At risk teens to clean up graffiti
PATRICK McARDLE, Staff Writer




Monday, August 28
BENNINGTON — The town may have a new ally in its war on graffiti: The kids at 204 Depot St.
John Allard, executive director of the group home for troubled teenage boys, said he got the idea when he was driving through town.

"When you've grown up in Bennington, driving up Main St., when you see the old middle school, it's a shame. It doesn't look good," he said.

The teenagers at 204 Depot St. have helped out locally in the past with the annual Hemmings Motor News Car Show, and during Green Up Day, the boys clean a road near the Molly Stark School.

"That's always been part of the program. We try to instill in kids to give back to the community that they're living in," Allard said.

Allard contacted Bennington Town Manager Stuart A. Hurd and Community Development Director Scott Murphy to ask if there would be any interest in having the teenagers paint over graffiti or clean it off of walls.

Hurd will speak with the Select Board tonight, although he said it's not something it would need to approve.

Bennington's graffiti problem began last winter when the initials "GMB" were spraypainted on a number of buildings around town. Police said that stood for "Green Mountain Boys," an attempt to import the gangster lifestyle to Bennington by an Ohio man.

Thiend M. Hathcock, 26, who claimed to be the leader of the Green Mountain Boys, is currently in jail serving an 18-month to 10-year term for sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.

Local police had also arrested Hathcock in December and accused him of painting graffiti on the former Mount Anthony Union Middle School on Main Street. He has previous convictions for violent crimes in Ohio.

Earlier this month, police said they had noticed more graffiti, this time reading "young thugz." Bennington Detective Lawrence W. Cole said police believed it was the work of a few people and had no reason to believe a new gang had been formed.

While Hurd said cleaning graffiti from private buildings should be the owner's responsibility, many of the buildings that have been "tagged" are not much used. Other places it has shown up include public buildings or well-traveled alleys.

Allard said he had talked to the boys in the program and said they were eager to help out. There are currently 13 kids at 204 Depot St. and 14 staff members. Allard said he hoped it would be an ongoing effort, not just a one-day event.

He also hopes the work of the teenagers at 204 Depot St. will inspire others - especially young people - to get involved in cleaning up the town.

The teenagers wouldn't be paid for their work - although it may count for some as community service - but they may ask for a contribution of materials from the town or other organizations that would like to see the graffiti removed.

204 Depot St. was started 35 years ago by Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, among others. Sears was its first executive director and held the position until January.

The residential home for Vermont boys from 14 to 17 was started as an alternative to the Vermont Reform School. Sears said he believed it was one of the first private nonprofits in the state of its kind.

The graffiti clean-up project is the kind of effort Sears has promoted as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee as a way to deal with overcrowded prisons.

"It's all part of the same package. You take these folks who commit nonviolent crimes, and you still hold them accountable but without using valuable jail cells," he said.

Kids from 204 Depot St. will be giving something to Bennington, even though they may have gotten in trouble in Brattleboro or Rutland, Sears pointed out.

Allard said he would be ready to get the kids started as soon as the town and building owners agree to take part. Hurd said timing was important.

"What John was thinking, and I agree, is we have to move quickly. You don't want to give (the vandals) a chance to make an impact," he said.