ORANGE, Texas — Major changes are coming to facilities at an area school district after a recent crime and 2017 storm left them damaged and defaced.
In October 2022, the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated Independent School District stadium and other facilities were vandalized with spray paint.
The vandalization frustrated district staff and students, who waited a long time to have brand-new turf installed at the Battlin' Bear Stadium. The new turf was installed in late September 2022 and was a part of a multi-million dollar upgrade.
The suspects accused of defacing the middle logo press box and away concession stand were later identified as Ryan Dee Bergeron and Johnney Davis. Both are former students of the school district.
Orange County deputies said the two confessed to the vandalism. Following the crime, the community stepped up in a big way to help fix the damages.
“We had numerous people say, 'I will come and help,'” Stacey Brister, district superintendent, said. “We have had financial donations for people who want to come and give back to their community."
District officials are now working to make much-needed repairs, not just to the stadium but to the district as a whole. They want their students to have nothing but the best.
“We just want to be able to provide facilities that they are proud of," Brister said.
Not only will the field see major changes, but other construction projects are set to take place throughout the district. One area in specific is around the high school's athletic department.
Some of the projects were planned and others were born out of necessity. Some of the changes include a tennis court and a freshly painted track.
“We have completed our turf project,” Brister said. “We were delayed during football season. They worked very hard and long hours to get us on the field by mid-season on that field. That is going on at the same time as our two continued projects."
Changes are also coming to the district’s administration building. It was damaged during Tropical Storm Harvey and the changes will be paid for through FEMA funds.
“Most of our buildings had water in them, and so we made it a priority so our students came first,” Bister said. “We made sure they had safe and secure schools.”
According to the timeline of all of these projects, they should be done and ready for use in the mid-spring time of 2023.