- May 5, 2024
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Resident complains about vandalism, underage drinking
Wayne Grant
News Editor
A narrow trail through thick woods in Central Park leads to the scene of the crimes. At one point, a fallen tree blocks the path. The walker faces a decision: Lean over, and try to fit underneath, or go around, and plow through the palmettos and other underbrush.
The trail leads to a small bluff overlooking one of the park’s lakes.
In this remote area, unseen from Hammock Lane, young people have been enjoying a summer tradition. Grabbing tightly onto a rope hanging from a tree, they swing out over the lake. Momentarily airborne, they crash into the cool water. It’s pure Americana.
But things got out of hand at this secret location, with crimes of underage drinking and vandalism. There was danger of serious injury in a hard-to-reach area.
Nearby neighbor Paul Duncan said it’s a case of a few bad apples.
“It’s mostly kids under 16 having fun,” he said. “They’ve been doing that 50 years. My problem is they started coming inside my fences, stomping down my gates.”
Officials hear about the problem
He took his problem to the City Commission at a recent meeting.
“My request to you is to remove a tree,” he said. “This beautiful oak tree leans out over the water ten feet from my property line. We have hundreds of kids there on a regular basis, swinging and dropping into the water. On spring break I came looking for my boat that had been sunk a while back. I came across 30 kids that had enough beer for 100.”
He told the commissioners that kids were diving from a platform and catching the ones who swung from the rope. He said if someone gets hurt, paramedics won’t be able to get to the location in time to help the victim.
“They can get drunk and have a good time because the cops can’t bother them. They can’t hear them and they can’t see them but I’m tired of it.”
He said one reason for the large crowds is that the tree in on social media. There are people from out-of-state, from age 8 to 30.
In a final remark, he suggested the city hire a contractor to build a zip line across the lake to provide recreation.
After his comments, Mayor Ed Kelley asked City Manager Joyce Shanahan to look into the situation.
Dog had to be put down
After the meeting, on a walk to the tree, Duncan said he came know some of the kids who frequented the tree, once fixing a bicycle chain. But incidents in the past few months have taken a turn for the worse.
His boat was stolen and found sunken in the lake. An RV that he parks on his property was stripped of aluminum. And one of his dogs came limping back home one night, beaten near death. He had to put it to sleep.
He talked to people at the tree swing, and they described two individuals who had beaten the dog after being bitten.
Duncan complained to his commissioner, Bill Partington, who visited the site.
“We found cigar wrappers, beer cans, sleeping bags, clothes,” Partington said. He referred the matter to Shanahan and police.
Shanahan said enforcement was difficult because of the remote location.
End of the ordeal
The end of the walk down the trail led to the scene with a body … the body of the old oak tree, cut down by the city on April 24.
Public Works Director and Assistant City Manager Ted McLeod said he was faced with the possibility of injury in a remote location and described it as a hazard.
“I don’t know how we’d get emergency services back there.”
They had tried taking down the rope and the steps nailed to the tree, but they were back up within hours.
Also, the tree was not in good shape, being loaded with nails from attaching the steps.
“I hated to do it because I swung from a rope when I was a kid,” McLeod said.
