ADELANTO — After the third round of storage facility thefts in two months, the Little League here was granted a bit of relief to the tune of $10,000 worth of new equipment.
The monetary donation, less than two weeks before the season is scheduled to start, will fund baseballs, bats and gloves while also enabling the Little League to provide better security at its storage facility, according to League President Dave Thomas.
Those safety steps include moving the storage unit to a different, more visible location — a move supported by the Church of Latter Day Saints — as well as employing alarms and higher-grade locks, motion sensors at the snack bar and storage unit and security cameras.
Thomas said they believe the money could also allow them to upgrade field conditions such as replacing the clay.
The gift was courtesy of GEO Group, the private prison operator that oversees facilities in the city. After reading about the Feb. 25 break-in at Richardson Park in the Daily Press, a GEO executive notified the company’s regional vice president, James Black.
“We support nonprofits throughout the High Desert and I personally hold a special interest in children and keeping them active,” Black said. “We’re guests in Adelanto and want to be a good neighbor and we support this donation to the Little League 100 percent because as the saying goes, ‘These kids are our future.’”
Last month, thieves stole from the snack bar at the park near City Hall and tagged the building, Thomas had told this newspaper. They also cut through the batting cage netting and stole a pitching machine and balls.
“It’s over $10,000 in stolen and damaged property (between the three break-ins),” Michelle Valdez, Adelanto Little League treasurer, said at the time. “The two times in December they stole our quad and a generator, and things like trophies and bats and balls.
“But the first times they just cut the locks, so there wasn’t a lot of damage. This time they just trashed everything, so there’s a lot more to fix.”
The league serves roughly 180 kids ages 4 to 17 whose season is expected to begin Saturday.
“This year’s Little League season was in jeopardy of not happening until GEO came through with their unsolicited donation,” Mayor Rich Kerr said.
GEO’s donation is also expected to fill the void for players who couldn’t pay the full registration fee or who didn’t possess their own equipment.
For more information on the Adelanto Little League, visit AdelantoLittleLeague.org.
