Washington High School vandalized

Washington High School faculty were saddened to learn that their new high school had been vandalized over the Labor Day weekend. Principal Erik Buchholz said the vandalism was spray-painted graffiti to an exterior wall on the east side. The graffiti was discovered Sunday and removed by custodians later that day.

Buchholz said he learned of the graffiti Sunday when a teacher called him who went to the school to do some work. He contacted the custodians to clean it up and the police.

The schools security cameras captured the incident on film. Buchholz said they can pinpoint the spray-painting to 1:57 a.m. Sunday. Buchholz has seen the videotape of the incident. He said they will turn the video over to the police. He said he could not comment on the person who appears in the video, other than to say that it appeared to be a single individual doing the graffiti who was traveling in a car with other people.

Washington Police Department Investigator Shawn Ellingson said the police also received a report of similar graffiti on a window at the middle school.

Washington Schools Superintendent Mike Jorgensen has seen part of the video and he thinks the school will be able to identify the culprit. He said the school plans to make the culprit pay for the custodial time and the other penalties associated with the act, which is criminal mischief.

?People who do vandalism should expect to get caught,? Jorgensen said.

Jorgensen said he was very disappointed when he learned about the incident.

?We?ve got this wonderful new facility and someone wants to deface it?? he said. ?That?s very discouraging.?

Jorgensen said that, if the culprit is a student, the student will likely be suspended. He said it would probably not be worthy of an expulsion.

Ellingson said the police are accepting any tips or leads from anybody with knowledge of the incident. He said spray paint is a chore to clean off because it was on the bricks and it can?t just be painted over.

Jorgensen said he doubted the graffiti was related to any upcoming event such as Homecoming. He said Homecoming and Halloween are typically times school districts have a problem with graffiti.