HOUSE SPRINGS, Mo. – A vandal destroyed a preservation area in House Springs overnight. Veteran Danny Tuggle had set the area up, hoping to share the Christmas spirit with his community.
“Vandalized the whole place,” he said.
Tuggle spent a month preparing for hundreds of people gathering at Christmastime.
“It was beautiful. I was so proud that it had come to life. Then walk in this morning,” he said.
Tuggle spends every day at the preservation area bringing it back to life. It’s been three years of work and said the biggest disappointment came overnight. “I had two reindeer. They threw one in the pond over there that’s buried over there and one right here,” said Tuggle. “The vandals took the flag down, threw it in the lake and put a bandana where the flag normally would be. That’s a sick person.”
Tuggle said a man came through the area, slashing inflatable Christmas decorations, stealing extension cords, and throwing a trash can in the pond. He said there was one salvageable thing.
“It took us two-and-a-half years to get this fountain, and he tried to destroy it,” Tuggle said. He hopes to preserve a piece of the town’s history. “I would just hope that our area would believe in this spot and keep it sacred for years to come.”
He said they are in need of new extension cords, new inflatables, and a new flag for the now empty flagpole. Any donations can be dropped off at the Northwest Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with information about the vandalism to call their detective bureau at 636-797-5515.
