LANSFORD, Pa. — It's a mess Gwyneth Collevechio cannot wait to clean up.
Hundreds of paper and plastic items cover the floor inside the concession stand next to the Lansford Pool.
"I wanted to cry. I couldn't believe it. I was devasted because we spent so much time and money fixing this place, and in no time, it's been in upheaval," Collevechio said.
Collevechio is a part of the Friends of the Lansford Pool, the nonprofit that runs the concession stand.
She says a couple of kids broke in on Monday afternoon.
The damage was found a short while later after people reportedly saw the same children stealing cases of water from the stand.
Additional vandalism was also found in one of the locker rooms.
A police report has been filed.
"As fast as we get one project done, it seems like they come by and vandalize another project," said Bruce Markovich, the Lansford Borough council President.
Work started last summer to upgrade and repair the stand.
Nearly $20,000 has been spent on painting and cleaning up the kitchen equipment, as well as buying new serving windows and refrigerators.
"We wanted to have more events on the outside of the pool gates as well as the inside so that we can use the concession stand that was part of the purpose of refurbishing it," said Collevechio.
Those who run the stand say all of the supplies are for an upcoming fundraiser in June.
Now they're going to have to spend thousands of dollars not only replacing all the paper and plastic goods but fixing damaged equipment.
"The friends of the Pool work hard on these fundraisers to raise the money that they have to try and get the pool open again, and now you have just two or three kids come down, and they just trash it all," Markovich said.
The vandalism is the latest in a series of setbacks for those who run the pool.
Once again, it will be closed this summer.
"We ran into some structural problems on the pool, and everybody that reviewed the pool found it's in the best interest to go after a new pool instead of trying to repair the old one," Markovich said.
As for the vandalism, Lansford police are still investigating.
So far, they've identified several kids involved.
Friends of the Lansford Pool are collecting donations to try and build a new one.
To donate, you can send a check payable to:
Friends of Lansford Recreation
116 W Bertsch St. Lansford, Pa 18232
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