Donations sought after school theft of swim team gear, van

Pat Brechtel is frustrated.Thieves have stolen thousands of dollars of equipment belonging to the Loomis Basin Dolphin swim team and stored at the Del Oro High School pool,Brechtel and his wife, Melinda, are co-presidents of the swim team and now it's up to them to lead the fundraising effort to replace valuable components in time for tryouts on April 17."All our electronics, our sound and starting equipment, are gone," Pat Brechtel said."Moms and dads are the ones who end up having to replace this stuff."Lt. Jeff Ausnow, spokesman for the Placer County Sheriff's Department, said that sometime between Dec. 26 and 27, during the winter break, unknown suspects broke into the custodian's building at Del Oro High School."They were able to gain access to the custodian's office by breaking a window," Ausnow said.Vince Rodriguez, the facilities operations supervisor at the school, said his office is located in the warehouse behind the pool."They took my computer, scattered papers on my desk, and took keys to some of the school buildings," Rodriguez said.Thieves also took keys from a separate location and stole one of the vans, Rodriguez said, cutting the lock to the maintenance yard to get the van out.According to Rodriguez, the 2001 Chevy Astro van is white, with a bottom gray trim.The lock was also cut off the school band trailer, he said, and a Sears Craftsman generator was taken.Among the swim team's missing pieces is a Colorado swimming timing system, electronic equipment valued between $1,100 and $1,500, he said. Brechtel estimates that the total team loss, which includes speakers, amplifiers and a microphone, is about $3,000.This wasn't the only recent break-in at the school. The previous weekend, said Rodriguez, thieves "broke into the kitchen and got into manager's office and snack bar and storage area."That time, Rodriguez said, thieves took personal items off of his desk as well as miscellaneous small tools.Brechtel is already contacting area swim teams in the search for replacement equipment. He asks anyone who wishes to make a donation to the effort to contact him at 548-5729.