By Charles Owens
For Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Glenwood — Less than a month after it was dedicated, the new Rainbow Pet Memorial Bridge in Mercer County has already been vandalized.
Area officials, including members of the Mercer County Coalition for Healthy Communities, held a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony on May 1 at Glenwood Recreation Park for the bridge, which was envisioned as a location where area residents could memorialize their pets.
But the bridge has already been vandalized, according to Mercer County Commissioner Greg Puckett.
“We did the dedication in the first of May, so it’s been one month,” Puckett said. “We’ve all suffered the loss of a pet, and we felt there needs to be a way to memorialize them. It’s just a nice addition to the park and to have somebody come by and tear it up is demoralizing.”
Puckett said the Rainbow Memorial Bridge was created as a place for residents to remember and honor their beloved pets. Residents were asked to place a collar or tag that belonged to their pet on the bridge, which he said was intended to serve as a living tribute to the animal.
However, a vandal took all of the collars and tags that were placed on the bridge and threw them into the lake, according to Puckett.
The incident was the latest case of vandalism at Glenwood Recreational Park. The facility was was vandalized last year.
Puckett said area residents who want to remember their pets by placing a collar or tag on the new bridge may now be hesitant to do so.
“So it creates hesitancy in the people wanting to participate in the park,” Puckett said. “That is also a problem.”
The most recent act of vandalism at the park is under investigation. No arrests had been reported as of Monday.
“It’s stupid,” Puckett said of the vandalism. “People just don’t seem to care.”
Puckett said the county has invested more than $1.5 million in Glenwood Park over the last seven years, and can’t afford to have the facility destroyed by vandals.
Puckett said he is asking County Administrator Vicky Reed to add Glenwood Recreational Park as a discussion item to the June 9 meeting of the Mercer County Commission.
The county used to charge a fee for residents to enter the park, and may have to revisit that idea again.
Puckett said the fee was removed 10 years ago, but due to the ongoing damage to facilities at the park, the county may have to reevaluate its policies for the remainder of 2026 and beyond.
The thought is if someone is coming to the park just to participate in an act of vandalism, he or she would likely be deterred by the fee.
In the meantime, anyone caught defacing, degrading or destroying park property will be prosecuted, according to Puckett.
Read more from Bluefield Daily Telegraph, here.
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