Vandals hit Red Cross again

WASILLA -- For the third time since July, vandals have damaged a vehicle at the American Red Cross office in Wasilla.

Two tires on the agency's disaster emergency response vehicle were slashed Monday night, said Tanya Larrabee, programs manager for the Red Cross' Mat-Su branch.

It follows an incident over Labor Day weekend in which rocks were thrown against the windshields of the emergency vehicle and a Red Cross mini-van.

"They threw a small boulder at least the size of a honeydew melon," Larrabee said.

In late July, four tires on the emergency vehicle were slashed and a window screen was ripped open.

The mini-van, which is used often, had its windshield repaired just last week. All of the vandalism has occurred at the Red Cross office at 262 E. Nelson St. Larrabee said there's no fenced area there to protect the vehicles but Wasilla Police Chief Don Savage is allowing the mini-van to be kept at the police department parking lot.

"I don't know how permanent it will be," Savage said. "We'll test it out."

Savage, a member of the Red Cross leadership council, said there's no explaining what prompted the attacks.

"I feel that way about all vandalism," he said. "It baffles me why people want to do this."

Larrabee estimates damage to the mini-van in the three incidents at about $1,000. The emergency vehicle's windshield costs $275 to replace, she said.

"That's just taking money away that needs to be used for other things," Larrabee said.

The emergency rig has no drugs inside, she emphasized. Instead, there are blankets and other such items. The vehicle was last used in November 2002 at Mentasta for disaster relief for earthquake victims.

Larrabee hopes Valley residents will be on the lookout for suspicious activity near the Red Cross office.

"Maybe like a neighborhood watch program," she said. "It doesn't seem like this is going to stop."