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Garden hose prank causes $8,000 in damages to area church
By Jeff Kearns
It wasn't quite the sign from above they were expecting.
Officials at the First United Methodist Church in Campbell were greeted by about 2 inches of standing water in the hallway of their church one October morning. At 6 a.m., a janitor discovered the mess and notified church officials. Someone apparently had stuffed a hose through a mail slot and turned on the water, flooding the building floor.
First Methodist office manager Claudia Slayman says the hose prank caused about $8,000 in damage to the church office and forced the staff, including the church's two pastors, to relocate.
"We had to move, so volunteers came in and pulled everything out of the office, and we worked out of the fellowship for 2 1/2 weeks," Slayman says. "We have no clue why anyone would do this."
Campbell police took a report and continue to investigate the incident, but so far, no new information has been turned up. Campbell police chief Dave Gullo says no evidence was found, the exact time of the incident is unknown, and there are no witnesses.
Gullo says he remembers similar instances of vandalism to churches over his 20 years with the police department, and says police later traced the vandalism to kids.
Union Church of Cupertino also recently reported a prank flooding incident. Pastor Roy Dunn says that someone's idea of a practical joke will cost the church at least $1,000, which is the church's deductible on its insurance policy. In addition to the floors, carpets and walls in the offices, the furniture may be permanently damaged.
Slayman says two other churches in San Jose were also flooded recently with water from hoses. A spokesperson for the San Jose Police Department couldn't confirm this, but Mark Garcia, water damage manager for Service Masters, a cleanup company in San Jose, says he remembers cleaning up one flooded church near San José City College. He says that another church on Lawrence Expressway was hit last week.
Cautions Slayman: "It might be good if other churches filled up their mail slots."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
