damage

McAlester Police and city leaders are trying to figure out who caused thousands of dollars in damage to three different parks. The city says vandals hit the park over the past week.

People living in McAlester say the parks are a popular place for people to go, especially on a nice day when school is out for spring break. They say it is frustrating to hear someone keeps tearing up the amenities.

“It saddens me because as kids, we played, we did things, but we never once thought about destroying what was here for us to play with,” said Lori Baggett, who brought her great niece to play at the park.

The city says vandals broke sinks and toilets at Chadick Park, forcing the bathrooms to close for repairs.

On a different night, someone poured oil over the skatepark ramps and ripped a gate off its hinges at the basketball court at Hunter Park.

City leaders estimate the damage will cost thousands of dollars to repair.

“It does cost us money,” said Doug Basinger, City of McAlester Community Services Director. “This is all taxpayer money when we have to repair things.”

The miss didn’t stop there. While the bathrooms were out of order, Basinger says someone left human waste outside on the ground.

“Someone has to clean it up,” he said. “It causes a health hazard for everyone else that’s around. We would certainly ask if the bathrooms are closed, you make every effort to use the bathroom somewhere else.”

Basinger says the city should be a place for everyone to enjoy. He encourages visitors to report anyone causing damage.

“This is your park,” he said.

The city says it installed cameras at the parks in the past, but they were stolen. Anyone with information on the vandals should call McAlester Police or the Parks and Recreation Office.