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Mountain graffiti along Hwy. 550 alarms sheriff

Vandalism plays off numeral ‘3’ and letter ‘X’

San Juan County Sheriff Bruce Conrad would like residents to report graffiti discovered on trees and rocks along U.S. Highway 550 and perhaps other roads.

There’s been an increase, after a lull, in versions of the numeral “3” and the letter “X” found in spray paint around the area, Conrad said Tuesday.

Conrad said past reports noted graffiti found from Grand Junction to Wolf Creek Pass. On one occasion, the graffiti was redone soon after it was erased, he said.

“I tend to think it’s the work of one individual, maybe a person a little deranged,” Conrad said. “I base this on the style and similarity in the figures.”

Graffiti is visibly close to the road along U.S. Highway 550 near Silverton.

“Technically, this is a Forest Service issue,” said Nancy Shanks, communications manager in Durango for the Colorado Department of Transportation. “In national forests, as in this case, we have an easement but not a right-of-way.”

Ann Bond, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service in Durango, said officials are aware of the graffiti vandal’s handiwork.

“We are going to investigate,” Bond said.

Conrad said the recent lack of new graffiti may correspond to the difficulty of navigating roads in the winter. Fresh graffiti would be a logical response to improving spring weather, he said.

“But bottom line, if some guy isn’t wearing an orange vest and driving an orange truck, he shouldn’t be spray-painting,” Conrad said, in reference to the prominent CDOT color.

daler@durangoherald.com



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