Apalachicola Police are asking for public's help in last night's car vandalism

Jim Bachrach stands next to his car struck by vandals

The Apalachicola Police Department is asking for the public's assistance with any information that will lead to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the vandalism of Jim Bachrach's 2007 Toyota Land Cruiser while lawfully parked at his 115 Bay Ave home.  Police say that the incident occurred after 8:30PM Friday night and before 8:00AM Saturday morning.

Officers investigating the crime are working on the theory that the incident was targeted and directly related to the recent article that appeared on the center front page of the Apalachicola Times, which featured a 3-year-old photo of a disheveled Bachrach under the headline "The Last Noel: City fells local landmark; residents perplexed".

It appears that such imagery and wording only served to inflame someone, which unfortunately led to the kind of action that resulted in the vandalism of Bachrach's personal property.

It’s indefensible, personal and irresponsible journalism to say the least and because of it, I'm calling upon the Apalachicola Times to immediately denounce the vandalism with the same vigor the paper used to elevate cutting down the cedar tree in Riverfront Park to a high crime and misdemeanor. It is cause and effect at its worst and let's not forget that it does the peace and harmony of our little community a grave disservice.

This sort of behavior is far more egregious than cutting down a tree for safety reasons, totally unacceptable and a slap in the face of our democracy and all that is decent about a civilized society.

If the citizens of this hard fought democracy are dissatisfied with the course or path that their government has taken, the proper and well established recourse is at the ballot box. The process is only sullied and the legitimate voices of reason are lost when those dissatisfied result to bashing and maligning their elected officials and committing criminal acts.

At any rate, if you have any useful information that will bring about an immediate arrest, please contact Lt. Pam Lewis with the Apalachicola Police Department at (850) 370-6055.