Riverside StoryWalk boards vandalized. New stories postponed until February
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, November 15th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – No good deed goes unpunished, and seemingly no community services go un-vandalized. Over this past weekend (November 9-10), the Riverside Park StoryWalk in La Grande was vandalized. Specifically, the plexiglass on seven of the twenty StoryWalk stands placed along the Riverside Park path were shattered. Due to the extent of the damage, the plexiglass cannot be repaired and will have to be fully replaced. As such, Cook Memorial Library announced via social media on November 12 that the StoryWalk will be out of service until February 2025, meaning no new stories until after the new year.
The La Grande community is seemingly not going to let the StoryWalk be taken from them, however. On November 13, the Library issued a second announcement that, only a day since the news broke, it had received an outpouring of support from the community, including numerous offers to help pay for repairs. Mackenzie Issak, Children’s Librarian for the Cook Memorial Library, told Elkhorn Media Group:
“The post got a lot of attention. Lots of people were expressing a desire to donate, to help with repair costs. We’re so excited to have received such a large response. With the story walk, we’re not able to keep statistics on how it’s used. It’s been nice to see such an outpouring of frustration at the vandalism”
Due to being tied to a specific vendor for the StoryWalk program, donations are being kept to monetary only, rather than materials or labor. As for what’s next, Mackenzie clarified that the StoryWalk normally takes a hiatus during December and January anyway due to the winter weather making upkeep difficult. The planned sponsor for the November StoryWalk has been canceled, though the library has offered them a free story for next year and is working with them on how best to proceed.
