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Graffiti taggers mark three blocks in downtown core

Several buildings were targeted Friday night with graffiti, some of it profane.
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Kelly Fraser of NL Building Maintenance paints over graffiti on the back wall of Village Square Monday afternoon after the area was tagged Friday night. Monica Lamb-Yorski photo

A grainy surveillance video viewed by the Tribune Monday depicts four Caucasian people — two females and two males — entering the alley behind Borland Street and First Avenue Friday evening at around 8:10 p.m.

They proceeded to spray paint the buildings on both sides of the alley.

The video was also shown to the Williams Lake RCMP.

Taking a walk around the area Monday morning, more tags could be seen on the backs of buildings as far as Oliver Street.

For the most part the tags were signatures, but there was one section that was profane and had prompted numerous calls to the City’s bylaw office.

Quick to respond, Kelly Fraser of NL Building Maintenance was at the alleyway by Monday afternoon, painting over the graffiti on the back of Village Square.

Fraser said every once in a while there is a spree of graffiti and they have to cover it up.

He would have been there in the morning first thing, but said he was trying to find the paint colour to match the existing colour of the wall.

In the end, he couldn’t find a match, so he went with a new colour and repainted the entire back wall.

Bylaw officer Brendan Foote said when graffiti is tagged on a building, and reported to his department, the bylaws stipulates the property owner has seven days to cover it up or 48 hours if the graffiti is offensive.

“If the property owner cannot do the work we will bring in a contractor to do it for them,” Foote said.

Foote said Friday night’s graffiti is the first he has seen in a long time downtown.

“We get the odd tag here and there, but there hasn’t been that much,” he said. “About five years ago it was really bad, but it hasn’t been since, although, there are times it gets covered up before we are even notified.”



Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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