Fighting back against graffiti

On June 15, the law-enforcement roundup in the Daily Inter Lake began with the following report:

“Officers with the Kalispell Police Department were hard at work Thursday morning looking for graffiti around town. Graffiti was located on East Montana Street, Seventh Avenue East, East Washington Street, North Meridian Road, Third Avenue West North, Fourth Avenue West North, Sixth Avenue West North, West Idaho Street, North Main Street, Third Street West and in an alley downtown.”

Unfortunately, although extreme, this was not an isolated case. Graffiti has become a disfiguring ailment that is threatening to turn much of Kalispell into an urban blight area. Whether it is due to the influx of newcomers over the past few years, or just due to the changing times and a changing sense of responsibility, this growing problem should not just be accepted by our community as an inevitable result of growth.

And, fortunately, it isn’t being accepted.

Kalispell City Council member Phil Guiffrida III has taken the lead in saying enough is enough. Guiffrida organized a communitywide effort to get people out and cleaning up graffiti for one day. That took place on Saturday, and we should all be grateful for those who took time out of their busy summer schedules to scrub and polish our city in an effort to fight back against visual vandalism.

Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset recently returned from a statewide conference of police chiefs and said that graffiti is a problem that is “going on all over the state,” but in advance of the clean-up effort, Nasset said, “People are just absolutely fed up with the graffiti and are willing to come together to take action.”

That goes beyond just the elbow grease needed to clean defaced walls. It could also mean setting up neighborhood watches or possibly seeking community sponsorships for rewards that lead to the arrests of culprits caught in the act.

Allowing vandalism to find a safe haven in Kalispell, or elsewhere in Flathead County, would send the wrong message to our youth, our businesses and our homeowners. Guiffrida and Nasset have the right idea — take action now and spread the word. Vandalism is not welcome here.