The veterans memorial is among the latest targets of vandals painting graffiti around downtown Oswego.
Oswego police have received seven reports of defacement or graffiti since Dec. 23, spokeswoman Cathy Nevara said in an email Monday.
Among the latest targets is a veterans memorial on Main Street, where “@ Like” is painted in yellow. Similar tags were also visible on the Oswego Cyclery building and a downtown floral shop. Tags on other buildings, including one below a Boy Scouts sign on a Main Street building, feature black or white markings with arrows pointing in three directions.
For one local business, the veterans memorial tagging hit a nerve.
“The Veterans Memorial Wall was the final straw,” Jacobsen Lawn Service wrote in a post to its Facebook page over the weekend, announcing a $100 donation to be used as a reward for information leading to an arrest by police.
“It’s one thing getting people’s personal property and businesses, it’s enough to make you mad,” said Rick Jacobsen, who comes from a family of Marines, including his father. “I just found it to be extremely disrespectful, (even more) than just tagging the side of a wall.”
Jacobsen, who lives in Boulder Hill, said after hearing from many people in the community, he is looking into opening a bank account to raise money to encourage witnesses to come forward or to help business owners with cleanup once he learns more about how much that will cost.
Four of the tags reported have been in the first block of Main Street, where two incidents of graffiti were reported Dec. 23, one was reported Jan. 3 and another was reported Jan. 4, Nevara said.
The other three were reported on the 100 block of South Adams Street on Dec. 23, Dec. 29 and Jan. 3, Nevara said.
“We do not have any known reasons why any particular location was tagged,” Nevara said. “We do believe all the incidents are related.”
Police have determined the tags are not gang-related, Nevara said.
Terri Platt, owner of Floral Expressions and Gifts on Main Street, said she was on vacation when the latest graffiti showed up on the business’ brick exterior. The shop has been tagged twice, she said. The more recent is a yellow “@ Like” matching the tag on the veterans memorial and cycle shop; the other is black and harder to decipher, with arrows pointing outward.
“Once it starts, it seems everyone wants to jump on board,” Platt said.
Platt said she is hoping police increase patrols of the downtown area as a deterrent to would-be graffiti artists.
Platt and employee Nick Herrera said they don’t feel threatened. Herrera speculated that the tagger might be a new kid in town. In at least four years, he hasn’t noticed anything like this graffiti before, he said.
Platt said she wasn’t sure yet how she was going to get the graffiti off the brick wall. Nevara said she hadn’t heard back from the Public Works Department on a cost for cleanup to village property.
Twitter @hannahmleone
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