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Pocono News Section
Graffiti Clean-Up Project in Lackawanna County
Graffiti Clean-Up Project in Lackawanna County - Saturday, June 7, 2008 at 10:22PM EST
Reported by: Eric Deabill
Saturday, Jun 7, 2008 @ 10:22pm EST
JERMYN, LACKAWANNA COUNTY - Getting rid of graffiti. That was the goal of a big clean-up project Saturday morning in Lackawanna County. More than 30 volunteers came together at three different sites to clean-up their neighborhoods and send a strong message to gang members.
Armed with paint cans and rollers, volunteers took to the Jermyn-Mayfield bridge. Despite blazing sunshine and 90-degree temperatures, volunteers came out to eliminate graffiti that's built up for months.
"I don't like the look of graffiti. We've got to get rid of it. We can't let this happen. We've got to make this a great place to live, work and play," volunteer Julianne Kalasinski said.
Organizers say a lot of the graffiti that was painted over Saturday was done by taggers and gangs who mark their territory. It's becoming an increasing problem.
"We've been tracking the graffiti, seeing different areas where it's moving. We've seen an increasing presence of it throughout the county," Bob Maguire of the Lackawanna County Gang Task Force said.
Officials with the DA's office, PENN-DOT and several different community groups teamed-up for the weekend project.
"Graffiti is the most under-reported crime really anywhere in the country and a lot of the graffiti has to do with the markings or gangs and things of that nature and we just wanted to get rid of it," District Attorney Andy Jarbola said. | | |
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