THEFT OF INNOCENCE BURGLARS LEAVE T-BALL PLAYERS SHORT ON SUPPLIES, LONG ON QUESTIONS.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
ENCINO - This one's for the thieves List of Thieves. Famous
You left behind some very confused kids and hard-working moms who have been trying their best this past week to explain to their children what happened. When you're 5 years old you think your mom She goes to the gym. knows everything, so these kids figure their moms should know why someone would take things that didn't belong to them. Things like two public address systems, all the umpiring gear, bats, balls and bases, and $500 worth of snack supplies that these moms sell in that snack stand to raise a big chunk of the money for the league. Julie Barnes, manager of the T-ball Angels, could only tell her 4 1/2-year- old son, Michael, that sometimes strangers do bad things, but she doesn't think he really understands. ``He still looks at teen-agers and all adults as only good people,'' she said. ``He doesn't comprehend yet that there are bad people out there, and I was in no rush to teach him that.'' You vandals took care of that for her and a lot of other moms in this league. Their kids showed up to play some baseball, and learned there was nothing left. You stole it all. You made them grow up a lot faster than their moms wanted them to. ``It hurt because it was like they stole money right out of our hands,'' said Andrew Anduray, 12, who plays in the major division and has two younger sisters playing T-ball. They are three of the seven children Marina Anduray has playing in this league, where parents can volunteer time in lieu of Instead of; in place of; in substitution of. It does not mean in addition to. paying fees that range from $80 for T-ball to $150 for majors per child. ``My husband and I do literally dozens of things around the league so our kids can play,'' said Marina, who is in charge of sign-ups and collecting money. The Andurays are like a lot of families that dedicate ded·i·cate tr.v. ded·i·cat·ed, ded·i·cat·ing, ded·i·cates 1. To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate. 2. a big chunk of their lives to keep this league going on a shoestring, says Debbie Potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: People
While the fathers coach most of the older kids in the league, it's mainly moms who coach the first-year T-ballers. It's moms mowing mow 1 n. 1. The place in a barn where hay, grain, or other feed is stored. 2. A stack of hay or other feed stored in a barn. the outfield grass, chalking the lines, keeping score, working the snack stand and doing anything they can to make the first contact their children have with baseball nothing but fun. There's not a lot of money floating around these fields located adjacent to railroad railroad or railway, form of transportation most commonly consisting of steel rails, called tracks, on which freight cars, passenger cars, and other rolling stock are drawn by one locomotive or more. tracks and a wash on the Van Nuys-Encino border. If you had looked out into the outfield while you were breaking into the snack shop, you would have noticed some pretty big holes in the fences. One of those holes leads to the railroad tracks, the other to the wash. When balls get through those holes, the kids are told to let them go, not chase them. ``You never know what's going on Verb 1. know what's going on - be well-informed be on the ball, be with it, know the score, know what's what know - know how to do or perform something; "She knows how to knit"; "Does your husband know how to cook?" back there,'' said Marina. That's what last weekend's carnival carnival, communal celebration, especially the religious celebration in Catholic countries that takes place just before Lent. Since early times carnivals have been accompanied by parades, masquerades, pageants, and other forms of revelry that had their origins in was all about, raising money to put in new fences. Dozens of moms, like Alison McMenamy of Chatsworth, a team mom on her son Kevin's team, showed up at 6 a.m. and worked to 5 p.m. to make the carnival a success by raising $2,000. The next day you vandals broke into the snack stand and basically wiped out their fund-raiser by stealing $2,000 worth of equipment and supplies. Forcing dozens of mothers to try to explain to their confused children what had happened. ``We tried to explain that somebody felt they needed the stuff they stole from us,'' said Potter, who knows a little something about bad people. She's a Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . detective
in the Van Nuys Division.
So, that's just about the whole story. Your theft hurt this league bad, but it didn't cripple crip·ple n. One that is partially disabled or unable to use a limb or limbs. v. To cause to lose the use of a limb or limbs. it. These moms are way tougher than that. ``We'll play if we have to use boxes for bases, and we'll borrow baseballs and bats,'' said Julie Barnes. ``Sure we're struggling, but we're not going to let something like this hold us back.'' If you'd like to help the league out in any way, you can reach Marina Anduray at (818) 989-1566. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Alison McMenamy, right, with members of her West Valley Little League T-ball team, who lost equipment and other supplies in a break-in last Sunday. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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