Religious park suffers vandalism

 The Ten Commandments billboard park in Columbia Heights has been the target of vandalism in recent weeks.

Vandals spray-painted and slashed parts of the collection of religious signs along U.S. 2. Philip Klevmoen, owner of the park, found the latest round of vandalism Tuesday afternoon.

One sign was spray-painted with the words “Praise Allah,” while others were adorned with symbols and words. Long slash marks were made along the bottom of some signs, with one lower sign on a building nearly torn away.

Klevmoen said that he got an estimate of $1,700 to replace each of the images on the large billboards. He said that as many as 12 had been slashed.

According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Klevmoen reported the damage on Tuesday and requested that someone call him about it. As of Wednesday, the sheriff’s office had not yet visited the site.

Klevmoen said the first damage was about a month ago when signs were  spray-painted.

He said this is the first string of vandalism on the prominent roadside billboards. The park opened in August 2014.

Klevmoen said that he is offering a $500 reward for the identification of the vandal or vandals. He added that he would pursue the fullest extent of punishment by law, or alternatively, the vandal could spend two days with him.

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.