By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

HAHNVILLE — Authorities in St. Charles are looking for leads that may help them track down vandals, who spray-painted graffiti on the football field at Destrehan High School and caused severe damage to the girl’s field house at the school, said a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Dwayne LaGrange, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office, said unknown suspects sprayed paint all over the school’s newly installed artificial turf and also vandalized lockers, benches and the exterior of the field house. Workers at the school have been able to remove the paint from the field, but are still working to clean up damage at the field house. Early estimates say the job may cost as much as $5,000.

In an email to residents last week, St. Charles Sheriff Greg Champagne said anyone with information about the vandalism should contact his office at 985-783-1145 or 985-783-6807.

“Vandalism is a crime and costs all of us as tax payers,” said Champagne in the email message.

The vandals sprayed the school’s mascot, a wildcat, at the center of the football field, as well as the end zones, the coaches’ areas and new soccer goals. The graffiti consisted of numbers, words and obscene drawings. Workers spent most of last week cleaning up the damage to the buildings.