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When Father Harley Crain arrived at Saint Barnabas Anglican Church on May 1, he was admiring the freshly cut lawn. Then he saw a problem — 100-old tires dumped in the church’s backyard.

“This is a crime of opportunity. The path of least resistance. It’s open. It’s obscured from the road. Somebody is trying to save a buck, but for us, I see escalation that could be overwhelming,” Crain said.

Crain and his Parishioners have reason to fear escalation. Over the past year, vandals have hit the church numerous times. They’ve broken into the building, smashed windows, sprayed graffiti and dumped used construction material … now this.

“It’s discouraging. It’s frustrating,” Crain said.

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To add insult to injury, the cleanup is not simple and will likely be very expensive. There are laws governing how one can legally dispose of this many old tires.

“One of my members called the Department of Ecology. It’s toxic. It’s a serious problem. It has to be removed by a contractor who is permitted and licensed to do this kind of work,” Crain said.

The church has been unable to find a local contractor to properly and legally remove the tires. A contractor in Oregon is making the trip north to bid on the job this week.

Harley said he has no idea how much it will cost his congregation, but he fears the church’s ability to serve the community will suffer, at least in the short term.

“Every month we do what we call the Mission of the Month to serve the community. Sometimes it’s an international ministry we support. Sometimes it’s local ministries, food banks and housing for women and children. Because of this, we’re the Mission of the Month,” Crain said.

If you would like to help the Saint Barnabas Anglican Church, you can call the church directly at 206-365-6565.

You can read more of James Lynch’s stories here. Follow James on , or email him here.