Writing on the wall: Graffiti-busters aim to wipe it out in Arlington

By Douglas Buell • October 17, 2017 1:30 am
Anthany-Jay Van Volkenburg, 10 and his stepbrother Alex Nelson, 15, grabbed rollers and helped the graffiti brigade paint over tagging along a fence on 31st Avenue Oct. 8. The boys were riding by on their bikes. When they learned what the group was doing, they volunteered. Said Vikki McMurray, “I was just absolutely thrilled that young people want to be involved.”
Anthany-Jay Van Volkenburg, 10 and his stepbrother Alex Nelson, 15, grabbed rollers and helped the graffiti brigade paint over tagging along a fence on 31st Avenue Oct. 8. The boys were riding by on their bikes. When they learned what the group was doing, they volunteered. Said Vikki McMurray, “I was just absolutely thrilled that young people want to be involved.”

ARLINGTON – Almost two years ago, Vikki McMurray was on a one-woman crusade to wipe out graffiti in Arlington – one street, one fence, one building at a time.

Now she’s backed by a brigade of volunteers armed with paint cans, trays and rollers who say the writing is on the wall: They want the graffiti and the blight it creates gone from their community. Last year the Arlington Brigade’s Wipe Out Graffiti campaign launched in April included more than 50 volunteers who removed countless spots of tagging in and around Arlington. They started in Smokey Point when her group eradicated graffiti in and near York Park. They have removed graffiti in Jensen, Terrace and Twin Rivers parks, Centennial Trail and businesses in downtown Arlington and Island Crossing.

“This is my city, and it has been my honor to clean it,” McMurray said after presented with the mayor’s volunteer of the month award for September Monday.

Within hours of accepting the award, she had their next assignment: graffiti in the Eagle Heights neighborhood.

“Arlington is a more attractive, safer city because of Vikki,” Mayor Barb Tolbert said.

McMurray said she’s doing her part to make sure the community she has lived in since 1989 remains gorgeous. “I’ve seen a lot of changes, and I got tired of looking at graffiti,” she said. “I know what it means, I know what it brings, and I know what happens when you ignore it.”

So do police. “Studies show the faster you cover graffiti over, the less likely it is to return,” said Police Chief Jonathan Ventura, who has grabbed a roller and joined the wipeouts.

Under city laws, the responsible party must remove the graffiti from property within 48 hours. City officials try to notify businesses and private individuals who don’t always have the means to remove graffiti, but mostly count on voluntary compliance. If that doesn’t happen, they reach the brigade. Graffiti is a malicious mischief crime punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine if a gross misdeamor, a felony if damage exceeds $1,500.

While the group gets some support from police, like wipes for removing tagging from traffic signs, the group’s efforts depend on donations. While there is no shortage of graffiti, McMurray’s running out of paint – especially brown.

“Everybody wants brown paint for their fences,” she said. To donate, visit arlingtonwa.gov, type “graffiti” in the search window and click on the city’s PayPal account. The page also includes other helpful information.

Ventura called McMurray a treasure within the police volunteer program who give time to help.

“We plug volunteers into things they’re interested in,” he said. “Some answer phones. Some work with the K-9s. Vikki had a heart for cleaning up graffiti.”

Ventura said the graffiti is mostly the work of young taggers who want to leave their mark. In rare instances, hate graffiti linked to neo-Nazi or white power groups surface. He added that while police have seen a slight increase in gang graffiti, it hasn’t been accompanied by gang-related crime. For more, email McMurray at Anozirra24@gmail.com or text 425-343-9905.

Vikki McMurray

Vikki McMurray