When Potomac Community Center Director Linda Barlock arrived for work on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 26, she saw the worst vandalism the building has sustained in its 20-year history.
“It was horrible,” said Barlock. “I drove through the parking lot at 7:30 in the morning. … As a habit I always look at the sign.”
A hole was smashed through Plexiglas surface of the sign, which sustained several other dents and cracks. The letterboard on the interior of the sign was also shattered.
After reporting the incident to county police, Barlock and the police had the same conclusion — “They had to have taken a bat to the sign,” said Barlock.
Barlock put in a work order with the county to repair the damage, but is unsure when the county will be able to replace the sign.
“The Community Center is so well supported by this community and so many people use it, which makes it such a shame that somebody did this senseless act of vandalism,” Barlock said.