When Emporia Resident Nellie Steadman went back to her vehicle Saturday afternoon and somebody had written “Hi” on it, she did not consider it a friendly gesture, nor did it make her smile.
Steadman was at a church event Saturday afternoon at the Church of Christ, 502 W. 12th Ave. When she came back out just before 1 p.m., she saw that somebody had spray painted “hi” on her van’s passenger side door.
“It stuck out like a sore thumb,” she said.
What’s worse, Steadman is stuck with the bill to remove the paint because her insurance deductible won’t cover it. Steadman has a high vehicle insurance deductible and is on a fixed income.
“I’m just caught with it,” she said. “It’s sad. I’ll probably have to live with it.”
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
This happened in the middle of the day?! The scary part of this is that this individual(s) was not afraid to commit a crime in the middle of the day. When did we stop teaching RESPECT for other people's belongings? Very sad.
July 22, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mythoughts (anonymous) says...
Is Crimestoppers on this? Isn't it bad enough graffiti defaces our buildings and utility posts? I sure hope the USD is on this when school starts back up.
July 22, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sportsmom (anonymous) says...
What can the USD do about it??? It did not take place on their property. It is unfortunate, and you may not mean it the way that it sounds...but people really need to quit relying on the school district to take care of these kinds of things and start making the parents of these brats responsible for teaching their children manners and respect towards others and their property. The district has its hands full as it is teaching kids to learn and want to learn.
July 22, 2008 at 5:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
almostnotks (anonymous) says...
A very similar incident happened to my car when I lived close to ESU, except it was much larger on my car. I also thought I would have to live with it, but I found that rubbing compound (you can buy it for under $3 at walmart) takes the spray paint right off. Yes, you are left with a bit of damage to the paint job on the car, but I figured that paint damage was better than a bunch of spray paint all over my car. I hope Nellie realizes that she can at least get the "hi" off her vehicle relatively inexpensively!
July 22, 2008 at 6:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
billclinton (anonymous) says...
Don't get me wrong. That sucks, but if you're going to have to 'live with it'... I suppose there are worse things that could be written on the side of your car.
July 22, 2008 at 10:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
If I owned a body shop in this town, I'd buff that out for her. Goodwill. Priceless.
July 23, 2008 at 6:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mythoughts (anonymous) says...
Yeah, the parents SHOULD be teaching their kids better, but I was hoping that the schools could have a "graffiti is stupid and hurts people" event, the way they do with drugs, drunk driving, etc.....
July 23, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nutsaboutools (anonymous) says...
Try rubbing or polishing compound. It may be able to remove the paint with little or no damage to the car's paint job. Sportsmom, way to go. It's about time someone besides me realized that parents need to step up their accountability & responsibility for their children.
July 23, 2008 at 12:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rami (anonymous) says...
I live a few houses down from the church and to know this was done in my neighborhood irritates me so bad!
What would possess someone to be so foolish?
I get very vigilant at night, watching unusual traffic because we have had a few incidents around here before....looks like I will be playing nosey neighbor for awhile because more than likely the little troublemakers will come back around.
July 23, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
keep a loud intimitdating dog tied by your front porch and driveway, we quit having vandalism when i did this. my dog is also black and is hard to see at night, i can be a real surprise to walk up on scary sounding dog at night.
July 23, 2008 at 3:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )