Vandals

Vandals rampage in City Park Vandals ravaged Hagerstown City Park late Sunday or early Monday causing more than $1,000 damage, according to the Hagerstown Police Department. The damage - estimated at around $1,175 - was discovered Monday morning, police said. Vandals broke off a spotlight in front of the museum, ripped up shrubbery from the west side of the park and threw it in the lake, damaged two picnic tables, throwing one of them in the lake, and snapped the bases of two 8-foot walnut trees in the northwest side of the park, police said.

Vandalism occurs at 'Marty' Snook Park Washington County is assessing recent damage from vandals at Martin L. "Marty" Snook Memorial Park in Halfway, Public Works Director Gary Rohrer told the County Commissioners Tuesday. Rohrer said the vandals trashed a concession stand, threw items in the pool and left other "deposits" in the park. Rohrer said the county will consider installing security cameras at the park. The Washington County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident and looking for fingerprints, Rohrer said.

Vandals break windows at three Hagerstown businesses The Hagerstown Police Department reported that vandals broke windows at three businesses over the course of the last several days. Police Chief Arthur Smith said officers have no leads because there were no witnesses. Smith said the most costly incident was reported at Eddie's Upholstery at 779 S. Potomac St., where a vandal or vandals caused an estimated $750 worth of damage. “It just looks like someone picked up a rock and threw it at his window,” Smith said.

Building burned in Chambersburg By RICHARD F. BELISLE / Staff Writer CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A fire believed to have been set by vandals caused an estimated $100,000 in damage at the South Hamilton Community Association building in Chambersburg, said James Buhrman, president of the association. Officials said vandals broke into the concession stand and storage areas of the building early Thursday morning, made off with food and soda and set the place on fire. The fire destroyed most of the building and the equipment of the association's 13 youth league baseball and softball teams.

Thumbs up to Clear Spring and Williamsport elementary schools, Antietam Creek Watershed Alliance Inc., The Arc of Washington County Inc. and Recycled Crochet, winners of the 2011 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Awards, presented Tuesday by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. Thumbs down to vandals who this week caused an estimated $60,000 in damage to a community mosque under construction in Chantilly, Va., breaking the building's first-floor windows with rocks.

HAGERSTOWN -- Whoever ruined a newly refinished section of The Maryland Theatre's roof might be walking around purple-handed. Ken Saur of Eco Construction, which installed the roof, said vandals emptied a bucket of glue over the roof membrane, which needs to removed and replaced. The membrane is attached to a layer of insulation, which will have to be replaced, too. Vandals also spread PVC primer, which stains skin purple and can't be washed off, Saur said. "Whoever did this is going to be walking around with purple hands for quite some time," he said.

BOONSBORO ? Mary Young only needs one landmark to tell people how to get to her Mapleville Road home near Boonsboro. She can tell people to look for the 800-pound, one-armed green dinosaur in her front yard. The dinosaur is a few pounds lighter since vandals broke one of its arms with a baseball bat in the spring of 2006. That prompted Robert Young to put a sign next to the dinosaur asking for information about the vandals. The Youngs said a young woman stopped by their house with the identities of the vandals, including information about their vehicle.

BOONSBORO -- Vandals damaged a cemetery twice last week, said Tom Bikle, the president of the association that oversees the cemetery. Overnight on Friday, two brass plaques at the entrance were stolen. The Boonsboro Police Department found the plaques on Saturday in a nearby yard, Bikle said. Also on Saturday, four urns in the cemetery were turned over; two were destroyed, he said. In addition, someone broke a cross off an old tombstone. Bikle estimated the damage to be more than $1,000.