Van belonging to Jacksonville senior center vandalized
JACKSONVILLE, Ark. – Property belonging to a senior center in Jacksonville was vandalized last week and it isn’t the first time, but they hope it is the last.
Tonya Kopp is the executive director for Jacksonville Senior Wellness and Activity Center and said places like the center are a haven for seniors.
“Our center for some people is the highlight of their day, it is the only place they go,” Kopp said.
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Kopp said she was shocked when she saw surveillance video from last Tuesday of a man going on their property and then vandalizing one of their Meals on Wheels vans.
“Somebody came and punctured a hole through the fuel tank and drained the gas out, which obviously we couldn’t drive the vehicle because the fuel tank was damaged,” Kopp said.
Kopp said the man in the video came back several more times with large jugs to drain more gas out of the vehicle. She said the damage was close to $2000 but it’s not the money they were impacted by.
“We serve about 200 members in Jacksonville, Sherwood and northern Pulaski County,” Kopp said.
Sadly, Kopp said this is not the first time the center’s property, which is an nonprofit and serves free to the seniors, has been damaged.
“The catalytic converters were cut off our buses, most recently they tried to take the catalytic converters off the bus but they couldn’t get to it, so they just cut the whole exhaust system off and pulled the whole exhaust system off the bus. That was about $5000 to fix,” Kopp said.
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Kopp said the police are still looking for the person responsible in this latest crime involving the Meals on Wheels van. But she also has a message from them that she wants to share.
“Sometimes you have to think about what you are doing and how it’s not only impacting one person but an entire community of people,” Kopp said.
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