Vandals recently trespassed into the new Duval Henderson Park off Hwy. 144 and caused damage.
Authorities say it is the second such incident in two weeks.
As a result, the park is now being heavily patrolled at night and "anyone seen there at night will be jailed for criminal trespassing," said Bryan County Sheriff’s Department Det. Mickey Sands.
Here’s what happened according to the incident report: Sometime on the evening of June 9, vandals drove a bulldozer onto the baseball field and rutted up much of the grounds. Other damages listed in the report included a broken exhaust pipe on a back hoe, that offenders urinated in a water cooler, "excreted in an irrigation channel," destroyed windows on a tractor and spray painted a "male sex organ and swastika" on a concrete walkway.
According to Sands, someone vandalized the park a week earlier, when a tractor was severely damaged after someone ran it into a lake.
"It basically destroyed the engine, which will cost at least a couple thousand dollars," Sands said.
Sands said he found tire tracks for a small pick-up which he believes belongs to the vandals but has little else to go on right now, since there was no surveillance and no witnesses have stepped forward.
County Administrator Phil Jones said the contractors who had their equipment damaged were hit the hardest with these incidents. He said the biggest thing for the county was the re-laying the baseball field which took a full day of work.
"These incidents have not delayed the park project as we are still on schedule," Jones said.
Jones said this was probably done by kids and, "all they’re doing is costing the taxpayers and that may include their parents or grandparents."
Duval Henderson Park is slated to open its doors to the public in mid-October.
The opening will include the completion of the soccer/football fields with the baseball, softball and tennis play areas to come soon thereafter. Also included will be a trail system around the park leading to the 144 spur.
If anyone has any information on the recent vandalism, they are encouraged to call Sands at 756-7952.