The Atwater Little League is off to a tough start this pre-season.
The league, as a partner with the City of Atwater, uses the city’s Osborne Park for the local Merced-Atwater Little League Season. This week, a fire started in the portable potties located in the park’s parking lot. The fire spread to the League’s storage unit that housed about $16,000 to $20,000 worth of equipment, including a lawn mower and a Mule-ATV that is used to drag the fields. Fortunately, there was no baseball playing gear inside.
It was the second blow to the league in recent weeks. Earlier in January, the same storage room was broken into, luckily nothing was taken, but the door and frame were broken, and that required repairs.
League President Craig Fleming believes the culprits behind all the damage are probably people struggling with homelessness or mental illness, or maybe just no-good vandals.
“It’s a sad thing when people do this,” he told the Times. “We have to pay for the porta potties with the season that’s coming up.”
Team practices start this month, and the season begins March 6. This year, Atwater has more than 600 kids registered.
The league is setting up a Go Fund Me to cover the costs not covered by their basic insurance. You can follow that progress on the league’s Facebook page. Those looking to help can also contact the league’s secretary at (209) 648-4660.