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Rifle suffers bout of vandalism

Lynn Burton
Post Independent Staff

Vandals caused thousands of dollars of damage in Rifle during the past two weeks, and the police chief is asking for help to finger the culprits.

“The best tool we have is the public,” said Rifle Police Chief Daryl Meisner. “Someone out there knows who did this.”

Meisner said the vandalism outbreak started two weeks ago, when several boats were damaged in the old Columbine Market parking lot in the 1700 block of Railroad Avenue.



Last weekend, two windows were broken in a backhoe parked in the 1900 block of Railroad Avenue, and two windows were broken out in an unmarked police car parked at the city shop on 18th Street.

Friday night or early Saturday morning, someone also hit the Garfield County Fairgrounds, and did at least $3,000 in damage.



Fairgrounds manager Bob Crompton said all the windows in a county owned pickup, and the emergency light on top, were smashed in. All the tires on the truck were also slashed.

“The truck is a 1986 Ford. It’s probably totaled,” Crompton said. He said the tires were punctured with “a pretty big knife.”

A window in the fairgrounds’ John Deere tractor was broken the same night, as well as exit lights in the indoor arena. Crompton said people attended activities in the arena Friday might, so the damage must have occurred after 11:30 p.m.

In recent weeks, someone has also scribbled graffiti in the arena and tipped over fairground trash cans.

Crompton said the indoor arena has been kept unlocked in the past because it has been so heavily used, but that policy is being reviewed.

“I’d hate to lock it down,” Crompton said. “People like to use the arena all the time.”

Meisner said people who engage in destructive acts such as tire slashing are usually “really, really, angry people.”

“Their behavior is a release,” Meisner said.

Meisner said he has no suspects in the vandalism spree so far, and declined to speculate on the number of people involved or their ages.

Anyone with tips or information is asked to call Rifle police at 625-2271.

Contact Lynn Burton: 945-8515, ext. 534

lburton@postindependent.com


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