Property owner feels harassed by ecological graffiti

Robert Blumenthal insists he's not an eco-terrorist.

The anonymous vandal who spray painted "eco death" on the Lincolnshire-area house Blumenthal owns clearly feels differently.

The oversized graffiti was discovered last weekend on the front of the vacant structure on the 16000 block of Port Clinton Road in Vernon Township. It likely was prompted by the removal of dozens of trees at the house, police reports indicate.

The vandalism followed the delivery of threatening, unsigned letters to the house, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal, of Lincolnshire, maintains he had approval from Lake County officials to remove the trees, many of which he said were either dead or invasive species that had damaged the land.

The graffiti has left Blumenthal feeling harassed, violated and angry.

"These are people who are making assumptions and jumping to conclusions," he said. "They came onto my property and defaced it."

Blumenthal bought the brick, cottage-style house, which is across Port Clinton Road from Stevenson High School, last summer. It had been vacant for several years, he said, and he plans to raze it and build a new home.

"That has been my intent all along, to beautify the property," he said.

The house and the land were in poor shape when he bought the site, Blumenthal and neighbors agree. Bushes, weeds and dead trees were common, he said, and junk was scattered inside and throughout the property.

After contacting county officials, Blumenthal hired a crew to remove many of the trees on the property last fall. The work was done, but the stumps and branches were not removed. In fact, the debris was collected into three large piles only recently, neighbors said.

Several months ago, Blumenthal found a letter in the mailbox at the house that accused him of destroying the environment. Another letter followed.

The vandalism came next. Blumenthal discovered the spray-painted message Saturday, according to a Lake County sheriff's police report. Police were unable to recover any evidence.

Mike Carroll, who lives on Port Clinton next to the empty house, has been sympathetic and said he's tried to help Blumenthal clean up the property.

Carroll said he received one of the threatening, environmentally themed letters in his mailbox a few months ago, too.

"Someone in the area has really got a thing about the (tree) destruction," Carroll said.

Lake County officials are aware of the situation. Earlier this month, the county ordered Blumenthal to remove the tree debris because the property is in a flood plain and the piles could cause flooding, Planning, Building and Development Director Phil Rovang said.

The county also told Blumenthal the house is unsafe, Rovang said.

In both cases, Blumenthal has been cooperative and has applied for the necessary permits to improve the property, Rovang said.

Blumenthal hasn't removed the spray paint. He said he doesn't want to invite additional vandalism.

Because of the property's proximity to Stevenson High, both Blumenthal and Carroll suspect the culprit might be an environmentally conscious student.

Mike Carroll and his wife, Maribeth, said they hope Blumenthal completes the planned house-construction project sooner than later.

"It's understandable," Maribeth Carroll said of the tree removal and the other work that's been done on the property. "But it's taken a long time."