‘Violated.’ ‘Angry.’ Emotions over vandalism run high

PORT ANGELES – School officials picked through trashed Port Angeles High School buildings Saturday afternoon, expressing shock and disbelief.

Port Angeles police finished their investigation at about 2:30 p.m. and turned the campus over to Harker and his staff for cleaning.

“Like anybody else, I’ve had the whole range of emotion,” Harker said.

“Violated. Angry. At some point you realize you have to get past that and think of what has to be done.”

“My mind is boggled,” said Cindy Crumb, the high school’s career and technical director and the principal at Lincoln alternative high school.

“Who would do something like this?” she asked.

The night before, the campus had been busy as people watched the Barra MacNeils, a Celtic family group, perform in the auditorium.

The performance was over several hours before the vandalism was discovered.

By the next morning, another group of people were arriving at the school, this time students who were volunteering for a monthly event called Super Saturday.

About 60 students had signed up to come to school on a day off to clean classrooms and groom the landscaping.

Along with Debbie Lane and Lisa Joslin, Crumb stood in front of the crime scene tape at about 10 a.m., telling students who arrived for Super Saturday that it had been canceled.

Standing in front of the crime tape, the women smelled the damp ash inside the building.

“I’m glad no one got hurt,” Crumb said.

“Stuff can be replaced.”

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