Killing two birds with one paintbrush
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HAVE A QUESTION FOR 'WATCHDOG?'
To submit questions, e-mail watchdog@vicad.com, post them to the "Watchdog" blog or call Advocate Public Service Editor Gabe Semenza at 361-580-6519. No topic is off-limits.
I love it when people join to tackle local problems. In this case, people might kill two birds - graffiti and truancy - with one paintbrush.
Rebecca Garcia is a former truancy officer who now serves as attendance coordinator for Victoria schools. She proposes a program that would take students who misstep and put them to work.
"There's a need to show our kids that nothing in life is free," Garcia said. "Let them work with us in a positive atmosphere and in a way that they contribute to the community."
Students who misstep often attend in-school suspension. During suspension, they tend to misstep again, Garcia said. Instead of sending students aged 13 to 18 home, she wants to gather them to cover graffiti.
"In my opinion, graffiti's a big problem. It used to be in just certain parts of the city, but now it's everywhere," Garcia said.
I reported earlier this year that Victoria lacks an ordinance that requires residents to clean or cover graffiti from private property. The city's code enforcement staff can't cite anyone for the unsightly markings. The city also lacks a line item in its budget to cover public graffiti.
Doug Cochran, the city's director of parks and recreation, said he supports Garcia's plans.
"I told her I would help her," Cochran said. "I think it's a great idea."
Part of Garcia's plan also includes enticing artists to teach students to paint appropriate murals. A local artist already agreed, she said.
"Areas don't get tagged as often when murals are present," Cochran said. "I think exposing kids to murals gives them pride in beautifying the city. They might otherwise contribute to the graffiti problem. If you have them create murals, they might say to their friends, 'Hey, don't tag that building.'"
Cochran and Garcia await word about whether the program will receive grant funding. The new program's name is Students Kept in Place, or SKIP.
A local business agreed to chip in with classes about painting and paint safety, Garcia said.
While her budding program awaits funding, others in the area also work to fight graffiti.
Pama Hencerling, of the Victoria Regional Juvenile Justice Center, gathers juveniles on probation to cover graffiti for businesses. Business owners must supply the paint and rollers, but Hencerling provides the labor and supervision. Call her at 361-575-0399.
John Espinoza is a Dow Chemical Co. employee and member of the League of United Latin American Citizens. He and his local chapter work to shore funding from Dow to begin a nonprofit group that fights graffiti. "I just wanted you to know that LULAC recognizes graffiti as an eyesore and we are trying to combat it as a community project," Espinoza told me. Trish Ritthaler, a Dow spokeswoman, said Espinoza's group must first show a $10,000 grant will kick start a long-lasting program. "Even then, our grant program is a competitive program, but their program sounds like a great program," Ritthaler said. "It seems like it would be positive and address a problem within the community."
Rodney Plunkett, a special education counselor at Victoria schools, works with Garcia to create the graffiti program. "We're looking at a way to develop a program. The grant is just one element of doing so," Plunkett said.
If you'd like to help, contact Garcia at Victoria schools at 361-788-9232.
While graffiti remains bad news, you can't help but view as good news community members who join to make our city better.
"We want our students to earn their keep," Garcia said. "We want to teach our kids a different way of doing things."
Gabe Semenza is the Public Service Editor for the Advocate. Comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.
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It's funny how local governments only solution to every problem is to raise taxes or make the property owners clean up the mess at their own cost. Seems to me that the ones doing the tagging should have to pay to clean up their "art work" It would not be hard to track down the artist. They all sign their work in code. If a tag is posted on a building track down the culprits and give them an option clean it up or go to jail. Why should the public and owners have to pay for it? Maybe owners should set aside areas on their buildings and let all the taggers submit drawings and have the owner pick the one that gets done. Turn a eyesore problem into real art work. Some of the taggers are truely artistic, it would be a good way to focus that talent into something positive and maybe could end some of the tagging.
December 3, 2009 at 12:42 p.m.What a stellar idea! In at least a few instances, the graffiti artists will be forced to clean up the mess they made, which would be justice any way you cut it.
I have great problems with an ordinance requiring owners of private property to clean up graffiti. This is penalizing someone twice, first when their property was vandalized with graffiti, then forcing them to spend their time, energy and money cleaning up the graffiti, even though they are the victim here.
October 30, 2009 at 3:58 p.m.i think the murals are a great idea. In San Antonio there is tagging running wild ...but there are some areas that have murals on a side. They are usually avoided because most taggers have respect for the effort it takes. I have seen plenty of murals there, some over 20 years old, without some idiot tagging over it.
but it is sad that i have not seen a tagging that has any real artistic value to it, nothing positive or supporting, just a bunch of wanna-be gang bang junk or some idiot proclaiming his "love" for this girlfriend...what idiots.
October 29, 2009 at 9:16 a.m.the people out there doing the tagging should tag thier own homes and leave other peoples properties alone
October 29, 2009 at 7:17 a.m.I don't get to Victoria very often but the last few times I've noticed the graffetti everywhere. This sounds like a good program.
October 29, 2009 at 5:33 a.m.