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Humiston, Wolfe

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King’s students inducted into business honor society

<b>First Posted:</b> 12/19/2008<br><br>PLYMOUTH &amp;ndash; A pastor and his wife only had an hour&amp;rsquo;s worth of preparation to go before a weekend Christmas banquet for congregation members.

But now they have several hours of cleanup after vandals broke into Ebenezer Baptist Church, 39 Gaylord Ave., late Wednesday or early Thursday. Pastor Kevin Mansfield, 46, and his wife, Sandy, 42, found their place of worship ransacked late Thursday afternoon.
Mansfield said he and his wife left the church after they brought several children out to go caroling door to door in the neighborhood around 10 p.m. Wednesday. 
&amp;ldquo;It happened sometime during that time,&amp;rdquo; said Mansfield as he pointed to graffiti marked in red spray paint on old locker doors used at one time for a Christian school built years ago.
The locker was marked with the number 666 and three Xs. In another room, trash was scattered from a garbage can. Across the locker room is a former classroom where the vandals apparently made their entry.
&amp;ldquo;They smashed a window in the classroom and crawled in,&amp;rdquo; Mansfield said.
Beer cans and cigarette butts were smashed into the carpeting in the old classroom and several other rooms.
In the kitchen, glass globes were found smashed into pieces, along with more trash. The pastor&amp;rsquo;s wife said red candles were going to be placed inside the globes for Saturday&amp;rsquo;s Christmas party.
In the dining room ashes from an attempt to start a fire and from cigarettes were all over, chairs knocked down, and a cushion on a table were vandals attempted to start a fire.
&amp;ldquo;Somebody could have been hurt,&amp;rdquo; the pastor said.
On another table were three Xs written in melted candle wax, which was smeared all over.
Sandy Mansfield said the break-in had to have happened late night or early morning.
An empty insulin bottle was tossed nearby. The insulin, which was being stored in a refrigerator, was for a member of the church who was diabetic, Mansfield said.
&amp;ldquo;There&amp;rsquo;s nothing missing that we know of,&amp;rdquo; he said. &amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s the bizarre thing about it because they (vandals) didn&amp;rsquo;t take anything.&amp;rdquo;
Borough police were called around 4 p.m., but didn&amp;rsquo;t arrive until three hours later. Police said no arrests had been made as of late Thursday night.
The church is still planning to have the holiday banquet, the pastor and his wife said.

Vandals trash Plymouth church, where holiday banquet planned