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Vandalism is sad commentary

Looking at racial epithets spraypainted on your church is sad.

Along with the Lions Club, where my husband is a member, the museum where I've covered events and learned about our early residents, and the other businesses in downtown Bayfield that work hard to keep their buildings looking nice, it's all sad.

Some of the victims I know who are looking at cleaning up this big mess have offered to do something with the spray paints cans to the perpetrators.

Along with pictures of the actual graffiti, we can't print that in a family newspaper.

Anyway, as of yesterday, a father recognized his kid on security footage posted on YouTube and was bringing him in to the Bayfield Marshal's Office.

Kudos to this dad. Turning your kid in to the cops isn't what any father wants to do.

We talked about the incident on Wednesday after getting the kids home and cooking dinner and trying to get everything ready to go out the door the next day.

"I hope you wouldn't do something like that," I told Number-Two kid.

"I won't," he said.

Knowing Number-One kid is at exactly the age where this sort of stuff might seem like a good idea, I hesitated.

What the heck do you say?

Is anyone talking about this at school, I asked.

Big kid shrugged.

Well, I tried.

I think they both know if they pulled something like that, their dad and I would be on them like a ton of bricks.

But I also know that not all families are able to pull together like this. If one parent is out of the picture and the other is working long hours to keep a roof over the family's heads, there might not be much time for those conversations around the dinner table.

I hope if the two kids captured on tape are convicted, they will have to clean up their work.

And maybe it can help our other little angels realize that in this age of security cameras and video everything, someone is always watching.