APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Police say that multiple construction sites in the Fox Valley have been hit by vandals.
It was first reported on Wednesday morning that vandals had damaged the future site of the Fox Cities Champion Center in Grand Chute, but now that appears to just be part of the story.
A smashed window, water flooded basement, and $6,000 of damage was also found at a nearly finished Appleton home.
That home was built by Fox Valley Technical College students as part of the residential building construction program.
“Blood and sweat yes, they put a lot into it,” says program instructor, Paul Lewandowski, “When they started hearing about it, there was a lot of disappointment.”
An abnormal amount of water usage was what Appleton Public Works initially noticed and was the reason they came to the house.
“The water spigot in the basement was running full tilt and there was about 2.5 inches of water in the basement,” explains Lewandowski.
He estimates the damage at around $6,000, even though nothing was stolen.
When he first got the news it was upsetting.
“A little bit of anger at first and then the urgency to get up there and deal with the water problem in the basement,” he says.
It was also a bit of a surprise when he found out about the other incidents.
“I was unaware of the one in Little Chute and Grand Chute until after talking to [a] police officer,” Lewandowski explains.
Fox Valley Metro police have confirmed that a home under construction, in Little Chute, was also damaged that same night.
It’s unknown if all three incidents were connected.
Lewandowski is especially disappointed considering the fact that it takes students around nine months to complete a home.
“Unfortunately it teaches them about the reality of our state of the world,” Lewandowski says. “But life goes on, we’ll fix it and move on from there.”
