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Graffiti-free city a welcome oddity

A search for graffiti that came up empty in Coatesville was so perplexing that a Downingtown woman reportedly stopped into City Hall to find out why.

A search for graffiti that came up empty in Coatesville was so perplexing that a Downingtown woman reportedly stopped into City Hall to find out why.

She told officials that her son had been doing a school project on street drawings and scrawlings, a study that required her to drive him from Berwyn to Coatesville. The absence of any graffiti in the city prompted her to seek an explanation, and she was referred to Coatesville Police Officer Rodger H. Ollis Jr., a proud member of Coatesville's premier graffiti-busting team.

When Ollis spoke with the woman, he explained why the group works tirelessly to give graffiti the brush off, efforts the woman found impressive.
Ollis responded by sharing the woman's compliments in an email to fellow members of the cleanup crew: "Phone calls like the one I just had wouldn't be possible without people like you. Thank you for all of your work and dedication. We have accomplished amazing things in a short period of time. Our work has been noticed in Coatesville and now other people from other towns are taking notice as well."

No need for a whitewash: Color this a positive step toward community  revitalization.