Vandalism at Brookhaven Academy early Thursday morning willstill be apparent during the school’s Homecoming activities Friday,a school official said.

Headmaster Dr. Miller Hammill said it was impossible to fullyrepair the damage, but the school was doing what it could to makethe football field serviceable for last night’s junior varsityfootball game and Friday night’s Homecoming.

“All we can really do in the time we have is place some sand inthe ruts that were cut, level the damage and paint it,” he saidThursday afternoon.

A security gate will still be unserviceable Friday and vehicletire ruts cut into the surface of the field have been filled inwith sand, which will be painted green to disguise the damage, hesaid.

The vandalism occurred sometime between midnight and 6 a.m.Thursday, when it was discovered by school faculty arriving forwork, Hammill said.

“Evidently, the vandals were in a four-wheel drive, possiblywith a wench,” he said. “Either the four-wheel drive or a winch wasused to tear the gate off the football field security fence.”

Once inside, the vandals turned the vehicle in a circle at highspeed, a maneuver commonly referred to as doughnuts, atmidfield.

“They cut it real deep out there,” Hammill said. “They also didsome damage the same way on the practice field as well, but itisn’t as extensive.”

There is no security fence around the practice field to barentry, he said.

“It’s really a shame that this has happened,” Hammill said. “Thecoaches work real hard to maintain the field in top-notch shape. Wefeel it was one of the best playing surfaces in this area of thestate.”

It was the second vandalism at the school in less than sixmonths. Both incidents targeted the football field with similarmethods of destruction. In the previous incident, gates to thefield were left open and some minor damage to the field was causedby a vehicle.

There has been no arrest made in that incident, Hammillsaid.

“We never determined who was involved,” he said. “There was alot of rumor and circumstantial evidence, but nothing we can proveat this point.”

The gate torn down by the vandals Thursday was one of severalsecurity measures made following the first vandalism in August, theheadmaster said. Other changes included installing fencing in openareas to fully enclose the campus.

Unfortunately, he said, the exterior campus gates were notlocked Thursday morning because of homecoming activities.

“We had parents working out there a lot on homecoming activitiesand apparently after they left late last night, around 11 p.m.,someone came onto the campus,” Hammill said Thursday.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and Mississippi HighwaySafety Patrol’s Bureau of Investigation are pursuing the case.

“We intend to prosecute and take all necessary legal steps todeal with the problem,” Hammill said.

Community supporters of the school have stepped forward to helpidentify the vandals, the headmaster said, but there have been noarrests. Patrons of the school have donated $500 as a reward forany information leading to an arrest and conviction in Thursday’svandalism.