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Boys' vandalism prompts Paradise to end its generosity on recreation fees By
Joe Rowley PARADISE -- The actions of few will affect many. Now some town youth who have been able to play on community leagues without paying fees will find their free ride has just left the station. In the past the town has allowed children who could not afford the cost of playing on a community team to work off the debt through service to the town. Often that work has never been done, said Mayor Lee Atwood during the Town Council meeting Wednesday evening. Because one father refused to pay the debt owed by his son, Atwood has asked recreation organizers to not allow children to play until the work is actually done. As the meeting was drawing to a close and the council was approving bills to be paid, a bill for $148.22 to Coca-Cola to replace the front panel of a vending machine outside the town office was approved. Three 10-year-old boys had broken the panel in early August as they were kicking the machine, trying to get a free pop out of it. Two of the boys repaid their share of the cost by husking corn at Trout and Berry Days, picking up trash that had blown out of a trash bin and taking money out of their own savings accounts, Atwood said.. But the father of the third boy said he's "calling it even," Atwood said. The father reminded Atwood of when his car window was broken at the park when it was hit by a baseball. He had asked the mayor if the town would pay for it, but Atwood said that the town's insurance didn't cover it. When his son ended up owing the town money, the father decided that now he and the town were even. "So you exchange an accident for a malicious act?" asked Councilman Aaron Cranney. Atwood said some of these boys were the same ones that the town was letting play in community leagues even when they had not fulfilled their part of an arrangement to work off recreation fees. So Atwood asked that all work be done before a child is allowed to play. "I told them that in the future the work needs to be done before they put on a uniform," Atwood said. With the exception of approving three building permits, Wednesday's meeting was again concerned mainly with water and finding out who, if anyone, is hooked in illegally to the town water supply. Paradise owns a supply line that runs from a well in Dry Canyon to the storage tank east of town. The line runs through Charleyville, an area outside of the eastern town limits, so called because Charlie Shelton was one of the first homeowners there. The town suspects several people of illegally hooking into that line and taking water from the town's supply. Officials are concerned not only about people stealing water, but also about health since water pulled from that section of the pipe would not have been treated yet. The town's attorney, Herm Olsen, sent letters to all of the homeowners in the area requesting that they inform him of any documentation they have proving the right to draw water from the line. The letter also told residents that if the town found an illegal hook-up it would be turned off and removed. Atwood said a town engineer marked the old steel pipe Wednesday. As early as next week a company called Earthview will come with equipment to detect and follow the new plastic pipe that runs parallel to the old line, along with any other pipes that come off of it. Any hook-ups found at that time, Atwood said, they would dig up and remove. Atwood also said that he would like to see the council put an ordinance in place specifically outlawing unauthorized hook-ups and outlining punishment for infractions. Atwood said that he doesn't know how many people may be affected by the project. "We don't know what's going on up there. We don't know what we'll find; we just don't know," he said. Also, council members met with Boy Scout Shawn Wengreen at the town's sign to discuss landscaping. Members decided that it would be best to keep the grassy area to a minimum. "Lee's concern is that it might be a hazardous attracter for kids," said councilman Dave Anderson. Because U.S. 91, where the sign is located, is a state road, the town has no authority to reduce the speed limit out of concern for children's safety.
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