News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Center of Charity Director Christina Kihn and Center of Charity staff member Shelli Price chat outside of St. Bernard Church and the All Saints Center of Charity on Monday in downtown Alpena.

ALPENA — At a place that seeks to help the Alpena community, Center of Charity Director Christina Kihn is troubled by a few recent instances of vandalism at St. Bernard Church.

On Monday, Kihn discovered dog feces on the stairs of St. Bernard Church next to the All Saints Center of Charity.

Last Thursday, they found graffiti of a profanity written on the side of the church, she said.

“We were dumbfounded by why somebody would ever do that, desecrate a church,” Kihn said.

The graffitti has proved difficult to clean up. Kihn said they tried a couple of different chemicals to remove it as well as spraying it with a pressure washer, but the profanity written on the church is still visible, although faded.

“We just don’t know why it happened, or who would ever want to do that to a church,” she said. “It wasn’t done at the Center of Charity. It was done to our church, so it’s very hurtful.”

One of the men that stays at the Center of Charity helped clean up the dog feces, Kihn said.

“He felt really horrible for what somebody did,” she said. “So he actually volunteered to help clean that up, and that was very sweet of him to do.”

They’ve never had anything like this happen before, although about a year-and-a-half ago, they had some luminaries taken. The situation was cleared up and there was nothing malicious, she said.

Kihn said she got in contact with law enforcement when they discovered the graffiti and dog feces, but since they don’t have cameras, there is no evidence of who committed the acts.

“It looks like we’re going to have to get cameras here shortly, or at least as soon as I can raise funds for it,” Kihn said.

She would rather not have cameras on the premises, but it seems it might be necessary now.

“We just really hope that whoever’s doing this stops immediately … If they need any mental health help, or if they need any substances help, or any help at all, we’re here to help … and the Catholic Church, they reach out to everyone because they love everybody,” she said.

Alpena Police Chief Eric Hamp said that as far as they know, the situation at St. Bernard is an isolated incident.

In Hamp’s experience, it is not uncommon for there to be multiple reports of graffiti at once. Those incidents usually come in numbers, he said. There have not been any recent issues with graffiti in Alpena.

To prevent vandalism or destruction of property at your home or business, try to keep your property well lit, Hamp said. He also suggested purchasing security cameras which can help law enforcement identify a suspect.

If you see suspicious activity, contact law enforcement. Although they cannot be everywhere at once, city police are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and will help you investigate any concerns.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.