Valley graffiti rising
Victorville,CA,USA
Hesperia sees 78 percent increase during past two fiscal
years, while Apple Valley is up 73 percent
By CHRISTOPHER MOSS and JAMES RAMAGE/Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE — More and more graffiti is covering Victor Valley businesses,
apartments and signs.
In the past two years, Hesperia, Apple Valley and Victorville have seen
significant increases in the amount of graffiti throughout their communities.
"It's just disgusting," said Joseph W. Brady, president of The Bradco
Companies, a commercial brokerage firm in Victorville.
Hesperia has seen a 78 percent increase in the number of graffiti incidents in
the past two fiscal years.
Apple Valley has seen a similar rate of increase — 73 percent — over the
same time period, according to Apple Valley spokeswoman Kathie Martin.
"I think it's just a factor of growth in general," Martin said.
Although not everyone agrees on a reason for the increase, communities do report
a rise in graffiti at times when children are out of school.
Martin said Apple Valley has seen the number of tagging incidents drop overall
since the 1990s, but the graffiti count has risen in Hesperia, said Dale Burke,
Hesperia's public works superintendent. Burke said it's impossible to say why
graffiti vandalism is increasing.
In Apple Valley, Mariana Preschool-Daycare has been hit 10 times since October,
owner Kathy Trevillyan said. The tags often feature profanity and the words
"LA Gangs."
"(Parents) wonder if they should leave their child here," Trevillyan
said. "I just wish it would stop."
All the cities in the Victor Valley contend with the problem by sandblasting and
painting over the graffiti as soon as possible. But each city does it with
different methods and resources.
Victorville has removed almost 33 percent more graffiti in the past fiscal year,
and has a $106,231 yearly budget for personnel and equipment, city spokeswoman
Yvonne Hester said.
Even though the problem in Victorville was significantly worse in the mid-1990s
— right before the city formed its graffiti abatement team — it persists,
she said.
Victorville responded with a 24-hour hotline that prompts the abatement squad
into action to answer a call within one day, Hester said.
The team paints over the graffiti, sand-blasts it off or uses chemicals to
loosen it up to be pressure-washed away, said Chris Lawson, traffic control
supervisor within the city's public works department.
The team of six — who vary from part- to full-time field workers and
supervisors — have been removing graffiti from about 400 locations each month,
Hester said.
"I'll send a crew every day to one spot that taggers are repeatedly
hitting," Lawson said. "After three or four straight days, taggers
move on to another area. Persistence pays off, in some cases."
Lawson is grateful to the people who routinely call in with new graffiti
sightings — callers whose voices he's come to recognize.
"I thank them for their vigilance. They're my eyes and ears out
there," he said.
However, other cities have significantly less money budgeted to deal with the
problem.
Burke estimated that Hesperia spends $20,000 a year on graffiti abatement.
"We're seeing about a hundred call-outs a month," Burke said.
Hesperia is hiring more people to deal with the problem and will convert a paint
truck into a full-time graffiti-removal truck sometime in the future, he said.
Apple Valley handles its graffiti problem by contracting out to a private
painter, Martin said. The cost runs about $5,500 a year.
While Martin said the problem is largely isolated to apartment buildings in
Apple Valley, Burke said the problem affects a little bit of everything in
Hesperia.
"I think everybody is tired of seeing it," Burke said.
"Unfortunately it's a part of our lives these days."
Adelanto officials did not return repeated phone calls for comment.
James Ramage can be reached at james_ramage@link.freedom.com
or 951-6242.