OCOEE, Fla. – More than 200 congregation members from Highpoint Church and Ocoee police officers painted a 1/4-mile-long fence recently that runs along the edge of Spring Lake Elementary school.
After the priming, before they could paint a second coat, someone else spray-painted on it.
Last week, police discovered the letters "Rx" spray-painted in more than 20 spots on the freshly painted fence.
Ocoee police said it could be a result of the exploding opioid epidemic or just someone marking territory.
"A lot of times people want others to know that this is their area, but we want the community to know we're taking this area back," Deputy Chief Stephen McCosker said.
Ocoee police posted a picture of the graffiti Monday on Facebook with the following caption: "The Ocoee Police Department is looking for information from the community on the person who is using this tag symbol."
"We used Facebook to reach out to the community to see if anyone knew who was using this tag symbol," McCosker said.
Police officers and church members painted the fence for a second time on Friday and Saturday, this time blue, to match Spring Lake Elementary School colors. Blue jays are the school's mascot so McCosker said he wants to rename the fenced alleyway "Blue Jay Trail," rather than what it's currently known as: Pig Alley.
"This is the first and last thing they see when they go to school," McCosker said of the fence.
The alley cuts through the middle of the community and passes right by the edge of the school, separated from the school only by a chain-link fence. The newly painted fence lines the other side of the alley.
Volunteers also picked up garbage along the alleyway, trimming trees, and pulling weeds to make it safe for children.
Ocoee police and HighPoint Church members said they have plans to paint it a third time.
Two days before school starts in Orange County, volunteers will paint murals on the blue background.
McCosker said he has plans to protect the paintings by installing security cameras along the trail and even making arrests, if necessary.
He also said church members have agreed to monitor the fence regularly.
"There’s way too much work going into to this to allow someone to tag their name into it," McCosker said.