Tulsa's Graffiti Vandals

Some call graffiti art, but the city of Tulsa says it's plain and simple vandalism. That hasn't stopped a rash of graffiti from spreading in Tulsa. <br/><br/>News on 6 anchor Scott Thompson says

Tuesday, June 20th 2006, 9:55 am

By: News On 6

Some call graffiti art, but the city of Tulsa says it's plain and simple vandalism. That hasn't stopped a rash of graffiti from spreading in Tulsa.

News on 6 anchor Scott Thompson says city crews who clean up graffiti are busy year-round. But they say things heat up in the summer.

Right now, the crew has 200 locations on a waiting list. The most vandalized area of the city is downtown. There is graffiti on power poles, street signs, vehicles and buildings. Downtown gets top priority in graffiti removal, but the city says that doesn't stop vandals from coming back the very next day to repaint their graffiti.

Tulsa has just one 2-man crew to cover the entire city. The job's made easier by a high-tech sensor that measures light waves, and can accurately match nearly any paint color. Floyd Emery with the city of Tulsa Public Worksâ€™ Department: "It's just mixing paint at one of your hardware stores; we do the same thing they do. We have a state-of-the-art system. We just mix the paint, make the match, paint over it, and on down the road we go again."

If you've spotted graffiti where you live or work you can click on the cityâ€™s website and report the vandalism.