A few years ago this newspaper printed photographs and a story about vandalism to the cemeteries of Christ Episcopal Church and the Community Reformed Church. At the time we reported that a certain tree in the center of the cemeteries , with its low hanging branches, was a known hangout for teenagers smoking marijuana, at the least. The tree was trimmed, the branches no longer provided privacy, the police promised stepped up surveillance and we were under the impression that the problem had been solved. Therefore it was an unpleasant shock to receive a letter two weeks ago from an official of the Community Reformed Church stating that the vandalism had occurred again. Now the violence has escalated. As can be seen in the photos on page three of today's paper, dozens of graves have been desecrated, stones toppled and broken. Once again the police promise increased surveillance. This is an intolerable situation and these vandals must be caught. With the concern in the country about violence in our schools, it does not require a great stretch of the imagination to picture these young criminals turning from the destruction not only of property but of property that its owners deem sacred to violence against other persons. As our letter writer said in last week's Manhasset Press: "In all probability this was done by local persons. They know who they are. In all probability other persons know who they are and if they continue to remain silent about this crime, they are equally guilty. Just for the record, desecration of a cemetery is a felony under New York State law."

We wish to add our voice to that of the letter writer. This is the kind of behavior that must be stopped and the police will certainly keep the names of those who help stop it confidential. Let's not ignore it and hope it will go away and read one day of a tragedy that we did nothing to avert.

E.F.B.