Delphi still sees red
By Debbie Lowe

Police Dept. arrested Jose Torres, 19, of Delphi Jan. 30 for criminal mischief, for the spray painting of graffiti throughout the city. Torres is a DCHS student. "We've put in tons of man hours on this thing," police chief Ed Chapman said. "People would not believe the size of the file we have for this." Victims are being contacted by the police department to determine the value of loss to seek restitution.

It has been three weeks since a rash of red graffiti appeared on many downtown Delphi locations. Some of the vandalism or vandals' work has been eradicated, but there is still red spray paint adorning many buildings in the area. Several community members have expressed concern to the Comet that the graffiti is still present in the city.

Delphi Mayor Lee Hoard said that the city "took care of the government problems."

"It's our feeling graffiti should be cleaned up," he said. "We know graffiti breeds more graffiti."

However, Hoard said there are limits to what the city can and will do to remedy the problem. He said there is no citywide plan to address the issue.

"We can't force anyone to cover it up," he said. "We encourage business owners and private individuals to eradicate it."

City council member Carol Dickman said the solution to the cover-up problem "lies in having a sense of clarity who is responsible for what."

She said underlying issues like code enforcement should be examined to gain a full understanding of how the city addresses such issues.

The Delphi Chamber of Commerce will address the issue at its F e b r u a r y meeting, said C h a m b e r president Krista Watson.

"As a community we could help business owners cover it up," Watson said. "We can't do too much in a permanent way at this time of year."

Delphi City Council member John Hampton said it would be in the best interest of the city to get graffiti covered as soon as possible. He said the city could share the obligation to help individuals and businesses through the process of eradication.

Heartland Screen-Printing and Embroidery owner Gayle Conner said that she und e r s t o o d p r o p e r t y owners were responsible for covering the graffiti on their property. But she said, the remains of the vandalism attack continue to portray an image of the city she doesn't like.

"For anybody who drives through here, it leaves a black mark on our town," she said. "I think the city should clean it up on their property and I don't think it is all gone yet."

"It should be more of a city pride issue," Conner continued. "It would mean a lot to business owners for the city to offer assistance with graffiti removal."

The Delphi Main Street organization met Jan. 25. It was decided at the meeting any property owner with graffiti can call president Carol Dickman at (765) 564-4981 or 564-3081 to discuss their eradication needs. Dickman said each situation presented would be considered.