Vandals big playground headache

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

Repeated incidents of playground vandalism and graffiti at the Wee Folks Centre in Greenwood have its owners “demoralized and frustrated.”

In the past two months, daycare owner Cathy Wiebe has called the RCMP four times after finding profane language painted on playground equipment. The daycare, which rents space in the Greenwood civic centre, is responsible for upkeep of its outdoor playground. “We have had to use a high pressure hose several times now, but not the all the paint has come off,” reports Wiebe. She suspects the same culprits are behind all the graffiti incidents, as “the messages left behind are the same each time.” Wiebe is also frustrated with the RCMP’s response: unless the vandals are “caught red-handed,” there is little that can be done to curb the vandalism. Neighbours, who keep an eye on the property at nights and on weekends, gave police a description of someone hanging around the daycare in June. “Unfortunately, nothing came of that and things have continued to happen again and again.”

Wiebe says she and her husband have put a lot of work into their business, including flower gardens and the addition of a water fountain, which has also been vandalized. Their problems come at a busy time of year in the daycare business, and Wiebe says it’s very upsetting to have the children see bad language painted all over the playground. “We are doing our best to clean it up, but it just keeps happening.”