Daily Progress, Jacksonville, TX

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July 31, 2010

New fund is slow growing

Nathan Straus Jacksonville Daily Progress

JACKSONVILLE — The going is slow for Cherokee County’s new juvenile fund, said Chief Juvenile Probation Officer John Burns.

The fund was voted into existence by the Cherokee County Commissioners Court in April to aid county officials in fighting graffiti and similar problems in the county.

“It’s an additional $50 fee charged to anyone found guilty of a graffiti-type offense,” Burns said. “To my knowledge, no juveniles have gone to court for a graffiti offense since it was enacted.”

He added the number of adults who have been caught and fined for such offenses could also be quite low.

“This will not gather money quickly,” Burns said. “It’s normal not to have many (graffiti offenses), especially with adults.”

Burns said the juvenile probation department is still taking juveniles to paint over graffiti as much as it is able, though he noted this isn’t related to the juvenile fund.

“There’s always graffiti going up,” Burns said “They’re making a mess of the beauty (of Jacksonville). It’s a general nuisance that needs to be addressed.”

He also said he and the department will continue to fight graffiti in the county so long as they have the paint and resources to do so, though he added situations arise where buildings are hit with graffiti, painted over, then hit with graffiti again shortly afterward.

Jacksonville Police Chief Reece Daniel said he believes graffiti instances are down in reports he has seen.

“The city council gave us some tools to use,” Daniel said.

He said the city passed an ordinance which gave authority and responsibility in dealing with graffiti to Jacksonville’s code enforcement department.

By state law, cities must contact property owners and offer to clean graffiti on their respective property before they are able to clean graffiti without consent and forward the bill to the property owner in question, Daniel said.

“It happens in waves,” he said of graffiti instances. “On a given weekend you could see a lot of graffiti or you could go a month without seeing any.”

Daniel added Jacksonville’s graffiti problems seem to be on the decline due to the police department’s targeting of local gangs.

Burns said he is more than ready to continue the fight against graffiti in the county and added he will continue to do so as long as he is able.

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