Graffiti taggers SPAR and HALO have polluted the Lawncrest Recreation Center's walls, polls, windows, trash cans, and murals. Graffiti vandals also spread their tags on businesses along Rising Sun Avenue.

      It led Tom Conway of the Managing Director's office to issue advice: "Parents, take a look at your kids' backpacks. If there's graffiti on it, chances are it's his graffiti," said Tom Conway of the Managing Director's Office.
      Conway implemented Zero Tolerance, a program to remove graffiti within days to deter graffiti vandals. Last year, 90,000 properties were cleaned, free of charge. "The quick removal of the graffiti takes away the vandal's satisfaction of it. If there's a major problem (with graffiti, residents) should notify their local district as soon as possible," he said.
      The vandalism at the Lawncrest Recreation Center, Rising Sun Avenue and Comly Street, has worsened in the past two months. George Klenk, president of Lawncrest Athletic Association, was angered by the recurring graffiti on his building, particularly when the vandals crudely defaced a mural honoring former baseball player Michael Staub, 21, who died of Leukemia.
      Staub played for Lawncrest's baseball team for ten years and took the team to the city championships in his last year there. The mural, according to Michael's sister Melissa, honored not only Mike's athletic skills, but his willingness to fight for his life.
      The graffiti was particularly painful for the family because it occurred around the anniversary of his death.
      "We are hurt that someone thought something like that would be funny or amusing. Well, it wasn't. If anything, it was probably the most disturbing thing we've ever seen. Why anyone in God's name would defame a memorial of someone who fought for their life is beyond us. But the worst part was having to see the look on my parents' face," Melissa said.
      Within two weeks, the mural was restored. Still, Melissa's family was distraught by the incident. Maybe after the graffiti vandals hear this story, "they'll think twice before they pick up a spray can again. They actually need people to reconstruct memorials. Maybe they could do that instead of defame something that broke a mother's heart," Melissa said.
      Vernon Leslie, 20, plays basketball at Lawncrest Recreation Center. "Something should be done (to) stop these people," he said, insisting Lawncrest kids "wouldn't do this because this is our neighborhood. I think it's caused by kids from other (neighborhoods)."
      Conway disagrees: "Taggers usually bust on their own community," Conway said.
      Regardless of where the vandals were from, "the people in this community really care about this place," said Cathy Carchidi, Lawncrest Recreation Center supervisor. "We have over 500 involved in basketball in the winter, 300 in day camp. It's not fair we have people defacing the property."
      According to Carchidi, the suspects are four teen-agers between 13 to 15. They were spotted carrying spray cans two weeks ago by a woman who approached them and phoned police. The kids scattered before action could be taken.
      "We're going to catch them," Carchidi said. Her message to the graffiti artists, "If you want to do graffiti, do it in your own house."
      Sixteen-year-old Kirk Foster, who works in the after school program, was disturbed. "It doesn't set a good example for kids to go outside and play on stuff with graffiti," he said.
      Mary Doherty, director of the community services division of CORA, agreed. CORA partners with the Mural Arts Program, Department of Recreation and the Department of Human Services to offer children youth development after school at Lawncrest Recreation Center. The program offers counseling, homework help, mural work, skills for living, and more.
"(The graffiti) goes against everything we're trying to teach about community life. It makes our work harder to do," Doherty said.
      Graffiti also makes the work harder for the Mural Arts Program. "The Mural Arts program is setting to do the whole (mural on Lawncrest's back wall) over, but they are worried (the graffiti) vandals will wreck it," Carchidi said.
      The vandals have the community outraged. Resident of Lawncrest Neal McLaurin commented, "I don't like (graffiti) at all. The graffiti brings the community down. It makes it not look as nice. It brings the property values down too.
      If you see graffiti happening, first call the police at 911. Then, report the graffiti to the Anti-Graffiti Network's voice mail at 215 686 0000. If you or your community would like free paint and graffiti removal to help the cleaning process, please call 215 685 9556.