So Far, So Good for Smothers Park
By: Jordan Vandenberge
Updated: November 1, 2012
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There's nothing as precious as a smile on a child. There's nothing like the pride Benjamin Boynken has just watching.
"It's so nice to sit on a log and watch the kids play," said Boynken. "The kids love it, the kids absolutely love it. I was kind of aprehensive at first but to come down here and see everything, see all the money that went into it but at the same time to see the product that came out of it."
Smothers park opened two months ago to fun and fanfare. But a new park often comes with new problems.
"Things like magic marker, whether it was a juvenile writing on the walls or on the concrete down there," said Owensboro Police officer Michael Hathaway. "Thankfully, we've only had a small amount of complaints of vandalism down there Since the park opened in September, we've had such an influx of people come out, not just from Owensboro but from surrounding areas."
The number of people hasn't correlated with the amount of vandalism. In fact, there's only been 5 reported cases of vandalism.
"I have seen a lot of Owensboro Police come through here and make sure everything's taken care of," said Boynken. "I haven't seen any vandalism, haven't seen any riff raff, it's been nice."


