Ruth Brown

The newly inaugurated Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education has fallen prey to repeated acts of vandalism on its facilities. Most of the damage occurred on the playground area of the children’s care center.

“The weekend of Sept. 6 to 8 was when the first case occurred,” said Detective Jonathan Anderson of the SDSU Police Department. “It was Labor Day weekend, and they had stolen the flags that are on the buildings. Ropes from the playground were also found on the nearby sidewalk.”

The second case occurred on the weekend of Sept. 11 to 13.

“The playground had a braided rope with cowbells on it, and it was destroyed in an attempt to steal the cowbells,” said Anderson. “They also took some of the deadbolts from the buildings on the playground.”

At the moment, there are no leads as to who committed the crimes, but the SDSU Police Department is keeping the case open.

“We don’t know who did this yet, but we are staying optimistic,” said Police Chief Tim Heaton of SDSUPD. “It’s a shame that someone would do this to the children’s play area.”

The playground, also known as the outdoor learning lab, was dedicated Sept. 18. The outdoor lab was recently redesigned into learning environments and has such features as a climbing hill, river water feature and an outdoor art and painting area.

Any person with any information on the case can contact Anderson at 688-5117.

#1.881445:1620009539.jpg:Fishback.Vandalism.CMYK.jpg:Recently renovated and dedicated, the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education, has been a hot target for vandals lately. Among the losses, a rope of cowbells was destroyed.:Molly Ryan