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By DON MEADOWSStaff WriterA fountain statue in Peddlers’ Alley, which was donated to the city by the Sandusky Jaycees, has been destroyed by vandals just days before the statue’s dedication.The statue was found ruined early this morning.Vandals also tore plants out of downtown floral gardens during the night.The small concrete statue of a woman with a water urn on her shoulder had been installed in the middle of a square, shallow pool at the rear of the park within the lasttwo months.Dedication ceremonies for the fountain had been scheduled for this weekend and photographs were to have been taken of the fininshed fountain this morning.James E. Fischer, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, said the statue was destroyed — broken into three pieces, with only the base remaining in place.A $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the vandals has been offered by the Downtown Sandusky Association and the Downtown Property Owners Association, said downtown merchant Marv Byer.The DMA will meet Monday and is expected to discuss the vandalism problem and ways to find the persons responsible for the vandalism.“Everytime you get something nice, someone destroys it,”Fischer lamented. “That alley is really nice back there,” he said, noting how well the statue had looked there.‘‘Why destroy it?” he asked. ‘‘What purpose was there?”The Jaycees had donated $500 to the city for the construction of the fountain, which was designed by the city, explained Jaycee president Jerome Coleman, who discovered the damage.“I think the whole effort back there is a positive thing for the whole community and I’d like to see it continue,” Coleman said, although he admitted the vandalism is discouraging.The Jaycees will meet next Thursday. Coleman said he willJaycees' Jerome Coleman and DMA President James Fischer view damaged fountain(Register photo — TOM WILIJAMS)bring the problem up before the body at that time, which might refer it back to the servicecommittee for a recommendation Coleman believes the fountain mechanism is still intact and thefountain can probably be salvaged though the statue is beyond repair Ed Roesch, city greenhousesuperintendent, said most of thedamage done to the city parks can be repaired. It’s mainly a matterof replacing the plants with extra stocks the city has at the greenhouse, he said.Most of the damage to the parks was done around the sunken garden and the floral calendar,clock and lighthouse.The floral clock was also half an hour behind this morning,indicated someone had climbed onto it and held onto the hand to keep it from moving, Roesch said.Fortunately, a slip clutch in the clock mechanism prevented the motor from burning out, but Roesch wondered how someone could stop the clock for that long without being noticed.
Newspaper Details
Sunday Register
Sandusky, Ohio, US
Thu, Jun 07, 1979
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Elyria P.
OH, USA 02 Apr 2022
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