ROGERS -- Caretakers of a historic Northwest Arkansas church are offering a reward for information about vandals who have destroyed windows in the building at least four times in recent weeks.
Several windows were broken out of the Mount Hebron Church recently, damaging the original window frames, caretakers said. There also are signs of fireworks being ignited in the 1904 building, leading to fire concerns.
"This church means an awful lot to me," said Jeff Moser, a member of the Mount Hebron Church & Cemetery Historical Preservation Association. "I went to it with my folks. My parents used to mow the cemetery with a push mower without a motor."
Moser continues to mow the lawn of the church and the cemetery.
After the wave of vandalism, the association distributed fliers in a nearby neighborhood offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people involved, association member Cassie Elliott said.
"There are neighbors all around there watching out for the vandals," Elliott said.
The association also is looking at its options to fix the damage.
The broken windows would be expensive to replace, Moser said, and it's difficult for the small association to raise the needed money.
Elliott has estimated the cost of replacing the windows at $20,000. She said insurance will not cover vandalism because the building is vacant.
Rick Parker, owner of Parker Conservation of Gentry, was contracted to restore the windows in the building in 2008. He estimated the cost of restoring the type of windows at the church to be between $1,500 to $4,000 each, depending on the damage.
Officials with the Department of Arkansas Heritage will visit the church soon, said Melissa Whitfield, communications director.
"We are looking into this and seeing what resources we might have that could be helpful," Whitfield said.
The department could have grant programs to help pay for repairing the damage, Whitfield said. However, it's not yet known whether the church fits the criteria.
A campaign to restore the church started in the mid-1990s, Elliott has said. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Arkansas Preservation Program through the Department of Arkansas Heritage has given multiple grants for the building's preservation through the years. Grants have been matched by community donations, Elliott said.
The money has been used to repair windows, the roof, foundation and siding on the building. Insulation also was added to the structure, and it has been painted more than once, Elliott said. However, the building is vacant because it does not have water, sewer service or electricity.
Monte Harris, adult programs assistant for the Rogers Historical Museum, said the church is one of the last one-room churches preserved in Benton County.
Keith Foster, Rogers Police Department spokesman, said the department is doing extra patrols near the church.
"Obviously, with a city our size we cannot be everywhere and cannot keep an extra eye on everything," Foster said. "But it is beneficial to focus on one location at times to help ensure that the same type of thing does not happen again, or to catch the person responsible."
Foster said the department also relies on the public to watch for suspicious activity.
Metro on 07/26/2015