When it comes to graffiti, sometimes it can be an eyesore.
One local painting company said enough is enough and decided to take things into their own hands.
“We have this small town,” said the S and C Painting Solutions owner, Andrew Soriano. “It’s beautiful. I’ve loved it here. I grew up in a small town in Arizona, so it reminded me of wanting to keep it clean and how Bend is supposed to be.”
Soriano says an idea came to him after his mother came to visit. As he showed her around, they noticed graffiti. Soriano thought to himself, I should do something.
“I love art, I love to paint, and I love graffiti,” he said. “It’s awesome and has a time and place. Murals are amazing, but, you know, when it’s on something that it’s not supposed to be there. I just thought, well, I have guys and access to paint that we can get donated, I’m sure. And so, the idea was, well, we could just paint our town.”
Soriano says all you have to do to get involved if you see graffiti on your property is reach out to S and C Painting Solution on social media or its website, and they will see what they can do.
“It’s all free,” he said. “We don’t charge the owner or anything. We just need to get the color that they want or the color of the building, which is permission to be there, and you know, in some cases, HOA permission, and we go, and we take care of it.”
The City of Bend says city staff will remove graffiti in the public right-of-way or on the City of Bend property. When it is reported to Code Enforcement or through Bend Works, staff evaluate and remove the situation, depending on the location and if the graffiti contains any derogatory words. The City also partners with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, which runs a graffiti removal program.
Reporting graffiti depends on the situation. If the graffiti is on the City of Bend Property, it can be reported through Bend Works.
If it is on private property, it can be reported to Code Enforcement here: bendoregon.gov/codeenforcement.
Soriano believes the locals are also responsible for keeping Central Oregon and its beauty alive and thriving.
“If we can do it and we have the people to do it, and the time and the access to the materials to make it happen, I feel like everybody’s got a responsibility when they live in this town to do the best they can to make it look great,” he said.
The Paint the Town program removes graffiti through the S and C painting solutions for all of Central Oregon.
Though busy with its clients, the company is trying to do its part to help clean up when possible.
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