Batman felled by villains
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Photo by Alan J. Keays |
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka Staff Writer - Published: November 1, 2009
RUTLAND — Robin couldn't save Batman during the real-life drama that unfolded outside the Chaffee Art Center overnight Friday.
The larger-than-life papier-mâché rendering of Batman on the front lawn outside the center — a tribute to longtime Rutland Halloween Parade chairman Tom Fagan — was taken down by vandals sometime in the night and police are looking to nab the villains, according to Rutland police and Chaffee employees.
Police Sgt. John Sly said the vandalism was all too real — no match for a fictional sidekick.
"(Robin) must have been out partying with Batgirl," Sly joked hours after police discovered that the Batman statue was lying on its head on the lawn, severed at the knees.
"It was vandalism … not the wind," Sly said.
Pumpkins were smashed near the felled Batman, according to Chaffee Director Mary Mitiguy, and Sly said other damage was discovered in the area near the center. A cigarette receptacle at the Rutland Mental Health office at 7 Court Square was set on fire, plants were strewn in the roadway, and a torched newspaper was put in the book drop at Rutland Free Library.
Police first noticed the downed Batman at 9:45 a.m. on Halloween.
Four Rutland police officers were on duty overnight, Sly said.
All joking aside, Sly said police did catch three Rutland youths Friday night — all boys younger than 16 — in connection with the cigarette receptacle fire.
The boys were released to their parents. Alcohol wasn't a factor, Sly said.
But on Saturday with the Batman damage discovered, Sly said police would talk with the boys again.
He said police had a good starting point for the investigation and vowed to charge those responsible with felony or misdemeanor unlawful mischief, depending on the monetary value of the damage.
The Batman statue's designer, 65-year-old Steve Halford, of Rutland, had a message for the jokers who ruined his creation, six months in the making.
"The bat signal is out for the people who did this," he said.
Halford said Saturday morning that he would try to fix Batman and stand him upright again.
"That was my biggest fear, that he wouldn't make it through Cabbage Night" on Halloween eve, Halford said.
Passersby on North Main Street groaned in disappointment when they saw the fallen hero.
Chaffee volunteer Priscilla Raykoske of Wallingford said she came to the center Saturday morning hoping to see the recently installed Batman with her own eyes, but instead met disappointment.
"It's bragging rights for the other sickos," she said.
"People can just be mean."
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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