City offering $500 reward for info that leads to arrest of graffiti vandals

Graffiti vandals have "gone too far" with the recent defacing of a downtown mural, says Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney, and the city is upping the ante in an effort to bring them to justice.

A large, unsightly black "K" can be seen on the dress of a woman waving a handkerchief at a train leaving station – part of a large mural recently painted on the side of a CSX-owned building on Depot Street. The letter, scrawled with spray paint, is the latest batch of graffiti to pop up in the city, and Corbin leaders say they have become increasingly frustrated with the problem.
The mural, funded through a grant awarded to the city from Tour SEKY, cost $5,000 and was completed last fall. Tour SEKY is a federally funded non-profit program created to promote tourism and tourism initiatives in eastern Kentucky.

Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney said the city is offering a $500 reward for information that leads to the capture of the person or people responsible for defacing the mural. McBurney said he thinks the incident happened within the last two weeks, coinciding with graffiti which also cropped up below the downtown overpass at North Depot Street, just past the Corbin Board of Education, and on Laurel Ave. next to the city’s Creekwalk.

"It’s just ridiculous," McBurney said. "It’s a shame to have something so pretty defaced like that. It’s just mean and disrespectful. I don’t know any other reason for it."

McBurney said the mural will be fixed, and graffiti will be removed from the other locations as well. But he said city leaders plan to ask the courts to force those responsible to pay for the damage and to aid in the repair to performing some of the work.
In the past, the city has been swift and determined in efforts to not let graffiti linger for too long on public structures. Last year, Corbin spent about $3,000 removing graffiti from various places. It spent that much or more the year before.

Corbin leaders have also taken a hard line against any destruction or defacing of public property. A Corbin woman was forced to pay for damage she caused to the Engineer Street Bridge last September. Brenda T. Webb, 34, was captured on surveillance video, with two of her children by her side, vandalizing decorative flower boxes attached to the bridge. She was forced to pay restitution for the incident.

City leaders offered a $500 reward for information in Webb’s case and received numerous credible leads soon thereafter, leading to her arrest.

McBurney hopes financial incentive this time around will have the same impact.

"Somebody out there knows who did this. They might not even agree with what happened because they know in their heart it is wrong," McBurney said. "I hope they are compelled to come forward, whether it is for the money or just because they want to be a good person, and help us out so we can make things right."

City leaders say police plan to perform extra patrols for the foreseeable future at areas prone to graffiti. Officials say they also plan to install more video surveillance cameras at key locations to deter vandalism and graffiti.

"It’s gotten out of hand," McBurney said. "It’s costing the taxpayers of this city a lot of money … money that could be spent on other projects to improve the quality of life here. Our police department plans to do whatever they can to stop it."