Vandals strike in Vernon and Barton counties

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Daily Mail

Someone has been blowing up mailboxes in the rural areas of Barton and Vernon counties. The Barton County Sheriff's Office has investigated three mailbox bombings in an area east of Lamar, and mailboxes have been destroyed in various ways in Vernon County as well.

Lois McMillan, rural Nevada, said her mailbox was also destroyed. McMillan lives 12 miles south of Nevada and had to replace a mailbox destroyed about three months ago.

"It was at night during the week. McMillan said. "I heard a loud explosion like a shotgun going off and thought to myself, "Who would be shooting a shotgun at this time of night?" The next morning I went out and discovered the mailbox had been blown up."

McMillan said it was easy to see that the box had been destroyed from the inside. "You could tell that it was something inside it. The metal was all pushed out."

McMillan says she didn't report the vandalism to anyone but did talk to a neighbor. "I was at a party and I said my mailbox had been blown up and this lady I know said she had heard of others in the area."

McMillan was philosophical about the loss of her mailbox. "I guess Wal-Mart is probably coming out ahead on this, where else can you get a replacement?"

Vernon County Sheriff Ron Peckman says his office hasn't received any recent reports of exploding mailboxes but that there was one south on BB last year. "I did talk to the Barton County Sheriff about this but the only incident I had to tell him about was the one last year."

Peckman said that it may simply be someone with too many fireworks and too little to do. "I don't know for sure but it's probably someone with some fireworks. We had the people setting fire to hay bales using Roman candles awhile back," Peckman said. "I bet if they were busy working they wouldn't have the time to be running around causing trouble."

Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents are helping with the probe and evidence has been sent to a crime lab for testing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Barton County Sheriff's Office in Lamar, (417) 682-5541.