Caledonia hardball association takes another hit, thieves cause $40K damage

CALEDONIA — John Uildersma is hoping that someone saw something and will come forward with that information.

Sometime over the winter, thieves stole about 5,000 metres of copper wire from the field lighting system at Henning Park in Caledonia. While they don’t have a formal estimate yet, it will likely cost the Caledonia Minor Hardball Association around $30,000 to $40,000 to replace the wire and repair the damage.

“They’re going to have to dig it all up and find out what’s going on underground,” said Uildersma, who is president of the association.

He said that when he’d contacted a company about doing the work, they told him that several ball diamonds in nearby municipalities had also been targeted.

“There’s got to be a scrapyard where someone came in with a pile of wire,” Uildersma said.

He’s hoping that anyone with information about the theft will contact the OPP.

While many people may think that this is Haldimand County’s problem, Henning Park is owned by the association. “There are no county dollars here,” Uildersma said.

The loss of the lighting means that they won’t be able to play any night games until the work is completed. The association has about 60 teams that play at the park and it also hosts provincial and national tournaments.

“The adults play at night, and they pay for the kids. We don’t charge the kids a dime to play … With no night games, it hurts our revenue,” Uildersma said, adding, “This really puts us in the hole.”

This isn’t the first time the park has been targeted. On New Year’s Eve 2014, someone burned down the park pavilion, and the association’s tractor, used for maintenance work, was lost to the fire, too.

“I can’t say enough about the community support we’ve been getting,” he said, praising several local businesses that have offered support, as well as Coun. Craig Grice, who has tried to help get the word out about the association’s needs.