Seven Fields Borough leaders reminding residents to respect borough property after graffiti, vandalism incidents
Leaders in Sevens Fields, Butler County, want to send a message to families to respect the borough property, after multiple incidents of graffiti and vandalism.
As Ryan Morris walks his dog past Town Park in Seven Fields, he sees scribbles and words carved into a monument sign at the entrance, installed not that long ago.
"It's not proper. It's unfortunate," Morris said. "That wall is beautiful. It's about, probably, three to four years old, and people are etching in it. It's ridiculous."
Some of the culprits were caught on camera on March 16. In the video, kids are seen riding their scooters, stopping to pick up rocks, and drawing on the sign like a chalkboard. Eventually, you can see that adults were in the vicinity at the time.
Tom Smith is the borough manager.
"The weather finally broke. I think everybody's anxious to get outside and play," Smith said.
Smith said he knows of incidents going back to last summer involving this sign and the community center sign feet away. None of the graffiti has shown anything inappropriate.
"The children, they're young. They're not doing anything with any type of malice or wanting to do this. They're playing," Smith said.
The thing is, eventually, the borough won't be able to clean it up anymore, and the signs cost a lot of money.
The Northern Regional Police Department, which serves Seven Fields, is aware of the situation.
"That maybe if they're patrolling and they do see the children writing on the monument signs that the officer would stop and, you know, interact with the children and advise them," Smith said.
Now, the borough has a notice posted next to one of the signs, but Smith hopes parents become more cognizant, as they look into possibly adding plexiglass to prevent it from happening again.
"I think they just need a little guidance," Smith said.
"I hope that it's taken care of," Morris said.
The police chief told KDKA-TV that they don't intend to file charges, but the department, like the borough, urges parents to watch over their kids.
