New Rail Trail Signs Vandalized

Less than two months after they were installed, colorful interpretive signs along the Saucon Rail Trail at the Hellertown Marsh have been vandalized.

The educational signs were recently "tagged" with graffiti painted by someone calling him or herself "Vain."

On top of an illustration of marsh grasses on one of the signs, the artist wrote the words "Smoke Grass" in black marker.

Environmentalist and Hellertown resident Dennis Scholl designed and coordinated the installation of the signs, and said he is angered by their defacement.

"What Vain does not realize is that he has tagged public property," he wrote in an email. "Kids like him destroy public property in an attempt to gain notoriety among their peers. What Vain and others like him should do to gain notoriety is get good grades at schools and take part in community volunteer efforts."

"Now he has an entire community on the lookout for him, and it is only a matter of time before he is caught and pays penance for his misdeeds," Scholl added.

Lower Saucon Township Police reported separately Tuesday that signs along the township's portion of the popular rail trail have been vandalized with graffiti.

They said in a news release that an investigation into those incidents is continuing.

At Hellertown Borough Council's April 1 meeting, Police Chief Robert Shupp told council members he wants bicycle officers to begin regular patrol of the trail, to help prevent future acts of criminal mischief in the borough.

"We need to put a presence on the trail," Shupp said, and he requested that council approve $3,000 for the purchase of two new bicycles and a bike rack, to help the police department do just that.

Although council members agreed that community bicycle policing is important, several of them objected to spending that much money on the purchase.

"We've let staff go. We’ve cut back. But yet, we’re still buying," said council vice president John Bate. "I'm just not for it."

Councilman Joseph Pampanin asked why officers can't walk sections of the trail—particularly in the area of the Cinder Banks, which he said is less accessible by vehicles.

Shupp told him that "the amount of ground that you've got to cover" would make it difficult for officers to effectively patrol the trail on foot.

He said he would also like to have bicycle police patrol the pool area during the summer, and told council he also hopes to eventually have more officers trained as bicycle officers, although the cost could be prohibitive.

"It's upwards of $1,000 for them to go to the (bicycle) school," Shupp said.

Council ultimately approved funding for the purchase of a single bike and a bike rack.

Parts from three 17-year-old bikes the department already owns will be cobbled together to create a rideable bike for the Hellertown Police Department's second bicycle officer, council agreed.

Shupp said the new custom-fitted bike will be purchased from Saucon Valley Bikes in Hellertown.