Friday at 4 p.m.
Just 24 hours later.
Same area the year before.
This trash can was dragged 100 yards from a home and dumped.
Column and photos by Mike Kellems
This past Friday, Aug. 23, while on my way home I saw a porta-john knocked over along the roadside. It was about 4:30 p.m. and when I spoke with a friend that lives nearby, I learned that at 2:30 p.m. the porta-john was upright. Sometime in that two-hour span, in broad daylight, someone knocked it over. Then, just to add insult to injury, a day later another kind soul (deep sarcasm applied) hit it with a vehicle and pushed it further down into a ditch.
Not to be outdone, the year before the same thing happened on the same stretch of road.
This missive is directed at the ne’er-do-well who took the time to vandalize the port-o-potty. Do you know why that portable bathroom is there? It was placed there by a local company, Johnson Johns, for use by athletes participating in the Tour de LaPorte. Do you know what the TDL does? It is a yearly run/walk/bike event that raises funds for the Healthcare Foundation of LaPorte. What does the HFL do with the money? They support our college-bound students by awarding scholarships. They award grants for playgrounds and parks so our little ones have a place to play. They provide assistance for those suffering through medical issues that they may otherwise not be able to afford.
They work to make our community better for everyone.
What possible pleasure can anyone get out of this?
In the same area, there is a gentleman who takes very good care of his lawn. Three or four times a year someone drives through his corner lot and damages the lawn. Trash cans dragged away from homes and dumped in the street. Pumpkins thrown from an overpass onto the highway and through the windshield of a passing vehicle. Again I have to ask, why?
What is wrong with a person who does this? This isn’t normal. This type of behavior has results that range from inconvenience to the potential to cause severe injury or death. Is this twisted behavior worth it? Evidently to some, the consequences of their actions carry no meaning.
I hope for the sake of the petty vandal(s) that they never need the resources of a group like the Healthcare Foundation or even Johnson Johns, for that matter. I hope that when you grow up, IF you grow up, you won’t have to suffer through the misery that you’ve caused for others.