Graffiti hot topic in Oldmans
Friday, October 06, 2006
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
Staff Writer
OLDMANS TWP. -- A presentation on the dangers of graffiti in Oldmans Township sparked criticism from residents toward the township committee during Wednesday night's meeting.

Mandi Cassidy, a local resident, presented a detailed report on the spread of vandalism, specifically graffiti, in the township. The report detailed several locations of Pedricktown that have been targets of what Cassidy described as a graffiti gang.

"Gangs lead to violence," Cassidy said. "These aren't just kids running around with spray paint cans, this is a real gang."

Cassidy referenced the "OBK Crew," whose members usually write the name of their group under their graffiti tags. According to the evidence presented by Cassidy, the gang tends to tag residential homes and Geno's Market, which has been vandalized numerous times in the past.

The presentation also gave a detailed report on the perceived whereabouts of the gang's base of operations. It is believed the "OBK Crew," are based out of the old Airco property on Porcupine Road, according to Cassidy. The abandoned property has been owned by Airco since the mid 1980's and has been vacant for the past several years. Tags of "OBK" litter the property and evidence of forced entry into the abandoned building have been observed several times by the Oldmans Township maintenance crew, Cassidy said.

According to the township committee, several letters have been sent to Airco asking the company to improve the appearance of the property, but so far they have been ignored, officials said.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Cassidy suggested the formation of an anti-graffiti group to help clean up and report vandalism in the township. She also stressed that she hoped the township would consider passing additional ordinances to increase the punishment for vandalism.

Several members of the audience raucously cheered Cassidy's presentation. Many then spoke up to the committee members urging them to take action.

"As a township, we're looking for the township committee to set some kind of standard, saying that we're not going to take this lightly," Pedricktown resident V. Corydon Taylor said.

Robert Cassidy agreed with Taylor and urged the township committee to take action against the vandals.

"To see our township be subjected to this is just a shame," he said, addressing the township committee. "We're all out at the meetings, we're active in our community, so what are you doing for the safety of this community?"

Mayor Harry Moore assured the residents the township committee would look into the Airco property and investigate if the "OBK" gang was indeed using the property. Also, if Airco was found to be violating any environmental standards on the property, a notice of violation would be sent to the company, Moore said.

He further suggested that all residents of Oldmans Township call the state police to request an investigation into the graffiti matter.