HAMMOND | A leading mentor of the School City of Hammond's robotics team is pulling its support because of the financial impact the company contends it will incur from the City Council's ban on scavenging.
Bill Beatty, chairman of Beatty International, said the company can no longer afford to serve as an industrial sponsor for the team because the ban will jeopardize a portion of the business that deals with the local scrapping community.
A representative for Team Hammond Robotics on Friday called the news devastating.
“My understanding is they are pulling all their support, and the legacy of the team is so rich,” said Dee Jones, who got involved with the team through her son.
“It is really sad. It is a sad day. The impact is if we can't find somebody to support the team, there won't be a team.”
Beatty, who was the chief engineer for the team, said his company provided technical support and machine shop work to help students build the robots for competitions. He's served in that integral role since the team's inception in 1996 and under his mentorship, the team has won national championships.
Beatty said the company decided to pull its support after the City Council passed the ordinance last Monday. The ordinance, which takes effect at the end of this year, bans scavenging in city streets and alleys.
Beatty told council members at last week's meeting a ban would hurt one of the company's subsidiaries called Scrap International, which runs a retail yard for local scrappers to turn in their goods. Proceeds generated by the business were used to support community activities such as the robotics team.
“It's one of the unintended consequences that comes when shallow-thinking people react too quickly and make laws that aren't going to do very much good and do a whole lot of harm to Hammond residents,” Beatty said. “I just can't be a part of it. It's the way it goes.”
Council members, who voted in support of the ordinance, argued that prohibiting the activity would benefit public safety. Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller met with council members to give his support for a ban.
Brian Beatty, Beatty's son and president of Beatty International, said while there's no way to gauge the exact impact until the ban is in place, he knows it won't be positive for the business.
“It can't be good,” Brian Beatty said. “It won't be good.”
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Calls into the School City of Hammond were not returned as of Friday evening for comment. The team incorporates high school students from across the city.
City Councilman Bill Emerson, D-4th, who voted against the ordinance and had tried to pass an amendment to place more regulations on scrappers instead of the ban, said his son served on the robotics team and went on to study civil engineering.
“It's unfortunate,” Emerson said. “That's a great program, and I hope we can find funding for it.”
Jones said the team's leaders will meet to determine the next step.
“We got to do something,” Jones said. “It's too good for the kids just to let it slip through.”
