Intruders break into church

Someone has been trying to go to the Church of Christ on Highway 54 west of Nevada. The problem is that they seem to want to get in when no one is there. Pastor Taylor Francis said damage to the rear door of the church building was noticed Sunday morning before services but no action was taken at that time. Thursday morning Cindy Francis, the pastor's wife, noticed a tear in the screen covering a window in the church's kitchen. A handprint was clearly visible on the glass, that's when Francis made the decision to call the Vernon County Sheriff's office. "I thought that with just the scratches around the door lock there wasn't enough evidence to call but when we saw the fingerprints I thought I'd call it in," said Francis. The church doesn't keep any money on the premises -- all collections are promptly deposited in the bank. "All someone could get would be some office equipment or maybe the sound system. It wouldn't be worth the effort of breaking in." Church leaders are considering upgrading security since discovering the damage. "We're thinking about the best way to handle this. We had already installed a dead bolt two or three months ago but we may have to consider additional means of deterring this kind of thing. We have considered additional lighting for one thing." Despite the circumstances Francis maintains a sense of humor. "My son, Aaron, and I have paintball guns and we've joked that we should stake out the church and when someone tries to break in we could shoot them with paintballs and just tell the police to look for someone covered in purple dye."