The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Anyone with a late-night urge to play basketball in Waitsburg is out of luck. Abuse to the school grounds and a lack of respect for neighbors has resulted in a closure of the playgrounds from 10 p.m. – 7 a.m.

A Facebook post from the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office stated that increased reports of multiple people on the school grounds after hours, making noise, littering and being a "general nuisance" resulted in the decision.

Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Shanda Zessin told The Times that the signs were placed by the school because of concerns by the staff and administration and that the district placed the signs.

"The district reached out to us for additional patrols and we put out the information to encourage people to stay off the school grounds during those hours," Zessin said.

"As hard as we try, we cannot be everywhere we want as much as we want; so please give us a hand and let us know if you see or hear violators!" said the Sheriff's Office Facebook post.

District Superintendent Jon Mishra said discussions about restricting the playground during night hours began before former superintendent Carol Clarke retired.

"Concerns were brought up that groups of people (many who appeared to be school age) were hanging around the play equipment and blacktop areas east of Preston Hall. They would be in these poorly lit areas very late into the night. On occasion young people also had been observed climbing up the brick walls of Preston Hall to the first floor windows or messing around with the pop machine," Clarke said.

"After talking with city officials and the Sheriff's Department regarding concerns, it was determined that in the best interest of the community and property safety, it might be best to post the area as closed between established hours. If gatherings of people occur during 'closed' periods, it would then be possible for officials of the school and community to ask them to leave the premises and ask for formal assistance if the actions continued. Bottom line, the action was taken to provide a safer environment for all," she added.

A resident who lives in the neighborhood made complaints on Facebook about kids and teens being on the playground between midnight and 3 a.m. tossing rocks on their vehicles, parking in their driveway, "pissing on the road" and "spinning donuts" outside their home.

Other parents commented that they enjoyed seeing kids playing ball late at night because they were having fun and not doing drugs or drinking, and said they were sad to hear abuse resulted on the playgrounds being off-limits at night.

Mischief hasn't been limited to the playground, however. Last week, several residents complained about trash cans being tipped over, early Tuesday morning. Two cans belonging to Marvin and Patty Eng were reportedly placed in the middle of Coppei St./Highway 12, creating a potential traffic hazard.

Another parent posted on Facebook that boys are also handing out pieces of paper with the url of a pornography website written on it and telling other boys that it is a website for gaming and not to tell their parents.

Waitsburg once had a curfew for minors, but it was repealed years ago when the constitutionality of curfew laws was questioned. The current city code allows for parents to be charged with the offense of Failing to Supervise a Child if their minor child commits a misdemeanor or ordinance violation within the city limits.