Ultimatum to guilty parties

Vandals wreak havoc in magnificent herb garden

In a herb garden (symbolic image) in the Pielach Valley, hooligans gave free rein to their destructive rage.

(Bild: Jennifer Kapellari)

A lovingly tended natural paradise in the Pielach Valley was spared by floods but vandalized by hooligans. The mayor of the municipality of Weinburg addresses the perpetrators directly.

"They even broke off the leg of our herb fairy and tore off an arm! In addition, the lovingly designed signs identifying our rare flora were torn out and flower troughs were also destroyed", describes Weinburg's mayor Michael Strasser in horror. What also annoys him immensely is that the previously beautiful square in front of Melissa's herb hut was littered with smashed bottles and broken glass when the site was inspected - local residents had raised the alarm.

I appeal to those responsible for the damage to the herb garden to come forward so that I can refrain from pressing charges.

Bürgermeister Michael Strasser

"It is a great pity about the passion and idealism that other young people and the guardians of the herb garden have put into the careful design of this natural paradise," Strasser regrets. Nonetheless, the SPÖ representative wants to give the as yet unknown vandals from the village, who were probably drunk at the time of the crime, a chance to repent. If they come forward, the head of the village will refrain from pressing charges at the police station in Obergrafendorf: "What happened in the wake of the flood disaster is no trivial offense. After all, the public has to bear the consequences of the damage caused." And with a certain amount of understanding: who hasn't done something stupid as a youngster ...