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St. Joseph’s Center Day Program Vandalized

DUNMORE — Vandals ransacked property in Lackawanna County used by people with disabilities. Employees at St. Joseph’s Center in Lackawanna County sa...
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DUNMORE -- Vandals ransacked property in Lackawanna County used by people with disabilities.

Employees at St. Joseph's Center in Lackawanna County say after the high of the annual St. Joe's Festival, they felt an unfortunate low: one of their facilities was vandalized twice in one week.

The employees at St. Joseph's adult day program in Dunmore say the place was vandalized during the St. Joe's Festival last weekend. A fiberglass sculpture was damaged.

Then, they came in to work on Thursday and found more vandalism, and this time it will affect one of their clients' favorite programs.

When it's dry, the participants in St. Joseph's Center day program in Dunmore are outside for a lot of their day. But on this day, their time outside was spoiled by more than just rain.

For the second time in a week, the facility for people with intellectual and physical disabilities was hit by vandals.

Over the weekend, vandals pulled a fiberglass mule statue out of the ground. Its leg was damaged.

The staff found more problems on Thursday morning.

"This is unbelievable. The amount of damage that they did overnight to what seems like small things, but the individuals love it," said Jennifer Mackey. "The staff really care about it, so they were very upset."

A van belonging to St. Joe's had key scratches all over it. The vandals also knocked over four raised planters that the participants at St. Joe's have been working on all summer.

Mackey says clients plant and care for flowers and herbs. All their work now seems like a loss.

"Basically, on a daily basis when it's not raining, we have participants out here every day either helping water them, take care of them, just take care of them, enjoying them. They really do love coming out here," said Mackey.

"It takes away something from people who would never cause harm to another person," said St. Joseph's Center director Sr. Mary Alice Jacquinot. "We have reason to believe from our cameras that they are young people."

Sr. Mary Alice says surveillance cameras caught some video of the vandals that's been turned over to the police.

"We have so many young people who are committed to our work and volunteering and here's some with too much time on their hands and not a lot of creativity. So, they just ruined something for others."

Dunmore police are investigating the vandalism. Anyone with information is asked to give them a call at 570-343-0851.

The staff told us that if the vandals are caught, they would want them to visit St. Joe's to see who the vandalism affects.

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