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37 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, March 24, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 23, 2005 Ballpark bleachers stolen in middle of the night By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune Fans looking forward to watching boys and girls play ball this season for the Medford American Little League had better pack their lawn chairs before heading out to a game at the Bear Creek Park fields. Two sets of bleachers at the six-field complex near Alba Drive were dismantled last week by thieves who drove their vehicle over a city-owned sign in the middle of the night and made off with about $2,000 worth of aluminum benches, Medford police Lt. Mike Moran said. Police believe the theft occurred during the late-night hours of March 16 or early the next morning. With opening day set for April 11, league officials say some spectators will have to make their own seating arrangements. "People will probably be OK without the bleachers, but they will have to use their own chairs," league President Laura White said. "If anybody wants to donate some bleachers, we’ll sure take them." White said a few other bleacher sets remain at the fields, where about 750 youngsters will suit up this season for softball and baseball games. Advertisement Whoever is responsible for the theft had to have spent a good deal of time at the fields, apparently using tools to remove the 24-foot-long aluminum bleacher benches before fleeing the area. "That would take a lot of work," White said. "They’re huge bleachers." Moran said the area from which the benches were stolen is not in view of nearby properties where witnesses could have caught a glimpse of the thieves at work. "It’s not easily seen at night," he said. Little League property at the fields has been vandalized in the past. A few months ago, transients were found living in a shed there, White said. The league’s board of directors has not yet met to discuss the bleacher-bench theft and find a way to ease the expected seating shortage, White said. "We’re all just kind of in shock about it," she said. Moran said police have notified several scrap-metal business owners of the theft, instructing them to phone authorities if anyone turns up trying to sell the benches. Anyone with information about the stolen benches is asked to call Medford police at 770-4783. Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s