Residents in Waynewood and Plymouth Haven are concerned about several incidents that occurred near their communities last Friday night. Vandals removed a sizable number of political candidate signs from yards in the 1100 block of Priscilla Lane, piled them in the street and set them afire. The blaze was discovered in Alden Road between Priscilla and Winthrop.
The large cardboard and wood pile burned to the ground before the fire department arrived. This was a case of both theft and arson which is being investigated by the police and fire marshal.
Most of the signs supported David Kennedy, who's running for the House of Delegates in the 44th District. At first Kennedy thought that the theft was specifically aimed at him and he expressed concern. Now, he's convinced that it was a random act by youngsters, and said, "I'm disappointed that this has to happen in our neighborhood."
IN WHAT APPEARS to be a related incident, several vehicles of teens congregated in the vicinity of 1125/1126 Priscilla and attempted to ignite a pile of brush in the street with some type of incendiary device they had trouble lighting. When neighbors approached, the vehicles drove off. Two of the vehicles were identified as an older model Mercedes diesel sedan˜white or a light color, and an older model blue Chevrolet minivan with a hatchback from which they were trying to launch the fire starter.
Kent Siegel, Waynewood Neighborhood Watch, said, "Be alert for suspicious activity in the streets in the vicinity of brush or leaf piles. Because there is still much uncollected brush lining our streets as a result of [Hurricane] Isabel, and it has gotten very dry with scant rainfall, there is lot of fuel available to would-be arsonists. To avoid possible vehicle fires, keep some separation between brush piles and vehicles."
One of the neighbors was so disturbed about the event that she called Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland's office. The neighbor, who did not want to be identified, explained that she had originally been told that the brush would be picked up by October 13, but that the pickup date was pushed back another week. Hyland's office was disturbed about the arson attempt on the brush piles, and called the county scheduler, who said that all special pickup dates had been scrapped since there were so many streets to be covered and that the county was going neighborhood to neighborhood, depending on the quantity of brush needed to be picked up. When told about the attempted burning of the brush, the scheduler promised Hyland's office that she would put the Waynewood and Plymouth Haven neighborhoods at the head of the list.
Anybody with information about either of these events should call the non-emergency number, 703-691-2131.