The Verona Environmental Commission (VEC) is hoping that residents can spare a few minutes this Saturday, August 7, to repair the damage done to the fairy trail in Grove Park by the latest round of vandalism there. The VEC will be at the park, which is located on Grove Avenue across from Reid Place, from 9 to 11 a.m. “We think a quick 15 minutes is all we would need from any participant,” says Jessica Pearson, VEC chair.
As we reported earlier last month, Cedar Grove resident Samantha Cunniff led the fairy house project to earn her Gold Award, the highest rank in Girl Scouts. On July 29, some fairy houses were found to have been destroyed, and on Monday morning, four middle-school boys destroyed several more houses in the park, which was established by the VEC and Junior Woman’s Club in 2018 on a property that had once been home to Henry B. Whitehorne, the namesake of Verona’s middle school.
As of yesterday, Verona Police had spoken to two of the boys and their parents about the vandalism. Cynthia Holland, a Town Council member and Girl Scout leader whose troops built houses for the trail, said at the Council meeting on Monday that the Scouts are looking at several ways to make new houses.