Dinosaur thoughts
Just wanted to take a quick break from BQP blogging to recap the dinosaur vandalism issue.
Good job to the DPD for investigating this, finding the dino's head and the vandals. It would have been very easy to let this slide, reasoning that there are more important issues in Durham. (And there certainly are.)
Mixed feelings, on the other hand, towards the Museum of Life and Science. Their initial reaction, that the old dinosaur was not going to be restored, has been walked back a bit, and a meeting is scheduled with activists from the Northgate Park neighborhood to discuss options for the dinosaur. Their reluctance to press charges against the vandals, while understandable on some level, also didn't resonate well with a lot of the community. I've had some off the record conversations with museum staffers, and i get where they're coming from. As well, the service levels that they are going to ask the perps to perform are a bit more than "come in on a Saturday afternoon and pick up some trash in the parking lot." What they're considering is more like a year long part time job, with the possibility of severe consequences if the commitment isn't kept. The main thing that's still missing, in my mind and in the minds of many folks in town, is the apology to the community by the vandals. We don't get why their identities are being sheltered.
Again, it's not the biggest deal in town right now, but it's an opportunity that i don't think is being taken full advantage of.
Good job to the DPD for investigating this, finding the dino's head and the vandals. It would have been very easy to let this slide, reasoning that there are more important issues in Durham. (And there certainly are.)
Mixed feelings, on the other hand, towards the Museum of Life and Science. Their initial reaction, that the old dinosaur was not going to be restored, has been walked back a bit, and a meeting is scheduled with activists from the Northgate Park neighborhood to discuss options for the dinosaur. Their reluctance to press charges against the vandals, while understandable on some level, also didn't resonate well with a lot of the community. I've had some off the record conversations with museum staffers, and i get where they're coming from. As well, the service levels that they are going to ask the perps to perform are a bit more than "come in on a Saturday afternoon and pick up some trash in the parking lot." What they're considering is more like a year long part time job, with the possibility of severe consequences if the commitment isn't kept. The main thing that's still missing, in my mind and in the minds of many folks in town, is the apology to the community by the vandals. We don't get why their identities are being sheltered.
Again, it's not the biggest deal in town right now, but it's an opportunity that i don't think is being taken full advantage of.
Labels: Durham, local crime
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3 Comments:
Would minors be afforded the protection of anonymity?
By
Dwight, at 4:26 PM
I haven't heard that they were minors. The rumor is that it was a senior prank, so it's likely that they are over 18.
By
Barry, at 4:33 PM
The neighborhood association meeting went very well. We had Dusty Wescott, son of Bronty's creator, with some history and great pictures, and Julie Rigby, VP External Relations at the Museum, discussing some options and asking for comments. Also present, Joe Colopy, CEO of Bronto Software, whose company has pledged money toward the restoration. We split into groups to talk about what it means to us, what we want to happen, and how funds could be raised. I'll leave the details for others to fill in, but there's interest and enthusiasm -- stay tuned!
By
LeftyX, at 9:34 PM
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