Vandals Melt Away Brentwood Christmas Tradition
BRENTWOOD (CBS SF) -- It's the biggest night in Brentwood this holiday season as people lined the streets for the Hometown Christmas Parade, but vandals meted away an annual tradition for many families.
Not a single skater could be seen at Brentwood on Ice Saturday night. That's because vandals tweaked the valves and turning off the chiller. A lot of disappointed children as they saw their rink turn into a lake.
Tom Gregory, the owner of Brentwood on Ice, had to turn people away.
"It was horror, today has been a rough day," Gregory told KPIX 5.
Among those heartbroken patrons was Kristine.
"It's sad because this whole place would be packed right now," she said.
Gregory noticed his ice rink was vandalized when he arrived early Saturday morning. As soon as he figured out what had happened, he started canceling classes and birthday parties.
"I've kept my composure until my wife started crying about the birthday parties and I lost it," he said.
Gregory believes he knows who did it. He thinks this stems from a dispute over stolen skates. Insurance won't cover vandalism but the holiday spirit is alive and well in Brentwood.
"The negativity, the horror, that's how I started my day," he said. "Big people offering to help, the support brought me back."
Gregory will spend the next few days at the rink, in hopes of getting it back open so families can once again enjoy their annual tradition.
"It brings the whole town together," Kristine said. "It's kinda hard to see that it's been vandalized."
Gregory hopes that he can get a replacement chiller working late Saturday night. If that is a success, the soonest this ice rink will open will be on Wednesday morning.