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Neighborhood reels from racist graffitiTue, 02/27/2007 - 5:38pm
By: Ben Nelms
Neighbors in the quiet Yates Crossing and Crimson Trace subdivisions on Eastin Road north of Fayetteville are not sure why their area has been targeted recently with racial epithets and property damage. But neighbors say the actions are criminal and they need to stop. The incidents spanning nearly a month began somewhat low-key but quickly escalated. Clear indications were evident in words and symbols painted in several yards and a vehicle along Butterfield Lane and on the street on Pepperdine Way. Though preferring to remain anonymous due to concerns over being targeted in the future, numerous neighbors were clearly disappointed that their property and their quiet neighborhood had been violated. Those violations began early one Saturday morning, with doorbells ringing at 3:30 a.m. The situation escalated exactly one week later with doorbells ringing again in the middle of the night, statuary in some front yards being smashed and mailboxes being glued shut. While the number and age of the vandals is unknown, bicycle tracks were found in the front yard of one home. Those tracks led from an area near the street and went in the direction of one of the homes that was vandalized. The homeowners where the tracks were found do not have children. But by the third weekend the situation worsened. A red cross inside what appeared to be a heart was painted in one front yard, along with the letters “KKK” on a nearby rock in a garden area. Also in the neighborhood, a station wagon parked near the road was painted with more racially incendiary language and symbols. The words “nig” and “racist” were painted in red, along with “FCHS,” a swastika and a familiar smiley-face symbol. The intent to cause additional property damage was evident when some neighbors found nails propped against the tires of their cars in their driveways. And on Pepperdine Way, the phrase “Whites rule,” “KKK” and other symbols were found painted on the street. By late last week, this time on a week-day night, someone had returned to the marked-up station wagon, taking large rocks and smashing the vehicle’s side windows. These are hate crimes, some neighbors said, referring to the nature of the graffiti and symbols painted in front yards, on the station wagon and on the street. “This needs to stop,” said one of the neighbors, Mike. The Citizen is not using names of the victims of the vandalism. “We have a quiet, racially mixed neighborhood and we have not had anything like this for at least 10 years,” he said, referring to a scorched cross placed in a yard more than a decade ago. Fayette County Sheriff’s spokesperson Belinda McCastle said Monday that an ongoing investigation is being conducted to determine the identity of those responsible. login to post comments |