“We called the police and they send some young cops…they don’t know what do to. All the cops are at Country Thunder trying to keep them from killing each other and we’re left high and dry.”
~ Vandalism victim Nicole Nelson/Randall Farm subdivision
By Annette Newcomb/Editor
Country Thunder has come and gone and not everyone was sad to see it end.
Over the years residents have complained about traffic, garbage and even country music fans trying to bathe in local lakes.
This year a local resident found naked teens swimming in her pool in the wee hours of the morning and believes they are responsible for vandalism to her property.
And the growing popularity of cell phones brought a new problem for the area this year. Disrupted cell service.
Twin Lakes resident Barbara DeGryse said Monday her cell phone service was greatly hindered due to the high traffic on local cell towers. She did not attend the music festival.
DeGryse said she had only sporadically use or her cell phone and at times, no service at all while the festival was in progress.
“I contacted Verizon and they told me because there were so many cell phones being used the towers were overwhelmed and couldn’t provide service.”
DeGryse said she is very concerned because she depends solely on cell service and would not have been able to use her phone for emergency purposes if the need arose. “I am sure there are many other residents in the same situation,” she noted.
Both her granddaughter and her boyfriend, who both attended the festival, were unable to use their cell phones while on the grounds.
Some ATT customers also complained of sporadic service during the festival.
Twin Lakes Police Chief Dale Racer said none of his officers mentioned a problem with cell phone service.
While DeGryse is quick to give Country Thunder props for fixing traffic problems that once plagued the area, but added she hopes the powers that be will address the cell phone issue.
“I know I was completely without a phone for six hours on Sunday. They have done wonders with the volume of noise. Now if they could only fix this cell phone issue,” she added.
DeGryse said Verizon did credit her a week’s worth of time because she has three cell phones on her account.
April Harbour Swaim, managing producer with County Thunder said Monday, “Country Thunder prides itself in being fan and community friendly. When you bring 30,000+ people within close proximity and practically build a small city, there is bound to be isolated issues.
“There was a temporary tower erected in Richmond, Ill., and was visible from the Country Thunder grounds. As more and more fans use their phones to tweet, send text messages, use social media, as well as make phone calls, the towers are destined to be congested for periods of time.
“We are planning meetings with Verizon to discuss adding additional towers for 2014.”
Harbour Swaim said the on-site head count for the festival, including employees, vendors, performers and crewmembers was 34,000.
Property vandalized
For Brian and Nicole Nelson, it’s all out war at their home on 401st Avenue in the Randall Farm Subdivision when Country Thunder comes to town.
Nicole Nelson said the couple purchased their home six years ago and since then every year their property has been vandalized in some form and they have even been verbally assaulted by drunken music fans.
“In the past we have had people walking in our yard, dropping garbage. Each year it’s gotten worse. One morning my husband found four guys passed out in our yard and we couldn’t even wake them up. Last year a drunk man came right up onto our back porch and screamed at my husband to take him home…what are we supposed to do? You don’t know what people will do, what they are capable of.”
Nelson said they inquired about putting up a fence but the subdivision covenant don’t allow it. So this year they did the next best thing: held a cook out and had some of their friends stay late to watch the property.
“It’s really hard, I wake up all the time, I think I hear something. You don’t know what goes on when you are asleep, or trying to sleep.”
This year the damage escalated. Nelson, who has a two-week-old baby and four other children under the age of 12, discovered naked, drunk teenagers swimming in their pool.
“They had to come into our yard, take the cover off and crawl in. My husband has a prosthetic leg (due to an industrial accident) and heard the noise. He had to get up, put his prosthesis on and go outside and yell at the kids. He kept their clothes and told them to get the hell off our property.”
“We called the police and they send some young cops. They don’t know what do to. All the cops are at Country Thunder trying to keep them from killing each other and we’re left high and dry,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the police suggestions include putting up trip wire, which Nelson said makes them liable if someone gets hurt. She says police have told them to put up security cameras and stand guard with a BB gun.
The day after Brian Nelson rousted the naked swimmers, two of the swimmers’ friends came to the house and asked for the clothing back but both Nelsons refused.
Nelson believes the same group of people came back to retaliate. The last night of Thunder someone punctured the Nelson’s pool three times.
“It looked like they tried to slash it open but my husband heard them and they ran away.”
“I have a two-week-old baby. That pool and swing set is the only thing my kids have to play on…that’s their summer, I can’t drive them around with a new baby or take them to a beach,” Nelson said.
The pool, valued at $500, was patched but whether it makes it to the end of the summer is questionable. “We will have to buy a new one next year. We pay taxes for police protection. Who’s going to pay for our new pool?”