Fire claims Bay View YMCA climbing wall

D&C photo by Justin Murphy. Click to see the D&C article

I don’t know if you’ve heard the news yet out of the Bay View Family YMCA, but someone torched their climbing wall early Sunday morning. Oh, they’re not officially calling it arson yet, but it’s got to be arson; there was no electrical equipment in or around the tower that could have caused a fire.

When I heard the news Sunday afternoon, I just felt sick. I’ve worked at Camp Bay View for years, and I have seen the pure joy of achievement on campers’ faces when, after weeks of trying and trying again, they were finally able to scale that 40-foot wall.  It’s impossible to put a value on the self-confidence and pride that climbing wall has given countless kids.

And now it’s gone.

It also makes me angry to know that whoever did this is going to get away with it.  According to the D&C article I read about it, security cameras are no help, and no one saw anything.

So if we’re not going to be able to see anyone go to jail for this, the next best thing to do is thumb our noses at them and get that rock wall rebuilt as soon as possible. Apparently insurance won’t cover the cost of replacement, so it’s up to the Bay View YMCA community. And if I know anything about Webster, I know this is a community that pulls together when something needs to be done.

There are already rumblings about different fund-raising efforts in the works. As plans come together, I’ll let you all know the details. In the meantime, if you’re interested in making a donation to Bay View to get the ball rolling, you can click here.