It was a sign that caught more than a little attention.
As Plympton-Wyoming Chief Administrative Officer, Carolyn Tripp, drove down Broadway St. she was caught off guard. Vandals had changed the name of Wyoming to Petrolia in a late Sunday night prank.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “I was sad.”
She wasn’t alone in her shock. “Why? Just why?”questioned resident Lori Mitchell on social media.
“Who actually feels the need to do this and why! I really hope they can catch the person(s) responsible!” wrote Ann Helps.
Tripp says the answer seems fairly obvious. “I’m just speculating but when you have kids without a lot to do, they’re getting out with their buddies but they don’t have a lot to do and they’re getting into trouble,” she says.
The problem isn’t new. Tripp says a large group of teens were causing a disturbance at Lamrecton Park this weekend, too. No damage was done there.
And Tripp says the graffiti didn’t cause any permanent damage. The town keeps a special cleaner made for graffiti on hand, and a town employee spent several hours cleaning the sign.
“If it would have had to be replaced it would have been a different $2000 each plus installation.
“If we had to replace it real waste of public money.”