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At its regular Council meeting on Monday June 23, 2008, Mayor Lois Jackson and Delta Council unanimously endorsed a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the damage to the Mackie Park artificial turf field in North Delta.
An arson investigation by the Delta Police Department and Delta Fire and Rescue Emergency Services is now underway.
"This was a serious incident and disrespectful toward our kids. Many of our soccer groups have been inconvenienced," said Mayor Lois Jackson who also chairs the Delta Police Board. "We are determined to find out who's responsible and that's why Delta Council has taken the unusual step of posting a reward."
Fire Chief Dan Copeland noted that a substantial amount of accelerant was used to ignite the turf field making it a dangerous situation. "It's also highly probable that the same accelerant was used to cause fire damage at Gray Elementary School on the same morning," Copeland said.
The incident occurred June 21st at approximately 2:45 am in the 10900 Block of 82nd Avenue. The fire burned a 250-square foot area of the synthetic turf field. In total, there's an estimated $10,000 in damage.
Mackie Park houses The Corporation of Delta's first-ever synthetic turf field. The park also has an all-weather gravel field and baseball diamond. Immediately following the fire, Delta Parks and Recreation was forced to find alternative fields for several soccer groups originally scheduled to play at Mackie Park this week. Repairs to the field are currently underway, and a youth soccer tournament scheduled at Mackie Park this weekend is expected to proceed.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Delta Police at (604) 946-4411 and quote file number 08-12734.
For more information concerning the municipal reward, call: Mayor Lois E. Jackson (604) 946-3210.
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