by David Flint
While some in Stephentown are working hard to improve the community with beautification efforts and new businesses, others seem to be working hard to trash the place. Arguably most of those who staged a drunken vandals party at Brian Holloway’s residence were not from Stephentown. And maybe the ones who tore through Leo Roberts’ hay field last Friday night were also not from Stephentown. But surely they were from not too far away.
[private]The perpetrators are the types that see an open field as a fair game playground for their motorized toys, but not bright enough to know anything about what’s entailed in farming, or caring enough to respect other people’s property.
Frank Kelly who lives across Newton Road from the field said that on Friday night between 10:30 and 11:30 pm he noticed headlights coming directly out of the field. He looked out and saw a large four-wheel drive pickup truck emerge onto the roadway and take off in the direction of West Road.
Leo Roberts examined the field the next day and found that a large vehicle had indeed spent some time tearing up and down through the hay field. The ruts, deeper in some parts than others, run every which way through the field.
Leo and Janette Roberts said it’s not a simple problem to fix. The stones turned up in the ruts can ruin farm equipment. The field must now be plowed, sprayed, limed and reseeded. They estimated the damage to be in the neighborhood of $5,000. The Robertses said they reported the vandalism to the State Police and a Trooper from the Sand Lake Station has come out to inspect the damage and interview people who live along the road. But so far they are not aware of any leads.
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