Nyssa police have made two arrests and are working on more to stop a surge of graffiti damaging public and private property in the city.
“We’ve been trying to get to the bottom of it and put a stop to it,” said Don Ballou, Nyssa police chief.
He said police arrested a juvenile on March 25 for vandalizing the Malheur Memorial Health Center. The juvenile is being prosecuted for first-degree criminal mischief, a felony.
A second juvenile was more recently arrested and also charged with felony criminal mischief for damage to the U.S. Post Office building in Nyssa. Ballou said the youth confessed to the crime and two others.
Ballou said taggers have hit several businesses around Nyssa and Lions and JJ’s city parks.
Ballou said there has been an “uptick” in graffiti, including on home properties and the U.S. Highway 26 underpass beneath the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
He said city crews respond as quickly as they can to paint over graffiti on city-owned properties.
The chief noted that a city ordinance requires private property owners to remove graffiti applied to their property.
He said that besides criminal mischief, a tagger can be cited for unlawfully applying graffiti. That criminal violation carries a maximum $2,000 fine and a requirement for up to 100 hours of community service.
Ballou urged residents to report graffiti by calling the non-emergency police dispatch line at 541-473-5126.
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