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Recently, we were able to run a story on a project in town, through the Austin Culture & Arts Commission, that makes the best of an unfortunate situation.

Recently, students from Lyle and their art teacher D. Chris Oftelie painted a colorful display over graffiti under Roosevelt Bridge. It was supported by the Cedar River Watershed District and Mower County and shows what can happen when you can find like-minded people who want to make the world a better place.

This isn’t the first time something like this has been done in Austin. Over the years there have been several projects that have painted over areas where graffiti has been a problem, but we feel it’s worth highlighting these efforts when it happens.

Austin has created an atmosphere of welcoming, but random graffiti can be visibly distracting. We want people to come away from their time in Austin with the best possible experience they can get.

We certainly commend Oftelie for his work in organizing the project, but we also want to commend the students for being involved. We hope it can be an example to others to take the initiative to organize more projects like this that continue to highlight all the good we have here in Austin.

If you would like to do something similar, you are encouraged to contact Geoff Smith at gsmith@ibidata.com