Fire Rescue News - Add bridge blaze to list of Millville vandalism troubles
It's a scenic and historic walk, the path taken by workers a hundred years ago to their jobs at mills and factories, and an environmentally sensitive area home to rare species of plants and animals.
And right now there's a gaping, charred hole right in the middle of it.
It has been two weeks since an arsonist poured an accelerant on one of the six wooden bridges spanning the Maurice River along the path - the most centrally located - and set it ablaze, cutting the path in two and separating it by an impassable stream......Continue Reading
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The city is exploring how to fix it and how they can prevent it from happening again.
Assistant City Engineer Rich Jones said the city will replace it, although it could take several months. Insurance should help cover most of the cost of replacing the 80-foot bridge.
Leaving the bridge as is is not an option.
"You have to look at it positively," Jones said. "You want to have nice things. You don't want to always worry about what could happen. When things like (the arson) happen, you have to find out who did it and prosecute them to the furthest extent of the law."
Police have not made any arrests. Other than reporting the discovery of an unidentified accelerant at the scene, they have not indicated they even have a suspect.
The path is used by residents every day. On nice days especially, dozens of people - walkers, joggers, strollers, bikers - us the approximately 1.5-mile path.
It's a popular daytime spot, but its relative isolation along the Maurice River has made it a target of vandalism in the past. Graffiti, litter and property damage often is found, although arson is all together new.
Millville Recreation Coordinator Sam White said the path and parks throughout the city have been vandalized. Playground equipment, public benches, hand railings, anything with enough space is likely to attract a wandering marker.
"I've been to a lot of different towns, and this is kind of the minimum that happens," she said. "People having free time with their markers."
For the Parks and Recreation Department, which responds to most instances of minor vandalism, the idea is to report the incident and respond quickly, paint over or scrub off any gang signs, tags or declarations of high school love scrawled on a park bench.
The recreation department also has developed ways to prevent vandalism at the locations it covers, including chaining down trashcans, which often find their way into the river, or reinforcing wooden railings, so they can not be broken as easily.
"For some reason, nice things don't seem to last anymore," White said. "On our end, we try to do our best to keep what we have and to keep it nice."
The recreation department reports every incident and asks police to monitor locations if there is more trouble than usual. Capt. Wayne Smith said the walking path is patrolled by police as often as possible.
Even though it has had its problems, there's no desire to cut the path off, let it overgrow like it had for decades before the city decided to pave and re-establish it more than a decade ago.
It might take some time for the insurance adjuster to determine how much the bridge was damaged. It will take more time to get the materials and get the bridge rebuilt, but the city is committed to it.
"Out of all the projects I've done, and I've done a lot of projects over the years, I probably get the most compliments about the trail," Jones said. "It's a beautiful area."
Contact Edward Van Embden: 856-649-2072 EVanEmbden@pressofac.com
Posted in BREAKING on Monday, May 10, 2010 6:24 pm Updated: 7:26 pm.
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It's content and comments are not necessarily the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
