by Lily Robinson ·
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
The town beach was the target of an act of vandalism early Saturday morning when three juveniles dragged a port-a-potty into the pond and tipped it over. The incident, which also included the damage of a newly erected sign and a bicycle, as well as attempted tampering with boats, was recorded by security cameras. The footage was turned over to the Harvard police, and the juveniles have since been identified and criminally summoned to Worcester Juvenile Court on one count of vandalism.
According to a police incident report, the vandalism occurred at about 2 a.m. Saturday. The damage was discovered later that morning by Parks and Recreation Director Bob O’Shea and police responded at 6:15 a.m.
Sgt. James Babu reported to the scene and documented the damage. He wrote in his report that a port-a-potty had been dragged from the side of the beach house down the beach and tipped on its side about 10 feet from shore. A newly installed sign posted near the boat launch ramp had been ripped out of the ground and lay nearby. A bicycle had also been thrown into the water about 10 feet from the port-a-potty.
Department of Public Works Foreman Ron Gilbert said that his department was called to the scene at 6:30 Saturday morning. A crew used a forklift to remove the port-a-potty from the water. They also retrieved the sign that had been ripped down and later returned to replace it. Gilbert said that the port-a-potty had been removed from the water by 7:30 a.m.
A segment of the security footage showing the incident was posted on the Harvard Police Department’s Facebook page in a post asking the community to help identify the vandals. In it, three figures who appear to be teenage males can be seen removing a sign from the ground and attempting to pull boats from the rack where they were secured. According to the post, a second vandalism attempt occurred the following night but, by then, items had been secured or made otherwise inaccessible.
Sanitarian Ira Grossman of the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health took a sample of the water to be tested for coliform bacteria, which could indicate the presence of feces in the water, and reported on Wednesday that the coliform count was 4. According to Grossman, the coliform limit for a swimming area is 235. Deputy Chief Chuck Nigzus of the Harvard Fire Department also conducted a hazardous waste test, but was unable to be reached by the Press in time for this story.
On Monday, there was a general sense of disappointment about the incident among families at the pond. Many were opting out of swimming or playing in the water until test results could confirm its safety. Beach staff were alerting those who entered of the incident, but were making no specific advisories about what activities were safe. Staff also reported that the port-a-potty had been cleaned on Friday before the vandalism occurred.
Note: Hannah Taylor contributed to this story.