Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Litter and Graffiti Are Targets of Volunteers With Bags and Brushes

Volunteers bearing trash bags and paint brushes will descend upon a Canyon Country neighborhood Saturday for a cleanup sponsored by a local citizens group.

Litter and graffiti are the targets at Canyon High School, Sierra Vista Junior High School, North Oaks Park and other areas around Whites Canyon Road. The event is organized by United Mothers of Santa Clarita.

The group formed two years ago and includes about 25 people who participate in community activities and try to foster better communication between local officials and Newhall’s Hispanic community. Some members are involved in Santa Clarita’s Anti-Gang Task Force and others help provide translation services for law enforcement here.

“We decided as one of our projects we want to pick a part of the city every three or four months and clean it up,” said member Maria Fulkerson. “Our main purpose is to help out in the community.”

At their last cleanup, organizers found themselves with the odd problem of having too little graffiti to keep 60 volunteers busy for a few hours. Participants resorted to planting trees, picking up litter and painting a flood control channel to cover mismatched paint blotches used to hide earlier graffiti.

Kevin Tonoian, who coordinates anti-graffiti efforts for the city, said Saturday’s event doesn’t mean vandalism has become more frequent in Santa Clarita.

“This cleanup is more of a beautification effort in the Whites Canyon area than a graffiti cleanup,” said Tonoian. “Graffiti is really a secondary issue for this event.”

Vandals have caused about $65,000 in damage in 563 graffiti incidents between January and October, Tonoian said. Barring a flurry of illegal activity during the next month, Santa Clarita won’t approach the $161,000 in damage caused in 1,097 incidents during all of 1993.

“I think those numbers really speak for themselves,” Tonoian said.

Volunteers are scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Boys and Girls Club at Sierra Vista Junior High School, 19425 Stillmore St.