WALKER, Texas Ranger and The A-Team’s Mr T were among television’s toughest crime fighters in their time.
So it’s unclear what the American action heroes would make of the graffiti war being waged in their honour at Norris Park.
Yesterday morning, the Albury suburb’s welcome sign read: “Mr T Park. Chuck Norris? I pity the fool”, complete with a silhouette of the mohawk-wearing king of bling.
The work seems to have been a response to last month’s ode to Walker’s Chuck Norris, which left the sign reading: “Chuck Norris Park. Keep on Chuckin’.”
Resi dents and rubberneckers stopped to take photos of Mr T in his stencilled glory and motorists did double-takes as they passed through the roundabout at Union and Burrows roads.
The consensus among passers-by seemed to be that the graffiti was just harmless tongue-in-cheek.
“It& rsquo;s all in a bit of fun, it’s not causing any dramas,” Thurgoona’s Corey Brond said.
“It’s just such an obvious target — there’s so much Chuck Norris stuff on the internet, he’s become a bit of a cult icon.”
Thomas Randall, of Glenroy, agreed.
“I can’t see any harm in it,” he said.
“It’s just a bit of comedy, it’s not hurting anyone — I think they should leave it like that.”
But Albury Council workers moved quickly, removing the artwork early in the afternoon.
Mayor Stuart Baker said the repeated vandalism was no laughing matter.
“This vandalism is senseless — the cost all gets passed on to the ratepayers,” he said.
“Last year, vandalism cost Albury City $278,000.
“Whether they are witty slogans or not, it’s irrelevant — it’s a cost to the community.”
Mr Baker said the sign had been defaced about 12 times in the past 18 months and cost about $250 a time to repair, creating a total damage bill of $3000 for ratepayers.