Fixing the badly damaged “Hiker” statue that stood on Memorial Boulevard will likely take at least a few months and cost more than $15,000, officials said Wednesday.The repairs to the vandalized bronze statue will take “a good two months to do,” said Park Director Ed Swicklas.
But it will also take awhile to figure out where to send the sculpture, official said.
For now, the Spanish-American Ward soldier that vandals mauled last weekend is in storage at Page Park, Swicklas said.
Police have made finding the culprits their number one priority, Mayor Art Ward said.
Ward said that criticism of the police for failing to protect the soldier is misplaced. He said officers can’t be everywhere all the time.
He said that with all the foliage in the area, it’s easy for someone to hide.
Swicklas said that two foundries, one in Bridgeport and one in New York, have taken a look at the pictures of the ransacked statue.
One said it would cost at least $15,000 to fix it, Swicklas said. The other told him it would take “many, many hours and many, many dollars.”
It may help, the park director said, that Bristol has another of the 52 copies of the statue that stand across America. The twin at the entrance to Rockwell Park could be used to make casts of particularly damaged sections so they can be copied, he said.
The parks have seen a spate of vandalism in recent months, including the spray painting of the inside of the pool at Rockwell Park, which was repainted last week in time for its opening Wednesday.
But there hasn’t been much damage lately, officials said, though two soccer nets were swiped at Rockwell Park this week.
Al Cianchetti, a resident who has championed the boulevard, said he wants to see the city “do everything possible” to catch the criminals who damaged the statue.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to catch the scum that did it and charge ‘em,” said Lori DeFillippi, a parks commissioner.
He also urged park officials to take steps to beef up security on the boulevard, including the installation of cameras that might help protect the memorials and monuments that line the historic parkway.
Swicklas said it might be possible to add more lighting in the future that might help keep people from bothering the statue in the future.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
19 comments:
Ah, another quote for the ages from Lori Defillippi.
Whose is going to pay for the repairs ? The city or a fund raiser ?Either way works for me
How about we catch the weenies who did it and make them pay for it.
Are there cameras at the BLVD yet? I think we should start closing the BLVD down at sunset going forward. I consider that a park just like all the other parks in town, and they all close at sunset. We should put gates at all the openings and lock them up at sunset.
You don't know who did this. It might be some kids who don't understand the significance. It is a statue not a living being.
If this statue is not insured, is it truly fiscally responsible to fix it at $15K right now? That's a big chunk out of the Park Dept budget.
Not that the statue isn't deserving of repair, I'm justing wondering if it can't be held off for a little while.
It would also be a shame to have it repaired just to have it vandalized again. Maybe they should have it repair and wait until the cameras are installed before they put it up again.
"It might be some kids who don't understand the significance."
Oh...poor babies. Making them financially responsible for the damage would help them grow up real quick!
Too bad DeFillippi wasn't concerned about more serious matters like drunken drivers putting us and our children in harms way. People like the clown she helped get elected mayor. Oh well, back to more serious things like inanimate objects...
where are the police that are suppose to be patrolling this area, don't tell me.. the 24 hr dunkin donuts!
The certain group of veterans in this town that Lori, Nelligan, and the mayor belong to love to have a cause so they can puff their chests and bang their chests. There are two of these statues in town and the repairs are not something that are urgent...riase the money and then pay.....if it wasn't a statue on the boulevard they would not be making a big deal...enuf' already
Lori, get rid of the geese!
Shut up about Lori. She is a war hero. What have YOU done with your life?
A Hero??
By what standards?
"A war hero"? You must be kidding? What war was that? The "war" against Stortz?
Lori was a Marine who went on a mission in Somalia in 1980 or so to bring food to starving people.
At a veterans ceremony a few years ago she talked about holding dying babies and trying to keep flies out of their eyes.
She also said that rebels attacked the refugee camps where she was on duty, forcing return fire. They found bodies of kids as young as 10 among the attackers who succumbed.
Does that make her a hero? I don't know. It does make her a US Marine who risked her life for her country.
Granted Lori did all those things, as did many others.
That was her job, and she did it.
Obviously she volunteered, the choice was hers.
I like her, but she is one of many, that served, that gave, as i am.
The true heroes are those that go on day by day with many obstacles facing them, and do their job without complaining.
whoever joins the military is risking their life, by definition. it's part of the job description. so no extra credit for Lori the war hero. my doctor went on a similar humanitarian mission, he and his group got shot at. except he didn't have a gun to fire back. does this make him a war hero?
I am sick of the exaggerations about our local military people, and I am sick of the way them and their friends use their military service as a shield to protect them from criticism when they say and do stupid things.
Lori is no more special than any other veteran we have in Bristol. Being a veteran is special in it's own way, but by no means does that make her a "hero" among other veterans or citizens in this town.
Is this blog about the statue or Lori? Get over people - keep to the subject matter.
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