Park Superintendent George Byer told members about a recent string of spray-painting related vandalism that has been reported in various places around the city, including Wythogan Park.
Byer said he spotted a blue can of spray paint on a picnic table while doing a run through of the park on Saturday.
However, due to the high waters, he didn’t get a chance to investigate the scene until Sunday morning. Though the graffiti he found was reportedly small and easily fixed, he said while discussing the incident with police he learned the park wasn’t the only place that was hit.
Byer explained, “They had put a little graffiti on the center post in front of the concession stand area and as I made the report to the city, I came to find out that the city had been hit that night [Thursday] and Friday and Saturday, they had 18 calls of spray painting here in the city.”
The park superintendent stated that while the parks occasionally do get some vandalism from time to time, the frequency and severity of the cases has decreased significantly over the last few years.
Byer spoke on park secuirty features, saying that there are a couple of different security cameras placed in various areas around the park. He said they’re regularly moved around to keep vandals from being able to prey on specific unguarded spots. He added that the police department also does nightly patrols around the park to monitor activity.
As of Monday night’s park board meeting, the individual or group of individuals responsible for last weekend’s spray paintings had not been identified. If you have any additional information about these incidents contact the Knox City Police at 772-4122.
