WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — It's on the field on Madison Street, Wilkes-Barre, that Diamond City Sports hosts some of its recreational league games. The organization has been around since 2004.
"Diamond City Sports is a local grassroots organization that started as just a wiffleball league. We've expanded to six sports now, including youth sports, and we donate a lot back to the community," Diamond City Sports President Kevin Sickale said.
The organization runs on volunteers, making what Sickale found at the field house all the more upsetting.
"I was dropping off some supplies, and the door was busted open. It was still closed, but I could tell that it was broken into. So I put my things down, I opened up, went inside, and found the mess that you see in the pictures," he said.
The president of Diamond City Sports said after the Fourth of July, he expected to come to the field and clean up some firework debris but not the mess he found, including a broken water meter.
"I walked into sheer frustration and disappointment at what happened. I mean, there was everything that we had on the counters was on the floor, pushed on the floor. We have a small little concession stand, so our food was all dumped out of the freezer and ruins. We had a small deep fryer that was tossed and obliviously made a huge mess with the oil and the grease that comes with that," Sickale said.
He said the only thing taken was close to $30 in cash and that volunteers rushed in to help.
But some signs of the vandalism remain, including the damage to the door and raffle tickets in the trees.
"But you know, at the end of the day, we're here to give people an outlet and to help people in need. So, you know, we're going to pick up the pieces," Sickale said.
Sickale is working with police to try to find out who's responsible. He said the vandals did leave behind some clues, like a boot and a bike plate.
If you have any information about what happened at Diamond City Sports over the weekend, you are asked to contact the Wilkes-Barre police.
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