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City hit by graffiti
Published Friday, May 9, 2008
Fergus Falls Police are investigating vandalism to public and private property after multiple reports of graffiti this week.
The first report came Monday morning, when the words “Kill Obama” were found in black spray paint on the back of the building housing Viking Cafe. Restaurant staff was able to remove the graffiti with soap and water.
The same day, city workers discovered spray paint on bridges and informative signs along the river walk between the Mill Street and Union Avenue bridges. The graffiti included racist language, a swastika and drawings.
“This will probably cost us an excess of $1,000, so it’s not a cheap thing,” said Parks, Recreation and Forestry Manager Rick Terway, who reported the vandalism.
City staff have already washed the signs and removed spray paint from a bench. But as of Wednesday, graffiti remained under bridges; workers will have to sandblast the bricks under the Union Avenue bridge to remove the spray paint, Terway said.
“It’s kind of cyclical,” Police Captain Steve Adams said of area vandalism. “Spring tends to be a time when this kind of thing starts to happen.”
Winter months are generally quieter, Adams said, though Terway recalled damaged to playground equipment at Athletic Park earlier this year.
Chief of Public Safety Tim Brennan said authorities look for trends in graffiti style, color, proximity and time of appearance in investigating vandalism. Police have not said whether they believe this week’s incidents are related.
Police received another report of vandalism Thursday, this time in the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue,.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by gumball (anonymous) on May 9, 2008 at 3:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I live in the heart of downtown Seattle. To catch the "taggers" takes a combination of public help,the police, and luck. If it's teenagers, parents should be aware of strange backpacks in the garage or closet. The smell of spray paint on clothes or overspray on fingers is also a clue. It is important to get their "tags" removed as soon as possible after being found. They like to try to impress each other by tagging hard to reach or very open spaces. Taggers usually are in their teens to early twenties, middle to upper-middle class, and will not tag close to where they live. They also find a signature tag they like to use to identify it as theirs. If the police do catch one of them, the family of the perp is usually stunned to find out their kid is a tagger. We fight this on a daily basis in our neighboorhood. I would be happy to assist your local law inforcement when I am out visiting Fergus.
Posted by BobWilliams (Bob Williams) on May 9, 2008 at 3:53 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by the__empress (anonymous) on May 11, 2008 at 6:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dearest gumball,
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p88/o...
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