Leominster Firefighters Memorial Vandalized
Posted April 10, 2009 EST
Massachusetts - A vandal used blue spray paint to deface the Leominster Firefighters Memorial sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday, less than a year after hundreds of people gathered to dedicate the monument. The perpetrator scrawled the word "Sickology" across the back of the center stone in the granite memorial, which sits at the intersection of West Street and Park Street on Monument Square.
Police are searching for the person or people responsible.
"Our reaction was, 'why?'" said Bob Penning, a Leominster firefighter and president of the Leominster Fire Relief Association. "There's walls everywhere. If it had to be done, why right there? It's very disrespectful to the people who have served this city. It's a big
insult to all of their families."
A police officer on routine patrol discovered the vandalism early Wednesday morning, Police Lt. Michael Goldman said.
The officer also discovered some evidence of apparent heroin use in the area, Goldman said.
Police and fire officials on Wednesday morning were trying to determine what the word means.
"Sickology" is the name of a soon-to-be-released album from rapper Tech N9ne, and also appears to be a video game, Penning said.
The fire department has a short window of time to clean off the paint before it permanently sets into the porous granite, Penning said, and they've already sent away for a cleaning solvent to try to clean it off.
"We had to special-order graffiti remover
from the place in Vermont that built the memorial," he said. "If that doesn't work, depending on how deep (the paint) goes, we'd have to take the stone out to have it fixed."
Replacing the slab of granite altogether -- if the stone has absorbed too much of the paint -- could cost up to $20,000, Penning said.
The fire relief association raised the entire $28,000 to install the memorial last summer, which includes the names of nearly 200 men who spent their careers in the department, including 66 military veterans -- dating back to the Civil War -- and the names of 30 men who died while active members of the department.
The inscription on the front reads: "In memory of Leominster Firefighters who dedicated their lives to protecting the lives of others."
Hundreds of people converged on Monument Square on June 8, 2008 despite sweltering heat to attend a dedication ceremony for the memorial.
Penning said years of planning went into the construction and design, and firefighter Roger LaPointe put in extensive research on the department's history for the memorial.
Family members sponsored the names of their relatives, and Leominster firefighters jumped at the chance to sponsor the names of men who were unclaimed, or whose families couldn't be located, Penning said.
"There was a lot of work involved in putting that together," said Penning, whose father's name is on the memorial.
The memorial, which sits near City Hall, the library, churches and businesses, is a "very, very well-visited" place, Penning said.
He's seen a lot of people come by to read the names or take pictures of it when it's lit at night.
"A lot of these guys are our war veterans, too," he said. "It wasn't a random act, because we were the only ones in the park that got hit. Thank God it wasn't on the front, over their names."
Fire Chief Ronald Pierce, whose father and two grandfathers are recognized on the stone, said he is disappointed at the vandalism.
"After all of the work my firefighters put into this, it's very disheartening," he said. "If (the vandals) knew the value, and what it means to the families of the men on there, they couldn't have done it."
Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella called the crime "stupid," and said it is a sign of blatant disrespect.
"The thing is, when you've never put in the time on something like that, when you don't have to work for something, you can't see its value," he said.
Pierce said if someone is caught and charged with the crime, he'd like to see them ordered to clean and maintain Monument Square for a year. Penning also said he'd like to see the responsible person serve meaningful community service.
With pranks and vandalism, the people responsible often brag about their crimes, Penning noted, saying parents and local school employees should keep an ear out for anyone talking about the memorial.
He asked anyone with information about a possible suspect to call the Leominster Police at 1-(978) 534-7560.
Written by Sentinel and Enterprise
SOURCE: http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-US.cfm?articleID=64548
Posted April 10, 2009 EST
Massachusetts - A vandal used blue spray paint to deface the Leominster Firefighters Memorial sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday, less than a year after hundreds of people gathered to dedicate the monument. The perpetrator scrawled the word "Sickology" across the back of the center stone in the granite memorial, which sits at the intersection of West Street and Park Street on Monument Square.
Police are searching for the person or people responsible.
"Our reaction was, 'why?'" said Bob Penning, a Leominster firefighter and president of the Leominster Fire Relief Association. "There's walls everywhere. If it had to be done, why right there? It's very disrespectful to the people who have served this city. It's a big
insult to all of their families."
A police officer on routine patrol discovered the vandalism early Wednesday morning, Police Lt. Michael Goldman said.
The officer also discovered some evidence of apparent heroin use in the area, Goldman said.
Police and fire officials on Wednesday morning were trying to determine what the word means.
"Sickology" is the name of a soon-to-be-released album from rapper Tech N9ne, and also appears to be a video game, Penning said.
The fire department has a short window of time to clean off the paint before it permanently sets into the porous granite, Penning said, and they've already sent away for a cleaning solvent to try to clean it off.
"We had to special-order graffiti remover
from the place in Vermont that built the memorial," he said. "If that doesn't work, depending on how deep (the paint) goes, we'd have to take the stone out to have it fixed."
Replacing the slab of granite altogether -- if the stone has absorbed too much of the paint -- could cost up to $20,000, Penning said.
The fire relief association raised the entire $28,000 to install the memorial last summer, which includes the names of nearly 200 men who spent their careers in the department, including 66 military veterans -- dating back to the Civil War -- and the names of 30 men who died while active members of the department.
The inscription on the front reads: "In memory of Leominster Firefighters who dedicated their lives to protecting the lives of others."
Hundreds of people converged on Monument Square on June 8, 2008 despite sweltering heat to attend a dedication ceremony for the memorial.
Penning said years of planning went into the construction and design, and firefighter Roger LaPointe put in extensive research on the department's history for the memorial.
Family members sponsored the names of their relatives, and Leominster firefighters jumped at the chance to sponsor the names of men who were unclaimed, or whose families couldn't be located, Penning said.
"There was a lot of work involved in putting that together," said Penning, whose father's name is on the memorial.
The memorial, which sits near City Hall, the library, churches and businesses, is a "very, very well-visited" place, Penning said.
He's seen a lot of people come by to read the names or take pictures of it when it's lit at night.
"A lot of these guys are our war veterans, too," he said. "It wasn't a random act, because we were the only ones in the park that got hit. Thank God it wasn't on the front, over their names."
Fire Chief Ronald Pierce, whose father and two grandfathers are recognized on the stone, said he is disappointed at the vandalism.
"After all of the work my firefighters put into this, it's very disheartening," he said. "If (the vandals) knew the value, and what it means to the families of the men on there, they couldn't have done it."
Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella called the crime "stupid," and said it is a sign of blatant disrespect.
"The thing is, when you've never put in the time on something like that, when you don't have to work for something, you can't see its value," he said.
Pierce said if someone is caught and charged with the crime, he'd like to see them ordered to clean and maintain Monument Square for a year. Penning also said he'd like to see the responsible person serve meaningful community service.
With pranks and vandalism, the people responsible often brag about their crimes, Penning noted, saying parents and local school employees should keep an ear out for anyone talking about the memorial.
He asked anyone with information about a possible suspect to call the Leominster Police at 1-(978) 534-7560.
Written by Sentinel and Enterprise
SOURCE: http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-US.cfm?articleID=64548
