HSSP vandalism

Its actually rather typical that young people begin getting a little more rambunctious as summer starts drawing to a close, but it seems like this year it has gotten out of control, moving into the realm of destruction.

Generally, its small things like vehicles being egged or planters knocked over, but this year they’re hitting us all with complete disregard.

Fish feeders in the State Park, which were put up to help pay for some extra things in the park – destroyed. It wasn’t enough to just pry the money out of them, they went the extra mile to completely ruin the machines.

The kids responsible for vandalizing the fish feeders were identified and information has been turned over to authorities.

What could have been thought of a funny prank, taking the lightbulbs out of the light strings on the Swinging Bridge, stepped over the line into wreckage when they began cutting the wires, eliminating the beauty of the bridge lit up at night, the light’s glow reflecting on the river below.

The final straw for the community was the massacre of the cairn on top of Monument Hill.

No one has been identified as of yet in these cases of vandalism. Perhaps the culprits have no idea what it symbolized. Maybe they were never taught the history behind Monument Hill and what it meant to thousands of people over the decades who came to Thermopolis for the healing waters.

Steps are being taken to identify the people involved and I’ve got a feeling they don’t realize this kind of destruction on state property could have dire consequences. Destruction of state property carries a whole different set of circumstances.

Someone out there knows who is behind all of this.

Someone needs to step up and say something.

In the meantime, if you would like to help restore the cairn on Monument Hill, you can gather at the hill at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning to lend a hand.