San Benito High School’s class of 1953 wanted to do something
different, something more special than a plaque. They wanted to
give back to the school in a different way. So over the summer,
they donated a bench for students, school employees and visitors to
enjo
San Benito High School’s class of 1953 wanted to do something different, something more special than a plaque. They wanted to give back to the school in a different way. So over the summer, they donated a bench for students, school employees and visitors to enjoy.
“We thought the school gave us something at the time – an education. We wanted to give something back,” said Cecil Vallejo, a member of the class of 1953, which celebrated its 50th reunion this summer. “We decided on several things, but the bench stood out a little more.”
Over Labor Day weekend – three weeks after the bench was installed in front of the school by the flag pole – someone vandalized the bench – breaking it into pieces.
“I felt pretty bad about it – $500, $600 is a lot of money,” Vallejo said.
District Superintendent Jean Burns Slater discovered the broken bench over the holiday weekend. She thinks the bench was moved from its area by the flagpole as a prank and broken after that by a different party.
“By prank, I mean you don’t want to necessarily destroy something. You just want to cause problems,” Slater said.
The school is investigating the vandalism and Vallejo is putting together a reward. He has already donated $200 for information leading to the capture of the people responsible. Slater said she doesn’t think students vandalized the bench, but may know who did.
“We’ve got some vandalism moving around the community that is affecting the community’s institutions,” Slater said.
There are no immediate plans to repair the bench, Vallejo said.
To add to the reward, call Vallejo at 637-2817. Anyone with information should call the police at 636-4330 or Slater at 637-5831, ext. 134.
