Volunteers cleanup Little League field plagued by illegal dumping

Volunteers came together over the weekend to clean up a big mess at a Little League baseball field in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The league was facing thousands of dollars in fines for construction debris and trash that had been dumped on their property.

Two local businesses -- Barton Sand and Gravel and Bituminous Roadways -- showed up to help clean the fields. They even offered up some of their equipment to load up the heavier materials. To top it off, Scoreboard Pizza of Brooklyn Center donated lunch for everyone.

Piles of concrete, bathroom tiles, pipes and boards filled with nails are just some of what had been dumped on the league's property. League president Debbie Stoddard said it started this past fall when they looked for a solution to water-saturated fields.

"We were going to take some clean fill and put it under the sod, and we found out from the city this is considered wetland area and we need a special use permit," Stoddard said. "So we stopped the project because we would have to raise money for filing fees, and surveys, and all the paperwork that goes with filling special use permit."

But by that time, the league had already sent a letter to one landscaping company offering a place for clean fill dirt only. Stoddard quickly put a stop to that request within a month, but 6 months went by with everything from couches to televisions getting illegally dumped.