Three Lakes Park reopens after racist graffiti is removed

Henrico County reopened Three Lakes Park yesterday morning after repairing damage by vandals who defaced the park with racist and anti-Semitic graffiti.

"We've never had damage to a park site this extensive," said Karen Mier, director of Henrico's Department of Parks and Recreation.

Three Lakes was the fifth location and the third park in recent weeks to be targeted by vandals who have spray-painted racist and anti-Semitic language and symbols in the Richmond area.

At Three Lakes, vandals struck between late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning, marking the park's nature center, restrooms, fences, picnic tables, signs, asphalt trails, bridge decking and the concrete flooring of shelters, park officials said.

But Henrico wasted no time in cleaning it up. Most of the graffiti was power-washed or painted away by 6 p.m. Tuesday, and workers returned early yesterday for some final touchup at the park at 400 Sausiluta Drive in northern Henrico.

"When you have that kind of extensive damage . . . the one thing you want to do is to clean it up as quickly as possible," said Mier, who has been with the parks department 32 years. "It took a lot of individuals from different crews, plus we had to bring in a contractor because power-washing had to be done as well as painting."

Mier said the total cleanup cost wasn't immediately available.

Wanda Girtain and Barbara Duncan, employees of painting contractors W.W. Enroughty & Son, were busy yesterday rolling a second coat of paint inside a restroom near the park's entrance. Duncan said vandals left racist slurs and messages disparaging President Barack Obama on several walls.

Lt. Eric Owens, a Henrico police spokesman, said the graffiti throughout the park contained racist and anti-Semitic language and imagery, as well as "threats or threatening language towards President Obama."

Similar graffiti appeared Sept. 11 on buildings in Bryan Park in Richmond. Additionally, vandals struck the Bellevue area of the city off Hermitage Road and in Oregon Hill near Hollywood Cemetery. On Oct. 3, vandals tagged Forest Hill Park, spraying graffiti of anti-Semitic and racist symbols.

No arrests have been made in any of the cases.

Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or .