Students vandalize school near Tampa with motor oil

NEAR TAMPA, Fla. - Two Riverview High School students are behind bars and facing expulsion after confessing to vandalizing the school with used motor oil, said Sheriff's deputies.

The students, aged 14 and 15, admitted to the school's principal they poured used motor oil all over the walkways of the campus in the shapes of obscene body parts. One of the images, in the main courtyard of the school, is 90 feet long.

Workers have been unable, so far, to remove the oily images. "They used kitty litter to absorb, a steam pressure washer, and that didn't work," said Riverview Principal Bob Heilmann. "Then they did a grinding. I hope the fourth thing is not to jackhammer it, because that would be an unbelievable expense."

The school is already facing a $30,000 clean-up bill, said Heilmann.

Students were angered at the sight of the defaced school. "I just think it's a stupid idea," said 10th grader Alandra Sochor. "It doesn't impress anybody."

Senior John Christenson was particularly upset about damage to brick pavers that lined the amphitheatre in the school's courtyard. "It makes me mad," said Christenson. "I met my first friends here and now it's ruined."

The students were caught after the principal placed a mass phone call to every student in the school asking for help finding the suspects. People came forward with tips, and the two students confessed. They've been charged with felony criminal mischief and face expulsion from school.