x
Breaking News
More () »

Police looking to crack down on vandals in Bloomsburg

Vandals have been leaving some offensive images throughout Bloomsburg Town Park.

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Cameron Temple brings his daughter to Bloomsburg Town Park to enjoy some quality time outside.

"They have the nice playground down here, keeps kids out of trouble. They have a nice basketball court and everything else," he said.

In recent weeks police say several signs of vandalism have been popping up around the park in Columbia County.

"I had no clue that this was going on, really actually surprised people would come down and do that to such a nice community and such a nice park that they just redone after all the flooding and everything else that's been going on," Temple said.

Police were notified last week of the damage when employees from the public works department discovered graffiti depicting phallic images and messages on walls that had explicit language.

According to police, the Department of Public Works has been trying to cover the vandalism for some time, but now officials are asking for new security measures to be taken.

Police say the most vandalism has been reported in areas like the bathroom and pavilions. 

Residents we spoke with say whatever changes come to the park, they just hope it focuses on the entire area.

"It doesn't have no place in a park like this because this is a good community, good people, good sense of value. You wouldn't think people would want to do that and destroy a park, and it's the only park they got here in Bloomsburg, and it's worth something," said Mark Young of Madison Township.

Police say they plan to have more officers driving through the park, and they are looking into security systems.

For Young, anything to ward off vandals is a step in the right direction.

"They deserve to be caught. They don't deserve to be destroying a park like this," he said.

Want to see what Newswatch 16's newscast was like in 1976? Head on over to WNEP's YouTube.

Before You Leave, Check This Out