An abandoned grocery store at 8th and Plum was the target of gang graffiti over the weekend, the latest indicator of rising crime in that neighborhood, residents there say.
The old Collins and Fitzgerald grocery was vandalized by the "Northsiders," one of two Hutchinson gangs whose activity is on the rise, residents say.
The graffiti included several turf-definition references, plus both Spanish and English versions of the word "Northsiders."
It's the fifth time that owner Bob Lynch's building has been hit in the past year, he said.
"I'm a stockholder in Sherwin Williams," Lynch said. "I've got more than $500 in paint invested and I haven't started on this one yet. Right now, the only thing I can do is begin to price security cameras."
The vandalism is just the latest in a growing crime wave that has neighbors angry, said Sharon Bailey.
"There's meth around here," Bailey said, gesturing to houses. "There are homes getting broken into. It concerns me a lot. I have kids around here.
"You know, when we first moved here in 1990, this was a fine neighborhood. Never any problems. Now we've got hoodlums around here. They walk by here and give you a 'Go to you-know-where' look. We're not happy here anymore, but what can we do? We own our home."
Lynch agreed.
"You can look out the window over here and see the meth deals going down at the fireplug across the street," he said.
However, graffiti reports are down in Hutchinson.
Police Lt. John Tracy said the store report is one of only two received by police in the past two months.
Nonetheless, the graffiti incident is an attention-getter, said Lori Neufeld, who works at Farmers Insurance Group across the street from the old store.
"I don't really want to be down here at night," she said. "I've been thinking that there ought to be a camera over there. We'll keep watching, and if we see something, we'll call the cops."
Lynch admits that the gang members are a big challenge for police.
"They know the cycles of the shift changes," he said. "They've got scanners and they've got cell phones. The fact is, the gang members know as much about the police as the police know about them."
Bailey says she's worried that things could get worse.
"It used to be that we didn't lock our houses. Everyone in the neighborhood was OK. But now, if the police don't step up and do something, something serious is going to happen."
Reporter Bill Wilson can be reached at bwilson@hutchnews.com or at (620) 694-5700, ext. 314.