Vandals, burglars hit city's rodeo grounds

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Hahaha! Vandals, burglars hit city's rodeo grounds By Suzi Nelson 09/13/2007 Updated 09/11/2007 05:12:05 PM EDT Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly Advertisement ASHLAND - As

the members of the Oxbow Trail Wranglers prepared for their annual Ranch Rodeo, they were met with an unpleasant surprise. Buster Roberts said he discovered the concession stand had been broken into, vandalized sometime on Aug. 29 or 30. Food and beverages had been taken, a mirror had been broken, trash was strewn all over and graffiti was written on the walls, Roberts said. Most of the pop and all of the beer was gone, he added. What was unusual was the fact that it looked as though the burglars had stayed there for some time. Plastic containers showed evidence that that the perpetrators had heated up hot dogs and polish dogs in the microwave and eaten them there. They also left the open packages out to spoil, Roberts said. There were other indications that the vandals may have stayed there overnight. Roberts said a sleeping bag was laid on the floor with a fan pointed at it, which made him think someone slept there. They also hung a banner over the windows to shield their activities. The remote area of the rodeo grounds, next to the baseball fields and wastewater treatment facility, may have made it a prime target, so Roberts asked the police department to keep an eye on the place. Unfortunately, the burglars returned within days of the first incident, this time causing more damage and taking more food along with the sleeping bag, which Roberts said was used in one of the Calcutta events at the Ranch Rodeo. The concession stand is the organization's major money-maker throughout the year, Roberts said. They operate

the stand during the Ranch Rodeo as well as the Stir-Up Rodeo in July. "Beer and concessions is the only thing we make money off of," he said. What made the incident even more frustrating was the fact that it came days before the Ranch Rodeo, an annual event put on by the Oxbow Trail Wranglers where they do not charge admission. The money they make at the concession stand is put back into added prize money for the rodeo participants, Roberts said. If anyone has any information on this incident, call the Ashland Police Department at 944-2222. "Think occasionally of the suffering of which youspare yourself the sight" Albert Schweitzer

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