Valley Is Floored by Vandals

Officials at Valley College have no idea who flooded the school’s gymnasium Friday, damaging the floor and forcing the men’s and women’s basketball teams to scramble their schedules for the next few weeks.

“Somebody got in, took the fire hose out, propped it on the bleachers and bolted,” said Athletic Director Chuck Ferrero. “He or them just pointed the hose to the middle of the floor and turned it on.”

Ferrero said the vandals struck around 1:30 p.m. He said doors to the gym are normally locked, except one that leads to the adjacent fitness center’s locker room.

He said it will take until about Dec. 2 for the floor to dry and repairs to begin. Until then, home games have been shifted to opponents’ courts.

The men play a Western State Conference game tonight at Santa Barbara and a nonconference game Nov. 30 at East L.A.

The women play defending state champion Ventura on Saturday and the Valley tournament Dec. 12-14 could be in jeopardy.

The floor, imported from Denmark and hand-painted, was installed two years ago after the original floor was destroyed during the Northridge earthquake in January, 1994. The project, which reportedly cost about $400,000, was paid with the help of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds.

“They think they can get it ready by [Dec. 11],” Ferrero said. “They have to sand it, repaint it and put on the urethane [gloss]. I don’t know how much this is all going to cost.”