WARWICK, R.I. -- A couple of battered geraniums were all that was left in the flower boxes affixed to the bridge in Pawtuxet Village Monday after weekend vandals tore out dozens of plants and threw them away.
Their handiwork has not only left the bridge bare, but has also trashed the efforts of neighborhood volunteers who work hard year-round to keep the historic village that straddles the Warwick-Cranston line scenic.
"It's just so senseless," said Carole Panos, of Cranston, who heads the garden group that is part of the Pawtuxet Village Association and whose members work to make sure the flower boxes flourish.
Last week, she said, they were full of pink blossoms and lush with cascading potato vines.
Although disheartened, the neighborhood group has already placed donation boxes in local business and posted signs on the empty planters asking the public to help them replant.
Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian said the police department's community policing division has already been contacted. "This is a neighborhood that has a lot of pride," he said. "I'm sure they will come together and put things back in place."