Salisbury park vandalized, neighbors react

SALISBURY, Md. – A Tuesday morning mystery is bringing everyone who lives along New York Avenue in Salisbury together.

“This is like our backyard for us,” said Holly Thompson, a neighbor.

“Our backyard is just a bunch of weeds and no fence, and we come here we feel safe,” said Thompson.

It was at the Johnson Lake Neighborhood Playground that an investigation began after a memorial was significantly damaged and a stone bearing the name of Dennis Hailey was stolen.

“There was a couple of kids in the neighborhood who noticed it was gone and they had told him at the park when he was here with the kids,” said Thompson.

“So, the news travels fast in our neighborhood,” said Thompson.

Neighbors say it is difficult to see the hard work completed by Salisbury University students weeks ago destroyed and wasted by someone who could not respect the memory of Dennis Hailey.

“He did a lot of things in the neighborhood as well as for myself and his wife still lives here as well as his son and his granddaughter along with his wife and they’re all an integral part of our neighborhood,” said Susan Carey, the president of the Johnson Lake Neighborhood Association.

And, it is harder still for people like Carey who strives to make her small community a safe and welcoming place to be.

“We’re a small association,” said Carey.

“We don’t have a lot of money so we would have to raise the money and I’m sure it’s very disturbing and upsetting to his family to know that it’s gone, so more importantly if someone can return it that would be great,” said Carey.

The Johnson Lake Neighborhood Association is asking anyone with information to contact them, which can be done on their Facebook page.