Park graffiti irks resident
BY REBECCA MORTON
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - A four-letter expletive and scribbles covered the playground equipment and a sign at Hawkins Road Park. Resident Scott Rothschild was in the park, off Union Hill Road, with his 4-year-old son and discovered the graffiti on July 3.

"I was shocked to see something like this in the park. Graffiti is one thing, but for someone to put profanity where they know children play is disgusting," Rothschild said.

After seeing the graffiti, Rothschild went home and sent an e-mail to John Saffioti, the superintendent of Marl-boro's Recreation Department, to alert him to the situation.

Rothschild received an e-mail back from Saffioti on July 5 informing him that the parks department had reported that the graffiti had been taken care of.

However, when Rothschild visited the park again on July 9 he discovered that the profanity was still in place. That led to another e-mail correspondence with Saffioti.

When asked about the incident, Saffioti said a work order had been sent through on July 3 but there was a mistake in the location of the vandalism.

He said the grounds department believed the graffiti was on the handball wall and then reported back that it had been taken care of on July 5.

The mistake in the location of the graffiti is what led to the delay in its removal. According to Saffioti, a new work order was issued on July 9 with the correct location of the graffiti. On July 11 the play area was repainted, covering the vulgar language and other markings.

On the day of the graffiti's removal a reporter observed that children were enjoying the park and leaving parents free to not worry that their youngsters would be learning a new vocabulary from the jungle gym's walls anymore.