Neighborhood’s holiday lighting display attacked by vandals

By Hamilton Kahn

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Vandals in a black sedan did their worst to ruin Christmas for a neighborhood whose lavish lighting display has attracted a lot of attention.

If so, they underestimated the spirit and determination of the households who spent many hours and considerable capital just to bring holiday smiles to old and young onlookers.

Nate Bywater, the principle organizer, said that around 2 a.m. Saturday, an unidentified black sedan came to Venticello Drive NW, where elaborate lighting displays decorate a half-dozen houses, and its occupants wreaked havoc — even cutting wires to all the lights on a 16-foot tree.

By early afternoon, Bywater said about 70 percent of the damage had been cleaned up and the display would be ready for a Transformers show for young people from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday featuring a special Bumblebee Transformer.

Bywater said he and his neighbors had not yet contacted the police because they didn’t consider it a 911 emergency, but planned to do so.

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