Cub Scout pack rebuilding after vandals destroyed buddy bench at elementary school
AVON, Ind. (WISH) — A Cub Scout pack is rebuilding after vandals destroyed a buddy bench at an elementary school in Avon.
This happened over spring break at Cedar Elementary.
Some of the scouts told 24-Hour News 8 they are sad after learning about what happened to their buddy bench.
Cub Scout Pack 123 spent hours working on the bench and donated it to the school last November.
The buddy bench was missing from Cedar Elementary when students and staff returned from spring break.
“We exactly do not know how many people did this,” said Ben Ludy, 8. “But I’m exactly sure I think about three people had done it.”
“I think like, whoever did it probably did it with an ax or something since it’s like wood and ax is good for wood and stuff,” said Turner Seale, 9.
A parent volunteer with the Cub Scout pack shared a picture with 24-Hour News 8 showing the damage after someone destroyed the buddy bench. In the picture you can see pieces of wood scattered everywhere across the playground.
“I was surprised when I found out it happened on Facebook,” said Ludy. “Every day a lot of people have sat on that bench when they went to recess, just a lot of people almost the whole entire thing was full.”
He and several other scouts spent long hours putting the bench together.
“We’re sad that they destroyed it because we worked so hard on it,” said Seale.
Seale said he doesn’t understand how someone could destroy a bench that meant so much to many of his classmates.
“Every single time I look at the buddy bench it was always full of people every single minute I looked at it. People just loved it,” said Seale.
It was last November when his pack donated the bench to the school. The bench was made out of cedar to represent Cedar Elementary.
“I hope we raise enough money to make like a bigger bench for like more people to sit on it and like a bigger and stronger bench,” said Seale.
Seale is now hoping the bad guys will be caught so they can’t do this again.
“I hope police catch whoever (did) it and stuff,” he said. “Because I’m really sad that it’s destroyed and other people are sad.”
The school principal told 24-Hour News 8 they have surveillance cameras, but couldn’t make out the people responsible in the video.
He believes the vandalism happened on March 24th sometime between 8:30 p.m. and midnight.
If you would like to help the Cub Scout Pack please email the cubmaster, Chuck Seale at Pack123cubmaster1@gmail.com