The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

- i Milton's Community Newspaper Since 1860 Weekend Edition OAuto GlassNEWS -hc Man found guilty ~78MMNT 1~inf tree-cutting case 781 MAI S #1&2 S PO0R TS Jr. B lacrosse returns to Milton A &E Juno-winning Blues artist here A etolndPuliaton* ol 17No 1 FidyApil21 2065 Pae -m $1 ic. .*-T. Cemetery vandals mar chilldren's gravesites GRAHAM PAINtE/ CANADIAN CHAMPION dlown the Evergreen Cemetery vandals. I4k!ruuET r By Stephanie Thiessen CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF A smasbed statue, sbaîîered lamps and general disarray is the recent baud- iwork of vaudals ai Milton Evergreeu Cemetery Twice in a span of tbree days ibis week, the Ontario Street resîing place bas suffered damage, said cemetery sec- reiarv-treasurer Jim Strain. And be bas a message for tbe guilîv parties. "Tbiik about \vbat you're doîng. Suppose ibis was your moîber, brother or [aiber,- be urged. Mucb of the damage was to chîl- dren's gravesîtes, wbîcb makes the damage seem ail tbe more unibinkable, be said. "To have kids comc and vaudalizc offlci lods'graves is hc\-ond me. Thbe problems -îtaiicd sometime beforc Saturdav altcinoon, wbeu about a dozen solar lamps xserc discovered smasbed, targeîed by air guns, Sîrain saîd. Ibmn, Tuesday mommig, be uoîiced vandals bad taken a statue and smasbed an addîîional dozen or so lamps and Lent soîne shephercls' rods [rom wbicb lamps and flower arrangements bang, Sîrain said. "Tbey not only smasbed tbe stuif, îbey tbrew it aIl over tbe bilI," be said. Tbe total value of tbe damage is about $500. Sîraîn saîd tLic lasi incident of van- dalîsm to ibis extent was six or seven vears ago. "You always get people sîealing îbings (fromt the sites), but typically vandalism tan't prevalent in Milton," be said. The area along Sixteen Mile (reek, wbîch us along tbe wesî side of the cemetery, bas long sînce aîîracîed ques- tionable bebaviour, Sîrain said, adding be's found a lot of drug paraphemalia iu the area. Det. Sgt. Peter Hodgson o[ Halton Regional Police said be wasn't aware of a drug issue in ibis specîfie ares, but added ils common with any park or cemetery for alcohol or drugs to some- times be consumed. He confirmed that although vandal- ism has occasionally occurred at Evergreen Cemetery it hasn'î been to ibis magnitude, and said officers will he keeping a close eye on the area. There's a good chance police will [mnd the culprits, he said, because resi- dents are outraged by ibis sort of crime and usually corne [orward. "We usually get a good response from the community and hope thatîIl be the case here," he said. The cemetery board bas heen work- mng bard in recent years to discourage vanilals. Two years ago, a fence was installed lrom tbe creek to Ontario St. Soutb in an effort to separate people banging outitn the area [rom people vis- itng their loved ones graves, Sîrain said. The fence is eigbî feet btgb, îopped swith barbed %vire. But vandals bave cul large holes tnto the fence iwice, he said. Other securiiy options bave been explored by the board, like a surround- *see POUCE omi page Al 5 Today's Gbampion OPINION A6 CiAsswIFR A25 DATEINE B6 RELAL ESTATE B9 www.haltorisearch.com www.miltontoyota.com GORRUD'S AUTO G& i 0 www.go)rrucsautogroup.corn