Published: July 25, 2008 09:35 pm         

Vandals hit Terre Haute homes

TERRE HAUTE — When Dorothy Welsh got up Friday morning to get her newspaper, her garage door had green graffiti sprayed on it.

A neighbor in Kensington Subdivision had similar graffiti on her home, but it also had a picture of a bomb and the words “Bomb Kings.”

“That scares people,” Welsh said as she talked about some of the recent graffiti and vandalism occurring in the subdivision in southeast Terre Haute.

Earlier this week, her next-door neighbor, Jim Waugh, had someone break a window in his pickup. Neighbors also report someone knocking on their windows at night.

Allison McKanna said someone has broken into the family’s Jeep about a half dozen times in the past two years, although they usually don’t take anything. “They rifle through everything,” she said.

On Friday, graffiti also could be seen on a speed limit sign and on a wood fence surrounding a retention pond.

About a year ago, someone took chains and used them to knock over mailboxes in the neighborhood.

Several of the subdivision residents are elderly, and it concerns them that someone — or some people — are invading their neighborhood and causing damage that will cost them money, not to mention peace of mind.

“We want people to wake up and start watching these kids,” Welsh said. “We’ve had a lot of vandalism here lately.”

The neighborhood has a homeowners association, and residents may explore the possibility of establishing a neighborhood watch.

Carolyn Brown is secretary of the homeowners association. For all of those affected by the vandalism, it will mean financial loss, Brown said.

Similar graffiti was visible in subdivisions north of Kensington and along 25th Street.

Police went to Kensington Subdivision on Friday, and juvenile detectives will investigate, said Sgt. Dave Smith of the Terre Haute City Police juvenile division. He also planned to visit the neighborhood Friday.

Forming a neighborhood watch “would be the best thing they could do,” Smith said.

He was familiar with a group that might be involved with the graffiti and described them as “taggers.” Arrests have occurred in the past, and there are some open cases involving this group of taggers, he said.

Subdivision resident Lila Waugh recognizes it’s probably juveniles causing the damage, “but we need to make them accountable,” she said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.