Vandalism Prompts Security Equipment at HS Fields

The Bement (Ill.) School District will install flood lights and camera recording equipment at its high school football and baseball fields, following separate acts of vandalism earlier this year.

As reported by the Piatt County Journal-Republican, the district will pay about $10,000 for Decatur-based Bodine Electric to install the equipment, which will include flood lights for the football field, LED solar lights for the baseball field and security cameras with storage.

“These types of expenses are frustrating to me, but necessary after dealing with the two episodes of vandalism,” district superintendent Sheila Greenwood said.

The episode involving the football field occurred the night before Bement's April 9 homecoming game.

According to the Journal-Republican, board member Trixie Stoerger-Flavin asked if the lights impact nearby homeowners. “I know it’s our property, so do what we have to do, but I want to be a good neighbor, too,” she said.

Greenwood said the lights should be similar in brightness to existing street lights. “We should still be able to accomplish what we need to accomplish, but not make it like a SWAT team,” Greenwood said.

No arrests have been made in the vandalism case, though “it remains an active investigation,” according to Piatt County Sheriff’s Department investigator Tom Apperson.