Men Get Fine, Community Services For Using Hydrant To Fill Hockey Rink
TINLEY PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- Two men from Tinley Park who made headlines when they were caught tapping into a fire hydrant to fill their backyard skating rink are paying fines performing community service.
As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, Tony Nelin, 21, and Timmy Ryan, 20, were ordered to pay $127.44, the cost of the estimated 26,000 gallons of water they took from the hydrant to fill their 91-foot by 43-foot backyard rink, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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Cook County Judge Daniel Lawrence also ordered Nelin and Ryan to perform 16 hours of community service, and they suggested maybe they could use the rink for the purpose. Lawrence suggested that the men partner with the Park District to offer a skating program for local kids, the Tribune reported.
The newspaper reports when the men were cited for stealing the water, they were invited to the U.S. Pond Hockey Championship in Bloomington, Minn., where they were treated like heroes.
An earlier Tribune report said Dr. Bryan Foy of Burr Ridge had agreed to pay the fines for the two young men after reading about their plight.
Ryan, of Oak Lawn, and Nelin, of Tinley Park, built the 90-foot by 40-foot hockey rink in the back of a friend's house. It comes complete with a penalty box.
The men told CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli in December they just wanted to skate, so they borrowed a 2-inch hose from Nelin's uncle, a firefighter, and it up to a fire hydrant on the property of Tinley Park High School.
When a custodian spotted it, police were called, and the ticket was issued.
After they filled the rink, it ended up melting due to the unseasonably warm weather, but Nelin and Ryan planned to fill it again. Bu they said they would use a garden hose.
