Graffiti taggings remain a challenge
By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Saturday, February 14, 2009 11:55 PM PST
Ontario—Ontario police officials and area merchants are still searching for a way to reduce the number of graffiti taggings around town.
Yet, while the need to end the graffiti strikes is evident, solutions to the problem remain elusive.
“I wish they had a better outlet,” Robertson Supply manager Brent DeBois said in a phone interview Friday afternoon.
DeBois said, when he was a youth, he would spend time on motorcycles, hunting or fishing and that he wished youths would utilize the same outlets today.
While DeBois knows about fishing and hunting, he also is familiar now with graffiti taggings after his business was hit about a month ago. He said he plans to paint over the offending artwork when the weather warms. He said Ontario Police Chief Mike Kee has also talked to him about helping him remove the tagging marks.
“I went out to the businesses I could think of and asked them if they would be interested,” Kee said in a phone interview Friday afternoon.
However, DeBois opted not to take Kee up on the clean-up offer because he would like to paint over the taggings.
A local clean-up effort, utilizing a machine that contains a liquid called Taginator, which eats through the paint without harming the building’s surface, continues.
Malheur County Juvenile Department Director Linda Cummings said the department targeted wayward paint in Beck-Kiwanis park, as well as at Baker Packing Company, situated at 153 S.E. First St., in Ontario.
The graffiti was removed Jan. 23 using the machine. Cummings said the cleanings began in 2005, with a $23,100 grant from the Oregon Youth Authority.
However, the grant was only issued once, leaving the cleaning crew to sustain itself. Cummings said the service is free, but the department does accept donations.
Kee said three businesses, two residences and three graffiti incidents classified as “other” have been reported since the first of the year. One of the “other” incidents revolves around graffiti marked in the girl’s bathroom of Ontario Middle School. Kee said the incident was classified as graffiti to make it easier to request the person who did it to pay the costs to repair the property.
“It’s still property damage,” he said.
As for more commonly-known graffiti, such as scrawlings found on sheds and garages, Kee said that graffiti might remain for a long period of time because of absentee landlords who may not feel it is worth the effort to return to Ontario.
He also said low-income people and the elderly may not have the means to clean off the graffiti. Kee said, for the most part, the department relies on residents calling in reports of graffiti.
Another solution offered by Kee revolves around a graffiti-removal solution. Graffiti removal bags continue to be distributed by the city with the help of Kinney Bros. & Keele Hardware. Kee said he, as well as OPD Capt. Mark Alexander, have received requests for the bags.
“A couple of people have stopped me on the street asking about them,” Kee said.
The bags contain graffiti-removal items such as rags, scrub sponges, rubber gloves, heavy duty paper towels and a 2-ounce bottle of graffiti remover. However, Kee said the graffiti task is larger than his bag.
“I’ve used up all mine,” he said.
Anyone interested in receiving a free bag, which can be used to clean up graffiti then returned to the department, should contact OPD. Businesses interested in ridding themselves of unwanted writing or donating money to help fund the effort should contact the juvenile department at (541) 473-5101.
A wrote on Feb 15, 2009 3:36 PM:
There will always be the group of kids/adults that always do things like this, but the thought of the kids not having any other outlets is something to consider.
What do these kids have here in town that is affordable for even a family that is on a very tight budget? Movies are too expensive, bowling on certains days of the week is affordable but on others can definitely set a person back. What can we do as a community to add activities for the youth to enjoy that will help keep them stay out of trouble?
It really isn't an excuse for a person to say that just because they were bored that they have the right to go comitt a crime, but these kids probably could benefit from a few more affordable activities.
I'm kinda at a loss for ideas at the moment, but one I do have is a little race track of some sort. These kids are racing up and down the streets in town causing hell for our officers and community members that are just trying to get from A to B, what if they had a little 1/8 mile drag strip, or a small drift track as that seems to be something they are into these days and if it's done at the right place and time, it will be good clean fun. Kids will show up to the tracks in everything from a little 4 cylinder civics, to single turboed beasts and untamed V8's, and it will give them all something to look forward to. And, they will be motivated to work harder during the week to possibly earn money to pay for the new toys on their "race car" so they can be more competive, and beat that friend or track junkie that holds the top prize in their division. Same thing as kids in school that play sports, they practive their brains out trying to get better, hoping that when the Friday night lights get fired up, they are the dominate force on the field. And if they aren't, they work even harder the next week. But that only applies to athletes, and considering the popularity of the racing world for all ages, this is something that the entire community could benefit from.
And then to combat the further racing on public roads and whatnot, make it so that if you are caught racing/speeding on public roads, that not only are you cited, but make it so members of the race track are also punished as far as not being able to take part in any farther racing until their fine is either paid, or after a short probationary period where they are temporarily banned from racing at the track. This will give them motivation to keep their foot off the pedal in public, and to only take part in a race on the race track. Kinda tough though in a sense that a person who is a member of the track is going to be punished more than a person who is not a member as far as losing the priviledge to race on the track goes would only affect those who actually race/watch the races, but hey we don't live in a perfect world so what do you do.
Thats really not a "cost effective" form of entertainment like I was trying to come up with as we all know how expensive car parts can get especially performance parts, but it was just something I have always thought that would help give the kids and many adults something to do other than standing outside in the dark while spray painting a building.
And some of these taggings that I have noticed also tells me another thing....we have alot of talented artists in this area. Maybe instead of directing efforts to stop/prevent taggings, start holding competitions for it, and turn it into a clean fun activity for all to enjoy. Throw up big poster boards or whatever a artists uses, set a time limit and let these guys go at it, and have a judges panel to vote on who the best artists is, have awards, local businesses and venders come in with food and whatnot, and just make it a community event. Make it worthwhile for the peopel who attend that they don't want to get caught spraying on private property because they wouldn't be allowed to compete in the next event for painters.
Maybe all the gang members will start showing up to compete, and interact with the community and realize that they can do all the same things they have done before, but now we are setting it up so that they can do it without harming anyone else or anothers property, and they don't have to look over their shoulders while they do it. They can paint that wall or whatever it is that was setup all they want and have a crowd cheering them on as they compete with the person next to them. And just maybe some will leave the gang life, and go to art school and make a living out of it in some way or another.
It wouldn't save/stop them all, but even if it was only a small handful that change over time, it would be worth it in the end.
I've seen buildings that were purposely painted with rattle cans top to bottom, and beautiful designs and whatnot are put down on the walls. It stands out like no other because of the amount of skill that was needed to accomplish something like that, and it gets everyone looking in the direction of that business, thus creating visibility and potential customers for that business.
Wow, that was all pretty long winded, lol. "