By Lisa Connell
HUNTINGTON– The vandals who have been destroying property at the library, Pettis Field, and the empty St. Thomas Church are now on notice. The citizens are fed up and they aren’t going to take it anymore.
While people don’t want to go officially on the record for fear that these vandals will target their homes and property, it has been told to the Country Journal that recently, and over the weekend, the miscreants vandalized the library (the library has been an on-going target), they broke the hands of the statue at the former St. Thomas Church, and they ruined the foundation for a pavilion that’s being put up at Pettis Field.
One of the people who is involved in building the pavilion said that this weekend they had just laid the square for the pavilion, put the slab of cement out– then the vandals wrote nasty, foul words all over it. This is disheartening to those putting up the pavilion, and expensive in materials and labor.
Plus, there is trash all over Pettis Field, beer cans because they [the younger crowd] are hanging out there. “There is a trash can down there,” but trash does not end up in it. The person said the problem is not necessarily with the 13 to 15 year-old crowd, it’s more of the 17 to 19 year-olds.
The person said, “We’re really upset about it. Our plans to build a pavilion and skating rink for the town—it keeps getting vandalized. People say there’s nothing for kids to do, but how can you try to build anything nice for them, or anyone, if they keep ruining it?”
Also they don’t know specifically who the culprits are yet, but there are quite a few youth that hang out across from the library, usually in the afternoon and evening hours. Many citizens don’t like to walk that way for fear of being harassed.
Apparently, the library is often targeted. Most recently an outside light was broken. The committee member said that people don’t want to walk to the library because they are uncomfortable having to walk past these young people.
So the matter has been brought to the selectboard and police’s attention. They are putting up “No trespassing” signs for after dark. The police are going to be taking names of those hanging out after dark, and in general, keeping an eye on the area.
Also citizens are advised to keep an eye out as well and report these activities to the police.
