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‘Knuckleheads’ toss portable toilet into R.I. pond
"It takes an idiot to vandalize public property to start with, but it takes a really malicious idiot to vandalize public property that exists to ensure access to the outdoors for people with disabilities."
Carbuncle Pond was not stocked with special fish like other bodies of water were in honor of Veterans Day this weekend, after “one or more knuckleheads” threw a portable toilet into the water, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
“It takes an idiot to vandalize public property to start with, but it takes a really malicious idiot to vandalize public property that exists to ensure access to the outdoors for people with disabilities,” DEM spokesman Michael Healey said by email.
Explaining what went down, Healey said, “We believe that on Thursday, Nov. 3, at some point after dark, one or more knuckleheads, probably a group of knuckleheads, decided to dump the universal-access portajohn that we keep at Carbuncle Pond, Coventry, into the pond.”
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The vent pipe on the portable toilet could be seen sticking out of the water roughly 50 feet off the dock following the incident, the spokesman said.
The toilet was removed from the pond at some point this past weekend by “some civic-minded anglers,” Healey said, noting that the department was grateful to them for doing so.
“ADA-accessible portable toilets cost $2,500 apiece,” Healey said. “This one’s destroyed and our vendor is understandably ticked off.”
Additionally, the person or group of people who tossed the toilet into the water also tipped over the two other portable toilets in the parking lot, the spokesman said.
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“Time that could be spent maintaining or improving other DEM properties — wildlife management areas, fishing spots, etc. — instead must be spent on cleaning up vandalism,” Healey said.
DEM stocked eight other ponds and lakes with special trout and salmon this week to honor veterans ahead of the holiday weekend, but will hold off on stocking Carbuncle for now.
Healey said officials will likely wait until ice fishing season and stock Carbuncle then.
“DEM will have to take water samples to determine when we can stock there again,” he noted. “Carbuncle is a big pond and our portajohn vendor ensures us that the sanitizing solution used in the portajohn is eco-friendly, but to put it nicely, poop in a pond is a biohazard and we’re going to err on the side of discretion and not stock the pond for now.”
This is not the first incident of vandalism on a DEM property, Healey added, explaining that vandals targeted the Tefft Hill ADA-accessible trail at Upper Roaring Brook in the Arcadia Management Area in March.
An overview of the damage, which included destruction of a fishing line recycling box and large kiosk, removal of structural hardware, and the tossing of a wheelchair access ramp and a smaller kiosk into the water, can be seen in the video below:
Healey noted that the elevated walkway is so damaged that it cannot even be repaired and must be replaced. The work will cost $40,000, he said.
“Routinely, we deal with the illegal dumping of trash and household items like mattresses, graffiti, damage to gates and locks, damage to parking lots and access ways, damage to docks, border boulders moved at boat ramps and fishing access areas, the destruction and removal of signs, etc.” Healey said.
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Over the Fourth of July holiday this summer, two portable toilets were burned at Beach Pond in Exeter, he said.
“These incidents seemingly targeting facilities for people with disabilities, however, are particularly low and mean,” Healey said. “We do not accept this behavior.”
“Our mission is to maintain these special places for wildlife habitat and for the public — meaning, everyone in the public — to enjoy outdoor recreation,” he added. “Vandalizing amenities for people with disabilities denies them opportunities and access that people who do not have disabilities take for granted.
“If members of the public suspect vandalism or a solid waste violation such as illegal dumping on DEM-managed property, we ask them to please contact our 24-hour Dispatch Center at 222-3070,” Healey said. “It’s up to all of us to protect our public lands so they can be enjoyed for future generations to come.”
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