Pakenham Rotary president Barry Morris (second from left) with Max Jeavons, Kaine Harris, Laurie Hudgson, Reg McLeod, Ken Rook, Debbie James and Wal Macdonald clean up at the vandalised barbecue shelter.By Paul Dunlop
A ROTARY gift to the community has been heartlessly defaced by vandals.
Pakenham service club members were distressed to learn that the public barbecue shelter they recently built beside the Rotary Park at Toomuc Creek was already splattered with paint and other graffiti.
Club members returned to the shelter last Wednesday to clean up the mess and stoically continue their efforts to beautify the area alongside the creek.
Pakenham Rotary president Barry Morris said it was disheartening to see the service club’s efforts treated in such a way.
“Paint had been sprayed on the walls of the shelter, the tables had had all sorts of messages carved into them or written with Texta and the hotplates had been smeared with fat.
“It’s pretty disappointing for us having gone to a lot of time and effort to build the barbecue shelter as a facility for the whole community to enjoy.”
The attacks have been reported to Pakenham Police who are investigating.
The vandalism includes graffiti tags spray painted with a blue paint similar to that used in recent incidents at Pakenham town hall and other public buildings around town. The bridge over the Toomuc Creek into Rotary Park has also been tagged with graffiti.
Anybody with information can contact Pakenham Police on 5941 1033.
