Cleanup in the works for damaged war memorial in Merced

Restoring the damaged war memorial at Courthouse Park in Merced will take likely take more time and patience than money, county officials acknowledged Tuesday.

Mike North, Merced County spokesman, said the county met with a monument expert Tuesday who said the damage could be cleaned off using “sandpaper techniques” to essentially grind away the spray paint stains. “The stone can be restored without being replaced,” North said. “It may also require an acid wash and need repainting.”

North said the county won’t need to spend any extra money to fix the damage.

“The only costs will be those associated with staff time for the park department employees,” North said.

Vandals attacked the World War II side of the memorial sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning. No arrests have been made, the Merced County Sheriff’s Department reported.

The memorial in Courthouse Park displays the names of Merced County men and women who died in wartime.

Sgt. Delray Shelton said community volunteers attempted to clean off the black paint Saturday afternoon, but dark stains from the graffiti remain visible.

Work crews from the Merced County Parks and Recreation Department will clean up the stains, but when the work can start is unclear, according to Bryan Behn, the department’s deputy director.

“For the best results, we need dry conditions and the fog and moisture we’ve been having are not the ideal conditions,” Behn said Tuesday. “Hopefully the weather will cooperate in the next few weeks and we’ll get started.”

Behn said staff time spent on the cleanup will pull work crews away from other projects already in the works.

County officials acknowledged the finished product “won’t look brand new” but were confident the stains could be removed.

Detective Sgt. Chuck Hale said detectives are still following up on leads and hoping someone will step forward with information.

This story was originally published January 13, 2015 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Cleanup in the works for damaged war memorial in Merced."