Stephanie Wilking Park in LaPlace has been the subject of recent community concern. Neighborhood residents say teenager and young adult loitering is leading to drug use on park grounds and a “stay away” attitude for parents and grandparents who previously brought young children there to play.

Those complaints reached the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, which recently installed crime cameras at the Greenwood Drive location and added patrols to address concerns.

Sheriff Mike Tregre told me this week deputies are aware of the problems.

“We’re not going to tolerate anyone out there with this kind of behavior or drug use at the park,” he said.

According to Tregre, two cameras have been added to the location to beef up security, including an overview one and a second “covert” location not visible to park attendees.

He said the moves were in direct response to social media complaints that came to his attention last week and led to extra patrols. Deputies discovered cigar remnants on the ground typically indicative of patrons removing tobacco from the cigars and splicing in marijuana for smoking.

Authorities continue to ask those who see negative activity to call in the complaints.

“We’re paying more attention to it,” Tregre said. “You can call the non-emergency line at 652-6338 and don’t have to leave your name. We appreciate that assistance because we can’t do it by ourselves.”

Theresa Dunn, who lives in LaPlace, doesn’t take her grandkids to Stephanie Wilking Park anymore because she has seen too many hypodermic needles, broken glass and discarded beer bottles.

“Older teenagers hang out there all afternoon and into the night,” she said. “I want somewhere where I feel secure. We’ve had Easter egg hunts, and I used to take my granddaughter there to play when she was little, like 2, 3 years old. Now that she is 5, I can’t bring her there.”

Nikke Thomas, who lives on the same street as Dunn near the park, said discarded cigarettes and marijuana joints make the park undesirable, reducing it to a spot teenagers hang out to smoke.

The park’s current condition frustrates Thomas, who said recent renovations actually made Stephanie Wilking Park desirable to young families and those with children.

“The park is in great shape,” she said. “They have benches out there. They have that soft foam for the kids. It’s just that the teenagers are going and doing things that shouldn’t be done there.”

This is a somewhat common complaint in St. John, where parish officials shared in late 2015 that Thomas F. Daley Memorial Park, Belle Pointe Park, Regala Park and Cambridge Park were all vandalized throughout a $2 million improvements project.

Destruction ranged from vulgar phrases and pictures drawn on new play sets and in freshly poured cement and on-site construction equipment damage. Staffers also found one project defecated on during the cement process.

In 2012, voters approved the first millage in parish history to support parish-wide recreation, and subsequently that millage generated close to $1 million annually for general operations and maintenance of existing facilities and staffing.

Passage of a bond issue in 2013 meant $3 million was dedicated to parks and recreation. $2.3 million went toward improvements identified in the Parks Master Plan from 2013. Those improvements were celebrated in early 2016.

To keep the parks readily accessible for our children, please alert authorities anytime you see something out of line. If you see something, say something.

Stephen Hemelt is publisher and editor of L’OBSERVATEUR. He can be reached at 985-652-9545 or stephen.hemelt@lobservateur.com.