Vandals deface Tull bridge with graffiti
By ROBERT SHEARON News editor

GRAFFITI Days after being repainted to cover graffiti, vandals struck again, defacing the Tull Bridge.

Graffiti is costing the county some serious money.

County Judge Lanny Fite said recently the problem was so severe at the Ray Overlook on Arkansas 5 that the county had to finally shut it down — after spending $40,000 over a seven-year period to keep the graffiti covered up.

Now vandals have turned to the Tull Bridge. The 300- foot bridge was completed in 2006. It is at the Grant/Saline county line on Highway 291. Vandals started painting on it immediately, said Fite.

Using prisoners from the county jail, the bridge was repainted about three weeks ago at a cost of about $1,600. "Last week they started spray-painting it up again."

Unlike the overlook, closing the bridge is not an option. "I don't know the answer," said Fite. "I don't want to leave it looking the way it looks, be we can't go out every month or so and spend $1,600 to repaint it."

He said the Tull Bridge is the only bridge that has persistent problems with graffiti. "It's isolated. People can see cars coming from either direction for a long ways," he said, explaining its allure to vandals.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Bill Field said the department is aware of the situation and plans to increase patrols in an effort to catch someone in the act of spray-painting the bridge.

Tull Mayor Frank Gilbert said he appreciates the county's effort to clean up the bridge's appearance. "It gave us a fresh start," he said, calling the new graffiti, "a crying shame."

Gilbert said that since Tull is small community, "you know who some of the kids are." But, he said, "You know things you can't do anything about."

The only way the culprits will be caught, Gilbert said, "is for some good Samaritan to come forward with some good information."