Vandals tag Roadrunner sculpture, artist wants city to step in

The famous roadrunner sculpture, made entirely of recycled material, stands perched on a rock at a rest area just off I-10 near Las Cruces.

“I am a little disheartened with its current condition, and it has been that way for months,” creator and artist Olin Calk said. Graffiti lines the bottom of the statue. Visitors also use markers to write their name on the sculpture.

“It is a welcome sign to our community, and being in this state, it says something about Las Cruces – that we don’t want it in pristine condition,”said City Council member Jack Eakman, whose district houses the roadrunner.

The sculpture, which has been a part of the community for more than 30 years and housed at various locations, has seen its fair share of vandalism.

“I wish the wonderful roadrunner could beep and run from these vandals, but it can’t,” Eakman said. “It’s a prisoner here in it’s own way.”

“If I felt something needed to be repaired or altered on the work, I would let (city officials) know,” Calk said. “And if they felt something needed to be repaired or fixed they would contact me and we would work together to come to an agreement on a price and a schedule for getting it done,”

However, Calk said for the past couple of months he has been unable to get in contact with the city officials for repairs.

Eakman said he will make sure something is done. “I am really going to get behind it and make sure repairs are done and it doesn’t happen to this extent again.”