Bigfork Businesses, school hit in vandalism spree
Several Bigfork establishments suffered
property damage in an apparent vandalism spree during the early
morning hours of July 21.
According to Flathead County sheriff
Chuck Curry, the vandals struck sometime between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
Thursday morning.
A large statue and several flower pots
were broken in front of Bjorge Gallery on Electric Avenue. At
nearby Persimmon Gallery, a bird bath was thrown through the front
door. According to Curry, the bird bath was taken from property
near the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts.
At Viki’s Montana Mtn Classics on Grand
Avenue, a 5-foot decorative bear was pushed over, breaking a bird
bath in front of the business.
Two wooden picnic tables in the
playground area at Bigfork Elementary and Middle School were
destroyed, and the windshield of a van parked near Bigfork High
School was broken.
Curry did not have an exact estimate of
the cost of the damage, but he said it would likely come out to be
“several thousand dollars.”
“It doesn’t take a long time for a
group of two, or three, or four people to do quite a bit of
damage,” Curry said.
The incident is the latest in a slew of
unsolved cases of vandalism in the Bigfork area. Other recent
targets include the concession stand at the high school football
field, a Filterra water treatment unit on Grand Drive and an art
case on Grand Drive displaying work by Tom Lewis.
Curry said Thursday’s episode is likely
related to the prior acts of vandalism.
“Usually when you have a string of
vandalism like this, they’re related,” Curry said. “It’s just a
matter of getting your hands on them, which we’re working pretty
hard to do.”
Although the department is not ruling
anyone out, Curry said the vandals are most likely youths.
“They seem like kid crimes,” Curry
said.
Bigfork superintendent Cynthia Clary
said lack of supervision might be to blame.
“It’s the time of year when kids have
extra energy and extra time on their hands, with no school and no
sports,” Clary said. “Also, I think that during the summer, the
level of supervision is different.”
Clary said she is disheartened by this
summer’s spike in acts of vandalism, especially if Bigfork students
are involved.
“It’s so disappointing when something
like this happens,” Clary said. “This handful of kids doesn’t
represent Bigfork school kids, and that’s what upsets me the
most.”
The school district is already working
on improving its video surveillance system at the football field
(see page B1), but Clary said last week’s incident has led to talks
of installing more cameras on the main campus as well.
“It (the security system) needs to be
upgraded,” Clary said.
Anyone with information regarding the
vandalism is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 758-5585.