DEMOPOLIS &045; Vandals defaced the newly repainted water tower on U.S. Highway 80 over the three-day weekend.

The Demopolis Police Department said it is investigating the incident but no arrest has yet been made in the case. No specifics of the investigation could be released at press time.

Manager of the Water Department Byron Cook said the message left by the vandals would be covered up by the end of the day yesterday. He said a person had been called to work on the project.

completely through today because of the low temperature that might delay the paint drying, but he should get a coat on over the vandalism.&8221;

Cook said the vandalism occurred sometime over the long weekend that included Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He said he reported the incident to the police department Tuesday when he realized there was writing on the tower.

&8220;The fence that is usually up around the tower was down because of the work being done, which helped them gain access to the tower,&8221; said Cook. &8220;Up until recently the ladder on the reservoir didn’t have a guard to restrict access. We had one installed but didn’t have a lock on in.&8221;

Cook said the guard preventing access to the tower has since had a deadbolt lock installed on it. He said the fence would be reinstalled around the tower as well.

Cook said the vandalism would not set back the work being done to the towers, which according to plans will be complete in less than a month. Cook said the tower would soon be back in operation.

The work on the tower has been under way for several months. The inside of the tower has received cleaning and sanitation during the project. The outside upgrades in their final stage included sandblasting the old paint off the tower and reapplying the paint. The painting facet of the tower has almost been completed though touch ups and a final coat over the area repainted after the vandalism is still required.