There are some significant problems occurring in our community and many of us are only just starting to become aware of them.
Were any of you aware that North Bend Elementary School was broken into over spring break? The vandals broke in and urinated and defecated all over the teacher’s lounge and in several classrooms. This same thing occurred in some of the businesses in the strip mall/office complex where The Pizza Place is housed.
The North Bend Sports Complex at Torguson Park’s batting cages have been damaged several times, the old outfield fences were damaged, the new ones were up for 24 hours and they were damaged, the wiring to the baseball scoreboard was ripped out, the park’s bathroom light fixtures were damaged … and these are just the recent vandalism problems. Did you know that it is a common occurrence for drivers to drive well in excess of the speed limit or to drive recklessly through the gravel parking lot at Torguson Park while there are tons of people in the parks? Are you aware that a loaded .22 caliber air pistol was found in the sand pit at the complex on a recent Saturday by 5- and 7-year-old boys during the ball games? Are any of you aware of these activities or events?
The thing that is most disappointing about all these events is that they have been occurring with increasing frequency, but many people in our community are unaware. I was shocked to hear about some of the crimes that had happened to our schools, but even more shocked to learn that they happened almost a month ago.
The complex and Torguson Park have become “the hangout” for kids on the weekends. This is the place where they meet to drink, smoke pot, take drugs or fight. I encourage parents, government leaders and our local police force to visit the North Bend Sports Complex on any afternoon or evening, especially a Friday afternoon (after early release from school), and witness the behavior and activities that are occurring. Many of us bring our families along with us when we are participating in youth sports at the complex, but this is increasingly becoming a frightening experience.
As a youth sports coach, I spend a great amount of time at the complex and have done so for the last eight years. Being able to watch my kids participate in youth sports in one of the most beautiful places on the planet is a special part of living in the North Bend/Snoqualmie Valley community. I have never worried about my kids being able to hang out and watch their friends play games at the complex or for them to run between fields or use the restroom. That is no longer the case.
There have always been occasional problems with fights and vandalism, but it has now reached epidemic levels. Unfortunately, the complex is a perfect haven for youth who are looking for a place to congregate and avoid detection. It is a central location with access to all the roads and trails in our community and it is hidden behind businesses, a school, a retirement home and lots of trees. When police are called to respond to a problem, which they always do, the “problem kids” have plenty of time to run and hide.
Many of our youth coaches and parents have called for the police, dozens of times. This problem is going to require more work than a few squad cars responding to an incident. The problem needs a logical, planned response, not another patchwork Band-Aid immediate solution.
The citizens of the community need to take a stand and engage our city officials, our police departments and our fellow citizens to address these problems. It is going to take the efforts of all of us to help fix these problems. I encourage all the citizens of North Bend to contact our elected officials and demand a plan of action.
My encouragement to our mayor, City Council and police department would be to focus on:
1) Strategy: Developing a focused strategy to deter the rampant vandalism (law enforcement) and to disrupt the use of the complex as a hangout spot and a haven for illegal activity. Rules against loitering, setting a curfew for the park, installing lights and removing some trees are just some of the ideas that should be discussed and considered. I believe a month of vigilant enforcement would help to seriously deter many of the troublemakers.
2) Communication: There needs to be a mechanism of keeping the communication going between all the members of the community so that everyone stays informed of any additional problems and the progress being made in addressing these problems.
The community needs to know that there is a problem. The government and police officials need to know that there is a problem. The media needs to be informed of these issues so that everyone will raise their awareness and get involved. We must work together to protect our beautiful community from this bout of vandalism and lawlessness.
Jeff Mitchell
North Bend
