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Vandals yank blueberry bushes in Union Hill
11/21/2011 10:07 AM by John M
@rlelves Vandals pulled 10 blueberry plants last night, planted by @green_unity volunteers & local kids contact @rlelves with info
It’s wrong. It’s stupid. It’s criminal. I have to believe that the vandals a)don’t have a clue about Rachel Elves and how hard she works/how much she loves her neighborhood and b)have no idea that the blueberries where planted by children. I tell myself “oh, the vandals probably thought they were just ripping up some RRHA landscaping plants.” I have to believe that…otherwise, I too would give up on this neighborhood. And I’m not gonna.
I just have to ask why anyone would do that.
People who do things like this should be shipped to Guantanamo Bay and treated like terrorists. Harsh? I think not:)
Thanks for everyone’s support. Apparently all 16 plants were yanked completely out and lying on the sidewalk this morning. My awesome neighbors James and Barbara knew how upset I’d be, so they put them back in the ground before I had a chance to see all the damage. The plants have all been tamped down and well watered, so hopefully they’ll be OK. We’ll be having another garden work day Sat. December 3rd, 1-3pm (meet at corner of O St. and 20th St.) if anyone wants to help finish mulching and edging the area.
YouTube video of the area vandalized:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAF1SrKsaKk
I think this means we need to plant more gardens! Get people to take pride in their neighborhood again, and they wouldn’t even think of pulling a stunt like this.
Rachel, this might not work, but have you thought about putting up a sign saying something about these were planted by neighborhood children who are looking forward to seeing them produce berries in the spring? I know, vandals probably don’t take the time to read but it’s just a thought. Good luck with the project!
Does this kind of thing happen a lot in the neighborhood? I remember the story about the fruit trees earlier this year. Is there a roving band of fruit-haters in UH?
crd, my guess is that they never mastered the art of reading.
Rachel,
Kerri O’Brien with 8News here, I would like to help you out. Share what happened and let people know about the garden work day coming up. Can you give me a call this afternoon here at the station at 330-8815.
Thanks!
@crd – thanks – I have thought on and off about putting up a sign. I know an artist, so maybe she could help us do something nice with reclaimed wood (on the cheap!)
@Amy – we have planted about 15 small gardens or so in the area, and we’ve actually been pretty lucky. A few plants stolen, but we know who it was and they won’t do it again. Funny, but stealing plants bothers me less than vandalism, because at least the plants are going to good use in a neighborhood that needs them.
@Kerri – thanks for your and Tony’s help in promoting the Union Hill Garden project. If the blueberry plants survive and we get more volunteers out to help, I guess that’s the silver lining.
Makes me feel sorry for someone who would do something like this. How sad is your life that you have to ruin someone else’s beautiful work? And kids work no less? Plus they or someone else came back and pulled out one of the plants again. My neighbors and I are now on plant watch – no one is going to sneeze on those plants without us knowing.
#7 chpnfan, yea I sort of figure that, too…sadly. Or if they did master it, it’s selective reading and a sign wouldn’t make any difference.
Glad to hear Channel 8 is getting involved, hope Rachel gets in touch with them and gets some good press from them!
I just don’t *get* the senseless boredom people must have to do that. I don’t think it’s malice; it’s not having anything better to do.
You said people STOLE the plants??? Really??? Jeez-Louise! That’s pretty rude too. I’d be mad.
Thanks again Kerri! For those of you who missed it:
http://www.wric.com/global/Category.asp?c=190525&clipId=6479807&topVideoCatNo=92150&autoStart=true
Somebody keeps coming back and pulling one of the plants out of the ground. At least it’s only one this time – they’re getting lazier :-p If anyone sees people messing around near the plants please knock on my door (871 N 22ND) or call the local police. If they keep pulling plants out they won’t survive the Winter.
#11 – I was really mad when I saw someone had been stealing plants last year. But after talking to them and letting them know to just ask me for plants instead of taking them, we didn’t have many problems after that.
rachel ,for all you do THIS buds for you!thanks for walking the walk. the smiles on those kids faces when they see you in your planting mode are not be missed. thanks for showing the neighborhood a better way.
Unfortunately, there are people in our community who resent law-abiding, productive citizens openly engaging in activities that improve the quality of life for residents of the East End.
Especially if the improving activities put a few more non-criminal eyeballs on the street.
Over the years, myself and many of my neighbors, have been ridiculed and hostilely harassed by drug dealers and prostitutes as we planted trees, picked up litter and tended the sidewalk tree wells.
We’d be rich as Croesus if we had a nickle for everytime the open air drug market suddenly shut down when we came out to pull weeds or pick-up trash from the sidewalk.
When saplings get ripped apart, plants uprooted, and edgings get torn out, it’s not hard to blame it on the criminals who ply their trade in the public right of way. Sometimes, of course, it’s just a random bad apple/drunk guy/or individual having a bad week who causes the damage.
The good news is that over time, the pace and intensity of the vandalism diminishes as the thugs accept the fact that we’ll keep re-planting/picking up litter and re-building, regardless of their intimidation.
hey elaine maybe you could stop painting the neighborhood as us or them. maybe your bullshit is promoting racial divides. people like rachel do stuff without judgement. you should give it a try . your memories of your epic struggle get funnier the farther away from reality they get!
Buddy, you are the one pulling the race card here and I’m not picking it up. And FYI, there are people who have the same skin color as mine involved in the open-air drug trade around the corner. Come ask my black neighbors (some with with kids,) how they feel about the drug/prostitution trade on the corner. Maybe you would think differently about what you posted, and maybe even retract it?
Buddy, you and I have disagreed about neighborhood issues in the past, but I don’t think we disagree about why it’s a good thing to plant trees/shrubs/flowers/community gardens in our neighborhood.
However, civil discourse and open conversations about disagreements is a natural part of being a community. We can discuss things without calling people names and making divisive accusations.
Elaine, don’t worry about him. As a middle aged white male, he has no idea what it is like to be an African American living in Richmond.
I thought your post was right on track. When I think of of the word thug, I think of any person selling drugs, stealing, or committing crime. There is no one race that personifies this word. I think we can all agree the the thugs are not wanted in the east end.
Oh jeez, someone used the “t—” word again. Open the floodgates for the apologist crowd…
Haven’t you guys learned that those kids are not “t—s”, they are actually model citizens discussing solutions to complex world problems. The packages they hand off to folks are small scrolls with classic novels written on them.
Stereotyping racists. Nevermind that you said nothing about their race. We know that you are. And it’s not racist of us to assume that your bad words are directed at a certain race even though we have no idea which people you were referring to. You see we are special like that.
Hopefully that saved some of the usual suspects some typing and I covered the public flogging that is required for using the “t—” word. 😉
Buddy, et al.: Let’s cut the nonsense. As I’m sure you may know, many of “us” have moved up to the Hill with open minds and open hearts…which often leaves us open for, well, disappointment. I do not think that any of us are naive enough to not accept the fact that there is criminal activity (you name it: drugs, larceny, vandalism, etc.) in our neighborhood; that there are folks, many of whom were here before (and probably after) us, who just don’t give a damn. Then why is it so surprising/appalling that someone has pulled harmless, beautiful blueberry bushes out of the ground, for an example – to destroy the good deeds of others. It’s because “they” can, it’s because “they” choose to. Somehow it always gets twisted into an “us” vs. “them” proposition. But to simplify it into racial terms is purely idiotic. I don’t really care what race the perpetrators are, all I know is that I’m not like “them” and I can sleep at night knowing that I’m the opposite of them. And when I wake tomorrow, I will again endeavor to preserve, nurture, and somehow try to brighten my neighborhood, for this is the only way I can rid myself of, well, the disappointment.