View Comments
The Bartley-Decatur Neighborhood Center, a gathering place for many diverse groups in a historic part of Springfield, was vandalized with racial slurs and phallic symbols spray-painted in neon colors.
Mark Dixon, the longtime director, said the damage was reported early Wednesday by one passerby after another. I was fighting back tears still am, he said.
Dixon said while the vandal, or vandals, failed to get inside, the brick façade of the two-story building and the ornate sign were not spared. Sometime last night or very early this morning, they decided to tag us up, Dixon said Wednesday. They have spray-painted, in fluorescent paint, both levels of the building and our sign out front including the n-word.
Springfield teachers union elects Laura Mullins as new president
news-leader.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news-leader.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Natalie Cauldwell will be interim principal of Parkview High School
news-leader.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news-leader.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Springfield News-Leader
A federal judge rejected the College of the Ozarks request to sidestep a 2021 directive backed by President Joe Biden that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Judge Roseann Ketchmark issued the ruling denying a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday, following a 2-1/2-hour hearing conducted virtually.
She said an effort by the conservative Christian college to stop the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from applying the new directive would not protect the college from any liability related to unfair housing allegations.
The college and ADF argued the directive forced religious schools to violate their views by opening male or female residence halls including dorm rooms and restrooms to members of the opposite sex.