Why can't city take care of City Beach?

On a recent evening stroll around City Beach I observed the following:

- Profane chalk “graffiti” messages perpetrated by hooligans decorating the train overpass at the park’s entry.

- Boxes of refuse and beer bottles stacked beside the new “big boondoggle” $4,000 “smart” trash cans.

- One lonely decoy coyote that has been kicked and had its tail chopped off.

- The pride and heritage of our Statue of Liberty defaced with fingernail polish and “prison” tear-drop tattoos running down her face

- The Liberty pier looking like it has suffered through both an earthquake and a mortar attack

- Plus the recent newspaper headline about a vicious baseball bat attack occurring at the beach after dark.

In short, City Beach is becoming a ghetto and I’m shedding more tears than Ms. Liberty. If city officials can’t manage a simple task like taking care of a small park, then what can they do? I implore our community to take a stand and demand answers and action from the mayor before it’s too late. Look up the “broken windows” theory that plagues urban ghettos. Loose trash and offensive graffiti will soon send out the message that Sandpoint is an easy target and it won’t be long until we see homeless blankets and used drug needles scattered around like in Spokane.

GEORGE MOONEY

Sagle