Recent local acts of vandalism have been repaired at others’ costs and the search for vandals continues.

During the Tuesday, Oct. 21 Charleston City Council meeting, Mayor Dan Cougill addressed the defacing of public property at the Kiwanis Park Bandshell that occurred the night before the meeting and the vandalism of two local cemeteries.

Gravestones were damaged in both Chambers’ Cemetery and Old City Cemetery near the Coles County Fairgrounds along Madison Avenue.

Cougill said the bandshell was cleaned up in time for a band’s performance that night.

During the council meeting, he said the vandals are “desecrating property” and “spending taxpayers’ money” to pay for repairs.

Kiwanis Park has fallen victim to vandalism in the past, Cougill said, with three to four door handles broken last summer.

Those doors had to be replaced, costing the city several hundred dollars.

Cougill said cemetery repairs do not fall into city costs, but into the township’s hands.

“Adams’ Memorials is always good about donating time and materials to fix things,” Cougill said. Wendell Adams, owner of Adams’ Memorials, said the cemeteries were vandalized sometime before Oct. 17, when president of Chambers’ Cemetery, Jack Chambers, noticed the damages and reported the vandalism to police.

Tablet gravestones were snapped at ground level, while larger ones were knocked over.

“There were probably six or seven large stones and maybe six tablets broken,” Adams said.

Many of the bigger stones suffered little damage and could be repaired fairly inexpensively with a strong glue.

“Some of them would have to be replaced to repair,” he said. “That cost could be a great deal.”

Larger marble stones, like those located in the Old City Cemetery, could cost a couple thousand dollars to repair or replace.

“They have been repaired to the best that we can do them,” Adams said. “Everything is back up.”

For the most part, he said, no living family members of the deceased were able to see the vandalism.

“Most of the vandalized gravestones were older stones for people that have been tied in with the history of Charleston,” Adams said.

The gravestones were immediately repaired and Adams said no problems have since occurred in the cemeteries. Cougill said the Charleston Police Department is investigating the recent vandalism and said residents should report any suspicious behavior.

City Editor Carly Mullady can be reached at [email protected].