New Vandalism at Memorial Gardens Breaks Community's Heart

SIDNEY--The morning of May 8 brought heart-wrenching news to the Sidney community as it was discovered that the beautiful table and benches that sat alongside the Living Memorial Gardens had been vandalized.

At an estimated cost of over $1,000, the table and benches were more than just beautiful painted concrete furniture, but a spot to relax in serenity that was donated in memory of a loved one for the Living Memorial Gardens. The vandals overturned and smashed the table and benches in the early morning hours, leaving the damaged furniture to be discovered in the morning.

Living Memorial Gardens board president Coleen Langdon happened upon the scene early on May 8, noting that it looked like vandals had ripped out the base of the table and knocked over the benches, breaking the concrete into pieces and leaving them scattered on the ground. It was the latest in a series of vandalism incidents that have happened over the past year at the Memorial Gardens and other spots at Legion Park.

There has been a string of vandalism incidents, including spray painting or "tagging" walls and other areas in the park, a picnic table that had been pushed into the lake, graffiti in the bathrooms, a broken down door at the old Swim Pool bathhouse, broken sprinkler heads and other damages in the area. A string of vandalism incidents has occurred recently throughout Sidney, including break-ins at businesses resulting in damages and destruction of property, as well as private residences being vandalized.

Sidney Police and the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Department have increased patrols, especially in the evening and early morning hours, in areas that have been targeted for vandalism. Earlier in the year, a few youths had been arrested and charged for a string of incidents, but there are more vandals out and about and continuing their spree of petty crimes.

Although most of the vandalism incidents can be categorized as "petty crimes", too often the damages are not only substantial in monetary costs but also take their toll in an emotional and personal way. And many of these "petty crimes", due to the nature of what's been damaged or stolen, or because of dollar amounts, fall into the category of "felony". Too many of our young people are learning or are going to learn the hard lesson of how a felony on their record will change the course of their lives, limiting their opportunities for success and being an anchor that drags them down and alters their futures forever.

This reporter has had the unenviable task of sitting in on juvenile court hearings regarding some of the vandalism sprees earlier in the year. The embarrassment of parents, the anger and frustration of the victims, and the realization of consequences for the juveniles are all contained in a small courtroom and condensed into a brief moment in time. However, a brief moment in time in a courtroom often leads to a lifetime of negative consequences for youths caught up in illegal activities. In almost all cases, there is trouble at home, usually stemming from marital problems and substance abuse. Perhaps these vandalism incidents are a cry for attention from the juveniles or an "acting out" of actions they have observed by their parents, but one thing is for sure--the options for restitution for the victims are very limited, causing even more frustration for the victims. Being that Sidney is a small town, in most of these incidents the juveniles are known by the victims, which makes the situation even worse.

"I know these kids, they live right down the block--I've known them for years. And for this to happen, with thousands of dollars in damages, and having very little recourse to recover this money is very frustrating. I'm angry, and I'm sure everyone else that's had to deal with this is very angry, too," said one victim of the vandalism spree who wished to remain anonymous.

One element that change with modern times is the availability of video cameras and social media. As confirmed by both the Sidney Police Department and the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Department, many of these incidents are caught on surveillance cameras, which ultimately lead to the identification and arrest of the offenders. Even more disturbing, many of these incidents are posted on the social media accounts of the perpetrators, leading to easy identification and apprehension of the offenders. Both law enforcement agencies have done a good job of utilizing modern technologies to identify vandals and their associates in these incidents.

However, the frustration over these incidents continues within the community, and this latest incident stirred up feelings of anger and frustration in the community. Comments on social media sites from Sidney residents showed their frustration, blaming law enforcement for not being aggressive enough in their patrols, judges for being too lenient on offenders, and parents for not having any control over their kids. There could be some element of truth in these sentiments, but ultimately where does the responsibility lie?

Public spaces are often targets for vandalism, as there will be times when no one is present and law enforcement presence is limited. Oftentimes, vandals have the attitude of "nobody really owns it, so nobody really cares." In some places, that might be true, but in Sidney, the citizens take pride in their public parks and spaces. Rather than the sentiment of "nobody owns it", here the attitude is "we all own it. It is ours and we want it respected and kept nice." Many community-minded people put a lot of time, work, and money into developing and maintaining these spaces. On more than one occasion, I've personally spoken with people who have just been passing through the area, and had heard about the Memorial Gardens, and made it a point to stop in Sidney to experience the garden's natural beauty.

It's spaces like these and the commitment from citizens to keep them beautiful that turn a town or a city into a community. When members of a community, especially young people, feel like they are outside of the group, or that they are not valued, often this feeling of isolation leads to acts of vandalism. Parents, neighbors, and friends, make sure the young people in your life are actively involved in sports or 4-H or any type of community-based activities, as the chances of them going astray are greatly minimized when a youth feels like they belong, or are a part of something bigger than themselves. Please keep your eyes and ears open for danger signs in youths in our community, and don't hesitate to try and make a difference.