On Thursday, the morning of June 17th, a gaping hole was found in the window of 18 S. Park, made by a vandal who struck it repeatedly with a chunk of concrete. The building was vacant but under construction. Those who discovered the vandalism said that the building was not broken into, only vandalized. The building is owned by the Kante Group, and one of several projects underway for rehabilitation.
It’s at least the second time in a year that buildings on that block have sustained damage by vandals. In July of 2020, the Sapulpa Herald building next door was also the victim of vandalism and theft, when someone broke a window and stole items from the front office.
The vandalism on South Park street has other business owners calling out the lack of lighting in the area. Jonathan Dupee owns Freedom Electrical, which offices out of the Lon T. Jackson building at 26 S. Park. He says they will be installing lights on the outside of their building.
The street has at least one lamp post on its west side, but it doesn’t appear to be functioning. On a cloudy night, the only light to the area is from the streetlamp on Dewey.
Representatives with the Kante Group say they’ll also be installing lights and cameras outside the building in order to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
