kebo
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I hope it's ok to paste this article & a link for the WLTX television website?? If it violates a rule on this forum, let me know and I'll edit it or have the mod's delete it.
Just a really mean and lowdown act of vandalism at a farm in South Carolina. There's a picture of some barn damage if you go to the link:
Vandals Destroy $500,000 Worth of Farm Equipment | wltx.com
CLARENDON COUNTY (WLTX) -- Officials are trying to figure out who vandalized hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment at one of Clarendon County's biggest farms.
Workers at Scott Jackson Farms just outside of Manning discovered the damage Saturday morning.
Deputies believe the suspects are possibly teenagers, but say they had to have a good knowledge of farming.
The family-run farm has been around almost fifty years, but the owners have never seen anything like this.
"We make a living on this dirt, on this soil out here. That's it. Whatever we produce here is what keeps the whole family going," explains farm owner Scott Jackson.
Jackson was born and raised just down the street from this farm and began working here in 1955. Since then, it's become a part of him. "We get pretty good help and things go pretty good, most of the time," he says.
But, Saturday wasn't one of those times for the family. Deputies say sometime early that morning, vandals did major damage to their equipment with estimates between $300 and $500 thousand. "Damaged crops, took tractors and actually ran into buildings," explains Sheriff Randy Garrett, "Took the combine and ran it into the barn."
Even as someone in law enforcement, it's been hard for him to understand. Says Garrett, "We've had a lot of vandalism over the years but nothing at this scale, this scope. It's just meaningless, it makes no sense whatsoever."
With no personal injury, it may seem like a harmless prank. But that financial hit to the family, as well as to the rest of the farmers in Clarendon County, makes this far from a victimless crime.
"Other farmers in this county are wondering, 'Am I next? Will somebody come damage by equipment?" says Garrett.
"We're just getting ready to harvest wheat and we got have combines to do that," explains Jackson.
He's is thankful to have neighbors that are pitching in to help with the crops. But, the repairs needed will be a burden that could take several more seasons to grow out of. "They just did more damage than they know," Garrett says, "To them, this was fun and games and it's not. It's not fun and games."
Scott Jackson Farm primarily grows wheat and corn, and was planning to use the damaged combine on Monday. Deputies don't believe the family was targeted for any special reason, other than where there equipment was stored.
Just a really mean and lowdown act of vandalism at a farm in South Carolina. There's a picture of some barn damage if you go to the link:
Vandals Destroy $500,000 Worth of Farm Equipment | wltx.com
CLARENDON COUNTY (WLTX) -- Officials are trying to figure out who vandalized hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment at one of Clarendon County's biggest farms.
Workers at Scott Jackson Farms just outside of Manning discovered the damage Saturday morning.
Deputies believe the suspects are possibly teenagers, but say they had to have a good knowledge of farming.
The family-run farm has been around almost fifty years, but the owners have never seen anything like this.
"We make a living on this dirt, on this soil out here. That's it. Whatever we produce here is what keeps the whole family going," explains farm owner Scott Jackson.
Jackson was born and raised just down the street from this farm and began working here in 1955. Since then, it's become a part of him. "We get pretty good help and things go pretty good, most of the time," he says.
But, Saturday wasn't one of those times for the family. Deputies say sometime early that morning, vandals did major damage to their equipment with estimates between $300 and $500 thousand. "Damaged crops, took tractors and actually ran into buildings," explains Sheriff Randy Garrett, "Took the combine and ran it into the barn."
Even as someone in law enforcement, it's been hard for him to understand. Says Garrett, "We've had a lot of vandalism over the years but nothing at this scale, this scope. It's just meaningless, it makes no sense whatsoever."
With no personal injury, it may seem like a harmless prank. But that financial hit to the family, as well as to the rest of the farmers in Clarendon County, makes this far from a victimless crime.
"Other farmers in this county are wondering, 'Am I next? Will somebody come damage by equipment?" says Garrett.
"We're just getting ready to harvest wheat and we got have combines to do that," explains Jackson.
He's is thankful to have neighbors that are pitching in to help with the crops. But, the repairs needed will be a burden that could take several more seasons to grow out of. "They just did more damage than they know," Garrett says, "To them, this was fun and games and it's not. It's not fun and games."
Scott Jackson Farm primarily grows wheat and corn, and was planning to use the damaged combine on Monday. Deputies don't believe the family was targeted for any special reason, other than where there equipment was stored.
