By Mike Hazlip—
Only the stump of what once was a Little Free Library box is left at Northwoods Park, after one or more vandals are accused of setting fire to the box just a week after it had been installed.
Citrus Heights Rotary President Mark Duncan told The Sentinel Saturday evening he was alerted to the incident after a phone call from Sunrise Recreation and Parks District.
Duncan said the organization will not be able to replace the free library any time soon. The Rotary Club works with San Juan high school to make the miniature libraries, and students have spent significant time making new boxes to replace damaged or missing little libraries throughout Citrus Heights, he said.
“It’s a lot of work,” Duncan said. “I feel, if we had more of them, that may not be a place that we’re going to put one back.”
Resident Alina Lysenko, who lives near the park, told The Sentinel her security camera shows the incident occurred sometime between 1-2 a.m. in the early morning of Friday, May 20. She said another video shows a vehicle parked near the location of the incident just before 3 a.m. but she could not confirm if an individual from the vehicle was related to the vandalism.
Lysenko said she had not yet filed a police report, or contacted authorities about the video. A police spokesperson was not immediately available for comment over the weekend.
The Rotary Club originally worked with the Citrus Heights History and Arts Commission in 2015 to place the libraries at various parks around Citrus Heights, according to an earlier report by The Sentinel. The program is part of the Little Free Library organization that seeks to build community and inspire reading, according to the association’s website.
