Jun 27 2006
Extreme Makeover Theft
I’m sure most of us are aware of the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. In February of this year, the show traveled to Boynton Beach Florida to fix-up a Little League field that was destroyed by Hurricane Wilma. Here is the background story from PalmBeachPost.com:
On “three,” the crowd joined in and the Little Leaguers opened their eyes to see gleaming new lights, grass, fences, a scoreboard and bleachers covered with awnings, all in the team’s blue and yellow colors.
The players tackled their coach in a heap on the new divot-free pitcher’s mound, then took a run around the bases.
“It’s probably one of the best parks in the country,” Mayor Jerry Taylor said. “Everything’s state-of-the-art. I can’t get over it.”
The show’s crew also built a spacious, air-conditioned concession stand with a plasma TV and installed a bronze sculpture of the poetic baseball figure Casey.
Hundreds of volunteers worked long hours to clear the debris Hurricane Wilma left behind and finish the new construction. The Boynton project, part of the show’s After the Storm series on hurricane-damaged communities, is scheduled to air March 23.
“I feel so blessed,” said Joe Irene, one of the coaches during the 2003 championship season who spent the weekend hauling debris off the field. “It’s the most beautiful field I’ve ever seen.”
Rochelle Stryker, who coaches her 12-year-old son Taylor’s team, was elated to have such professional fields after the league almost had to cancel the spring season because of the hurricane damage.
You can see it now; the running kids, the happy parents, the smiling coaches, and the slimy-low-life-weasel-opportunists. Yesterday, thieves descended on the new facility and stole several items according to Sun-Sentinel.com
What Extreme Makeover: Home Edition gave, burglars took from the East Boynton Beach Little League.
Months after the hit TV series came to town and remade Field No. 2 and the clubhouse, a thief broke in and took a donated 46-inch plasma television, a $500 microwave and $40, according to a Boynton Beach police report. That happened despite a $50,000 donation in March for a security system. The money is still sitting in city coffers.
June 28th, 2006 at 10:08 am
Extreme Theft…
Too bad about the theft at this facility that Extreme Makeover helped fix up…….
July 19th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I’ve always wondered about that — go into an area or home and fix it up lavishly, then broadcast it to the world as if to advertise to nearby thieves where they can “shop” next. Sometimes I’m shocked by what the show producers add by way of expensive doo-dads, especially when a neighborhood is a high crime target. I don’t know if that applies in this case, but too often areas hit by natural disasters are targets for looters, even well after the fact. At least the recipients were able to enjoy the prize for a little while.
August 11th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Even w/ money sitting and not being used for security at the field, 2 companies stepped forward and donated equipment and labor to protect the concession stand from further burglaries. Advanced Design Technology of Boca Raton and Honeywell Security donated a security system and installed in the concession stand.