WINDHAM — Griffin Park will be closed after dark, a restriction put into effect by the selectmen Monday after graffiti was spray painted in the parking lot.
The graffiti reads "First" in large block lettering — yellow outlined in black.
A survey of people using the popular Range Road park yesterday turned up a majority who support the restricted hours, saying they enhance security and protect the park from vandalism.
"I hate people who destroy things, it's so inconsiderate," resident Ann Burnham said.
Burnham and her husband, Harry, Windham residents since 1960, watched their grandchildren play ball, swatting tennis balls with a plastic bat on a small diamond.
"It's such a vast area with no lighting," Harry Burnham said, defending the selectmen's action.
But Windham parent Steve Petron said closing the park after dark is too restrictive. He and his family enjoy walking at the park, and it gets dark early in the fall.
"I'd like to see it not have that early a curfew," Petron said.
The lone dissenting voice on the Board of Selectmen also said in an interview that the restriction was an overreaction.
Selectman Charles McMahon said the park is a beautiful place that should be open for walking or stargazing, maybe not at all hours, but not shut down after dark.
Furthermore, McMahon said, he thinks the action unfairly punishes those who have done nothing wrong.
"If one person does something wrong, everyone pays for it," he said.
Selectmen voted, 3-1, to post signs at park entrances to announce the new hours.
The board voted after Cheryl Haas, the town's head of recreation, reported the graffiti and recommended the dusk-to-dawn closure.
She said there have been several acts of vandalism over the past few years. It is unclear if they took place at night, though it is likely, given that the incidents would probably have been seen during daylight hours.
Under state law, the selectmen have the authority to set park hours of operation and authorities can ask those who violate the restrictions to leave.
It is unclear, however, whether they can issue a citation without a local ordinance on the books, Haas said.
Police had no comment on the matter and referred it to local officials.
There has been a flier on a park kiosk stating the park is closed from sunset to sunrise, but the announcement was not backed up by an ordinance or a selectmen's vote, Haas said.
Selectman Bruce Breton said he supported the restriction because it protects the town's sizable investment in the park, it will make it easier for police to enforce the hours, and it will make the park more secure.
He said the majority of the people who use the park are out of there before it gets dark because there is nothing to do once darkness arrives.
Three young people from Windham at the park yesterday, Ben Petron, 15, Zack Breton, 14, and Connor Golden, 14, said the restriction made sense.
"I think it's reasonable," Petron said. "Not many people come here after sunset."
Two of the youngsters said the vandalism was likely committed by people from out of town.
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