Early June 14, vandals hit North Mason High School, marking the second time in about a month the district has been attacked by graffiti and hooliganism.
In mid-May, vandals struck their bus barn, damaging 28 of the district’s total 33 school buses by breaking gauges and tagging buses, ultimately doing about $10,000 in damage.
In mid-June they chose the high school — spraying more graffiti, discharging fire extinguishers and pushing chairs down the stairs — at a time when the school’s seniors have graduated and there’s only days left in school.
UPDATE: Now, Mason County Sheriff’s deputies believe they’ve solved the case …
Four people have been arrested — three adults and one juvenile — in
the bus incident. And three more arrests have occurred in the last
day or so in the high school incident, deputies said. At least one
teen is believed to have been involved in both.
We’ve already examined the correlation between nice weather and not-so nice people on this blog.
How do you think vandals affect overall communities?
I think repeated public vandalism can eventually dampen the spirit of the community…. and is worth whatever it costs to install camera’s…hidden and/or in plain sight around the ‘temptations’ these hoodlums disfigure.
What are the vandalized school districts waiting for? Why haven’t they had the camera’s or other surveillance in place by now?
Sharon O’Hara
I trust that these vandals, when caught and brought before a judge, will be given a sentence of having to repaint the school, inside and out, clean the toilets and bathrooms, wash windows and do janitorial work for one year without recompense.
They need to be taught that their nonsense has consequences and to have them sit in junvenile detention would serve no purpose.
How many times will we stand around wringing our hands over the vandals causing such unnecessary destruction before we add surveillance cameras or other apparatus to catch them?
Seems to me the repair cost is over and above the cost of cameras .. and the destruction happens TWICE in the same area?
Why wasn’t once enough of a lesson?
To the folks in charge, the decision makers … why aren’t you made to pay for the second round of vandalism? The taxpayers didn’t fail … you did.
In my opinion.
Sharon O’Hara
—
Sharon,
The cameras did show the suspected vandals. See today’s story.
All students and teachers at that school should be given the opportunity to watch the video. Some people have a distinctive walk or mannerisms, some of the clothes/hats might look familiar. Maybe the cameras even captured a face or two. Get the video in front of people who would have the best chance of knowing the vandals.
Maybe the video could be put on the Sun’s website, with info on where to view it printed in the paper?
What happened to that teen who was suspected of breaking the windows at KRL on Sylvan? I seem to recall reading they had a suspect, was anything done to him?
Well. Seeing the video was another education, Josh, thanks.
Maybe cameras set up outside would catch the car or skateboard they used to get there.
The camera capture I know about filmed the person exactly as he looked…but he didn’t know a camera was there either.
My heartiest congratulations to Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury and their community partnership with the North Mason School District!
I hope these hoodlums sentencing is tough enough to give pause to the next group intending to vandalize public or private property….
Congratulations again to all involved finding the hoodlums…
Sharon O’Hara