Crews to lock public bathrooms at Ascension Parish parks due to vandalism cases

ASCENSION PARISH, La. (WAFB) - An “overwhelming” number of vandalism cases is causing big problems for public bathrooms at parks and facilities in Ascension Parish.

The vandalism cases have happened in recent months, according to parish officials.

“Just about every weekend one of our 22 parks is either destroyed, vandalized, or somebody tried to burn it down,” said James Leblanc, the safety and security director for Ascension Parish.

According to Leblanc, the vandalism cases have racked up nearly $100,000 in damages during a period of two years. He added that there has been damage to bathrooms, windows, and picnic tables.

Because of the ongoing problems, crews will lock all public restrooms at parks and other public facilities. The bathrooms will only be opened during a parish-sponsored event.

The closures could last until measures can be put in place to catch and prosecute those responsible for the vandalism cases, officials said. They added that they can’t afford to continue to keep spending time and resources to make repairs.

“We cannot continue to afford not only pay for the damage but the amount of time and effort and labor that it takes for our recreation team to come here every Monda,” Leblanc said.

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