Concession burglary takes away from local youth sports programs

Since the start of football season, the concession stand at Helen McCall Park has been burglarized four separate times. Helen McCall Park is located off of U.S. Highway 98 just west of County Road 393.

“It’s a literal translation of stealing candy from children,” said Fletcher Isacks, president of South Walton Youth Football, who also runs the field’s scoreboard and public address system during the games. “Our non for profit takes a couple hundred dollar hit every time they break in.”

“We’ve had $1,000 in losses this season. That’s 10 new helmets for these boys or replacement uniforms for the cheerleaders,” said Isacks.

Organizing and running a youth football league is not cheap. Raising money through concession sales allows the organization to operate. “It costs us $420 per boy to equip them with uniforms, pads, helmets and insurance,” said Isacks.

Thieves have used the concession stand as their own personal grocery, taking advantage of the fact that the park is well concealed just off the highway.

This is not a new problem. During the most recent little league baseball season the concession stand was also broken into several times.

“A little theft was going on all season, but towards the end they were getting more brazen,” said Nicole Seeling, owner of 98 Bar-B-Que, which provides ordering and organizing services for the concession stand during little league. “We went through two or three locks. It got to the point where they were using a crow bar to pry open the door.”

“There were three significant break-ins where cases of soda and PowerAde were taken,” said Seeling. “They took our broom, they even stole our dishwashing liquid.”

Organizers have taken what action they could against the burglary to no avail. “Larry Harris from Okaloosa Walton Security donated an alarm system in August after the first break-in (of football season),” said Isacks.

The alarm has not acted as an effective deterrent, only causing the thieves to break in through the concession’s order window instead of the door. Now the alarm is attached to a motion sensor, but still is not wired into a monitored security system.

Unless the thief can be stopped or the thefts prevented, it could spell an end to concessions at Helen McCall Park, which could affect the availability of youth sports at the complex.

“Our deputies make foot patrols of the park,” said Walton County Sherriff’s Office Public Information Officer Mike Gurspan.

Gurspan urged anyone with information about the crimes or the identities of the thieves to contact Crime Stoppers of Walton County at (866) 718-8477 or the Walton County Sherriff’s Office at (850) 892-8111.