More vandalism and graffiti downtown
Parking Enforcement Officers located dozens of parking meters vandalized Monday morning in downtown Bloomington.
Sometime between Saturday, May 9, and Monday, May 11, meters in the 200 block of W. Kirkwood, 100 block of S. College and Walnut, 300 block of W. 6th Street, 400 W. 7th, and 200-400 N. Morton were spray painted with orange and blue spray paint over the solar panels that power the meters, according to the police.
A total of 107 meters were vandalized, and it cost the city about 725-dollars to clean them. Police investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from downtown businesses.
In a second police report, officers responded to the Women’s Care Center at 409 S. College Ave., after a report of vandalism. Sometime between May 9 and 10, an unknown person, or persons painted several symbols, and the phrases, “stay away” and “fuck y’all” on the building using the same colors matching the vandalism done to the parking meters.
Editor’s note: The Bloomingtonian noticed that a person had taped messages over graffiti in downtown Bloomington during a routine cruise around downtown to look for images, and that sometime between Monday night, and Tuesday, a person had spray painted a new message overnight in in the orange spray paint referenced today by police. The new graffiti is on the backside of the old Bender Lumber along N. Fairview. The Bloomingtonian has before and after photos of the building just by coincidence.
An anonymous source wrote to The Bloomingtonian Tuesday and said they noticed a person taking down the white fliers over the graffiti at the Duke substation at 11th and N. Fairview, Tuesday, but hours later they had been replaced. The Bloomingtonian drove by Tuesday evening, and noticed that the duct tape this time was black, rather than the gray duct tape that appeared Monday.
The Bloomingtonian also noticed Tuesday that a business across from the downtown Bloomingfoods was vandalized with graffiti. The phrases, “fuck y’all” and “support local businesses” were spray painted on the side of the building. And more critical fliers were duct taped over the graffiti, then it appeared the business’s owner had written their own message onto the fliers. None of this was in the Tuesday police report.
Also, on the side of Social Cantina, on old graffiti, was another flier, this one appeared to be a more personal message aimed at the graffiti writer (s).
Driver strikes riding lawnmower operator
Police officers responded Monday to a road south of the intersection of Ind. 45/46 after the driver of a Ford Escape struck a woman on a riding lawn mower around 10:34 a.m. The driver of the Ford was taken to jail for OWI, and the driver of the lawnmower, was conscious and talking, but was taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries, according to the police.
Teenage girl on bicycle struck by 17-year-old driver who fled the scene of the accident
A driver in a black 2003 Hyundai Sonata struck a 15-year-old girl on a bicycle in the area of 1600 E. Elliston Drive, and then fled the scene Monday.
Witnesses were able to get the vehicle’s license place, according to police, and the suspect, a 17-year-old male, was later found in Winslow Court.
