Concern over graffiti mounts with removal of public mural

One of Fallbrook’s oldest public art displays was removed last week due to damage it had sustained from the repeated application and removal of graffiti and tagging.

According to Jackie Heyneman, a longtime volunteer with the Fallbrook Land Conservancy, a mural depicting animals and wildlife that had been painted by students of the Fallbrook Montessori School in the 200 block of Beech Street had to be removed Jan. 5.

“It had been one of the original pieces in Fallbrook,” she said. “We had graffiti-proofed the mural, but the wall had not been prepared properly. We had tried to remove the graffi...