LOXLEY, Ala. – When the Barnhill family opened the “Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch” last fall, their goals were simple, to provide family entertainment for residents of Baldwin County and the surrounding areas and to provide an avenue for a little extra income in a struggling economy.

“We had a great year last year,” said Ginger Barnhill, who runs the eight-acre corn patch on County Road 68, just off of Highway 59 in Loxley with her husband Gordon, her daughter, Jennifer Donovan Vought, and Gordon’s son, Phillip. “Everything just seemed to fall into place and everything went well.”

Now, just one week after opening for a second season, Barnhill has a message to everyone, but especially to the person or persons who vandalized the property over the weekend, “We are still open for business.”

“This was just a senseless act,” she said. “If it was someone just out for a joy ride, they could have used the paths we have staked out and there would have been no harm done, but they deliberately cut through and not only destroyed parts of the maze, but also destroyed the crop.”

Barnhill, said the damage was done overnight Friday and discovered when they came in to set up for Saturday’s business.

This year’s maze is again set up in two parts, with the larger, more intricate maze set up to look like a witch riding a broom and a smaller, easier maze in the shape of a castle. While the damage is spread throughout the maze, most of the damage was done to the south and west areas of the maze, near the area of the witch’s face.

“We spent most of Saturday clearing the paths, trying to stack corn along the damaged areas and roping off the areas of damage to try and keep the maze intact,” she said. “There was some confusion with people going through the maze on Saturday, but for the most part I don’t think there have been any problems since then.”

The Loxley Police Department is currently investigating to case and anyone with information can contact Lt. Doug Phillips at 964-6001. The Barnhills are also offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest, Ginger Barnhill said.

Meanwhile, the maze is still open for business, welcoming a group from Elsanor School on Thursday.

The maze is open for field trips during the week, and is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Cost for individuals is $10, which not only includes access to the maze, but also a mini maze, hay rides, cow train, pumpkin patch, corn box, corn cannon, playground and concessions.

The maze is open now through Oct. 31 and there will be haunted hay rides from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 21-22 and Oct. 28-29 with a special end-of-season event planned for Monday, Oct. 31.

Group discounts are available. For more information call 251-979-7507 or go online to www.BarnhillFarmsMaze.com.

While it is still difficult to accurately assess the amount of damage to the maze, as much as a quarter of the structure could have been destroyed by the weekend’s vandalism. While she hopes the damage to the maze business is minimal, there is still damage to be assessed when the crop is harvested.

At the market’s open on Thursday, corn was $6.05 per bushel for December futures. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, corn yield nationwide for 2011 averaged 148 bushels per acre. Corn yield for Baldwin County averaged over 175 bushels per acre in 2009.

“What we really want to get across is just how senseless this all is,” Ginger Barnhill said. “We have a dynamite maze here with a very cool shape this year and it’s just a shape that the act of one person or maybe a few people could have destroyed it.”

But, she said, now that the damage has been done, they have police patrols and neighbors keeping an eye on the property at night.