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For immediate release
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Vandalism impacts whole of community
Thoughtless vandalism has resulted in a well-used community amenity being unavailable to the public.
Last week, vandals intentionally flipped over the floating pontoon at the enclosed swimming area within the Whyalla Marina, causing significant damage to the pontoon.
Acting mayor Tom Antonio said he was saddened that the senseless actions of others hindered the availability of the pontoon, which is regularly used by community members.
“I am incredibly disappointed that a few selfish people have done something so thoughtless that has resulted in the pontoon being unusable for the rest of the community,” Cr Antonio said.
“This is a popular community amenity, and the fact that a few selfish people have ruined it for everyone is incredibly upsetting.”
Cr Antonio is now calling on members of the community who may have witnessed the vandalism occur to contact police.
“Someone has to have seen something, and we are asking the community to provide any information they may have about the incident to the police,” Cr Antonio said.
“Unfortunately this is not the first time this has occurred, and we are working on a solution to prevent vandals from doing this again, but we don’t want them to get away with this.
“I am also asking that if people see vandalism occurring in our community, they get out their phone and video record it, so that this information can be passed on to the police and the people doing the wrong thing can be held accountable.”
While CCTV cameras are operational in the area, the cameras were not set up to monitor the swimming enclosure.
“Following this recent vandalism, the council will now have to consider installing additional CCTV cameras to monitor these areas to ensure any criminal activity is being caught on camera,” Cr Antonio said.
“This is incredibly disappointing, because it means ratepayers’ money will have to be spent unnecessarily when it could have been put to better use.”
Council staff are currently developing repair solutions to ensure no further damage can be done to the structure.
The floating pontoon within the enclosed swimming area will be unavailable to the public until repairs have been completed.