By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Shotgun shots all but destroyed the concrete memorial
near Delta dedicated to Japanese-Americans interned in a
camp there following Pearl Harbor 60 years ago.
Juab County Sheriff David Carter said those who have
any information on the vandalism which took place at the
Topaz Monument site are asked to contact the sheriff's
office at (435) 623-1344.
A shooter, or shooting party, obliterated the Topaz
Monument in Juab County, on November 10, leaving
unrecognizable the words that told of more than 10,0000
Japanese-American citizens who were imprisoned in their own
country during World War II.
"The monument has been shot at through the years,"
said Jane Beckwith, an English teacher at Delta High School
and curator of the museum that looks after the monument.
Those who visit the West Desert of Juab County, for
any reason, are asked to respect the monument as well as
traffic signs they find located along the roadways.
Keeping the signs in the area in good repair is almost
an impossibility. For some reason, people enjoy using signs
as targets while they are out hunting. However, the act of
shooting such targets is considered, by law, an act of
vandalism.
"This was a total disregard for public property," said
Carter.
Beckwith has other concerns, as well. It is not only
shooting at the monument that is defacing the historic
site.
"But now people are doing something much more
malicious (than shooting)," said Beckwith. "They're prying
off the plaques from the monument and throwing them into the
weeds."
|
