Smith Fields stolen property recovered

Don Bestwick, president of Project Whitefish Kids, the organization that maintains Smith Fields, reported Monday that police had found a portion of the items that had been stolen from a storage shed at the sports complex the previous weekend.

The thieves got away with an estimated $20,000 in equipment. Among the stolen items was a green 2007 Club Car brand Carryall utility cart, two air compressors, wrenches, socket sets, rakes and shovels, gas cans and propane. The culprits also took the keys to their tractors, irrigation boxes and pad locks.

Although Bestwick estimates $3,000 to 5,000 worth of property is still missing, they did recover most of the important items.  

He drove to a spot on Farm to Market on Monday to pick up air compressors, a leaf blower, hand and power tools, as well as the utility cart valued at about $11,500. 

“It’s really huge that we got that Club Car back,” Bestwick said. “We use it all the time and it would be expensive to replace.” 

Unfortunately, the keys, including a pair that operate tractors, were not recovered. 

Bestwick said someone must have had loose lips. Police told him word had been going around until somebody finally told the police about the stolen goods.  

Bestwick said he was relieved to get the call from the police and was eager to return the equipment to the shed which, along with all the storage units at the park, has been outfitted with new locks. There are also new security measures in place.  

The burglary occurred around Sept. 7, sometime between Saturday evening and Monday morning. 

Project Whitefish Kids needed to replace some of the stolen items like socket sets, wrenches and gas cans right away, to continue the work of maintaining the many fields at the site.

"It's devastating that someone would target a kids park," said Gloria Nelson, executive director of Project Whitefish Kids.

During the fall sports season, the fields host Whitefish High School soccer matches and youth soccer and baseball games. The park is not affiliated with the city or school district, so all funding for maintenance comes from Project Whitefish Kids.

One bright note, Nelson said, has been the community's outpouring of support in response to the break-in, through Whitefish Community Foundation's Great Fish Challenge. 

"It's amazing to see the community support," she said. "I feel like the community is behind us."

When the Challenge ended Friday, the community had donated over $84,000 to Project Whitefish Kids. The funds from the Challenge were earmarked to replace the control board and some valves for the irrigation system, a repair that will cost nearly $65,000.