Vandals strike at city park

Vandals spray-painted graffiti on the inside of both the men's and the women's bathrooms at the Hoerman Memorial Park in Gainesville this past week and also spray painted a urinal and broke windows and a light fixture, officials said.

According to Gainesville mayor Don Luna, the vandals struck sometime between Wednesday (Sept. 28) and Friday.

"This is something that just happens too frequently," Luna said. "It's aggravating because we're doing what we can to try and keep everything looking good and then somebody goes in and does something like this."

The vandals spray-painted obscenities on the inside of both bathroom walls and painted a urinal. A window also was broken as well as a light fixture.

"We've even locked up the place before and they still break in and vandalize it," the mayor said.

Gainesville maintenance director William Walrath said vandals even break in during the winter months after the bathrooms are winterized. "It's a real problem," Walrath said.

Luna said he reported the incident to the Ozark County Sheriff's Department, who is investigating the vandalism. The mayor said he wasn't sure of the cost to repair the damage. "We will probably have to replace that urinal," Luna said.

"We can't hardly keep windows here," Walrath said. "They just keep busting them out. We've boarded them up and they tear that out too," he said.

Luna said anyone with information about the vandalism should call the Ozark County Sheriff's Department at 679-4633.

<p>Vandals wrote graffiti on the bathroom walls at the city
park.</p>