Cub Scouts work to erase graffiti at Little League field

Sunday morning, a group scouts and parents painted over graffitti at Volunteer Park.

By Luisa Loi • October 3, 2023 1:30 am

Over the past year and a half, the structures used by North Whidbey Little League have been experiencing increasing instances of vandalism.

Timothy Stoker, who is the president of the league, said the organization has been dealing with broken locks, busted doors, severed PA system wires and even burned equipment.

“This can take up already limited resources and volunteer time and further burden an organization, which in the end takes away from what we are able to contribute to positively impacting kids in our community,” Stoker wrote in an email.

One of the latest stunts pulled on the Little League was a series of graffiti on the softball field concession stand at Volunteer Park in Oak Harbor, including the classic “boob.” Lately, he has received complaints from parents taking their children to Oak Harbor Elementary, which is across the street from the park.

One of the people who noticed the controversial street art was Geraldine Brown, one of the leaders of Cub Scout Pack 4059. She said the pack had been looking for more community service opportunities — something different than the usual beach cleanups — and this looked like a good fit for the young scouts, some of whom are involved with the Little League.

Normally, Stoker would repaint or scrub off the graffiti himself. However, he was pleased to see some community members stepping up to help and to set a positive example for younger generations.

Sunday morning, a group of six cub scouts, three supporting boy scouts and some parents showed up to cover up the graffiti, a deed that Stoker felt very grateful for as they cleaned up “the mess that nobody wants to see.”

“This is the first time that we’ve had an organization in the community step up and say ‘We would like to help out with this,’” he said.

Brown said it was a positive lesson for the scouts as they learned the importance of respecting private property and helping other community members, abiding by the scout law.

The cub scouts were 5 to 8 years old, while the scouts who came to help were middle schoolers, Brown said.

Brown said the pack is trying to provide more support to the community. They can clean up beaches and parks, clean up yards for elderly and disabled residents, retire and replace flags, and do simple painting projects like painting over graffiti. People interested in getting some help are invited to reach out to cubpack4059@gmail.com.