Cooper center vandalized
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SENTINEL FILE PHOTO - The J.W. Cooper Center in Shenandoah.
SHENANDOAH – The J.W. Cooper Center, the former Shenandoah Valley High School, was vandalized Tuesday, the organization said in a Facebook post Wednesday night.
Neighbors notified the center that windows had been broken, and roofers working at the center found graffiti on multiple floors of the building.
“It has been a few years since the last time anything was destroyed or stolen, and thankfully no serious damage was caused this time,” the center said in a Facebook post. “The graffiti can easily be painted over and the uniforms that were tossed can be cleaned and equipment/tools repaired.”
The center added a plea to the vandals:
“Before someone thinks about breaking a window or prying a door open, please consider:
1) The Food Bank is free to everyone and even available 24 hours a day for emergency purposes, thus no need to break in and steal food; just give us a call.
2) If you feel you must break a window, we’ll gladly point one out to you one that will be replaced soon and let you throw a brick at it. Unfortunately, 70 new glass pane have been vandalized since being replaced over the past 8 years.
3) If you like to display your artistic ability via graffiti, we’ll gladly supply you with paint and equipment and let you choose a room yet to be painted and let you enjoy yourself.
4) The USMB, SV Band, Drama Club and other groups store uniforms, equipment, props and other items in the Center hoping the community will respect their property. Please, if you must damage an item, leave theirs alone and focus your aggression on the property being repaired.”
The Cooper Center project has been working to restore the former J.W. Cooper High School, the primary high school for the former Shenandoah School District from 1918 until 1967 and the current Shenandoah Valley School District from then until 1982, when the current high school on the west end was built.
From then until 1994, the building was the Shenandoah Valley Elementary Center.
Kent Steinmetz purchased the building nearly a decade ago, creating the J.W. Cooper Center organization to lead the effort to restore the Shenandoah landmark.
In the Facebook post Wednesday night, the center was asking for donations to help defray the cost of repairs.
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