"Immature" and "cowardly" are two words that accurately describe the person or persons who desecrated seven graves over the weekend at North Side Cemetery.

According to an article in Wednesday's Butler Eagle, expletives, nonsensical markings and other graffiti were spray-painted in red paint on the tombstones.

No doubt most people in the community are repulsed by those whose "courage" is confined to victims who cannot defend themselves — and outside the view of right-thinking people who would try to stop them.

If the vandals are apprehended, they deserve years — not hours — of community service to shift their thinking to a more positive mode — and perhaps help them to grow up in the process.

But unfortunately, what happened at North Side Cemetery isn't Butler's first experience with cemetery vandalism. A number of years ago, the big mausoleum at Rose Hill Cemetery along Mercer Road was vandalized, as well as a smaller family mausoleum nearby.

And as of Wednesday afternoon, the big mausoleum's window or vent openings along the ground had not been repaired — or, if they were repaired over the years, they again have been broken out or removed.

Repair work was at some point done to the damaged front door of that mausoleum; after the vandalism occurred, anyone could see inside, through the broken glass of that door.

But it cannot be a source of pride that a chain now secures the door, not a lock. The message from that chain is that some people in Butler have no respect for the dead and that they regard the mausoleum as a playground or party site, not a respected place of repose for the dead.

Also troubling at Rose Hill Wednesday was that, despite all the years that have passed since the back window of the smaller mausoleum was broken out, that structure apparently never was repaired.

Debris still covered the enclosure that houses the coffins. And, worse than that, the situation remained such that anyone who sought to do so could crawl into the mausoleum to cause destruction.

The situation doesn't conform to the cemetery's recorded telephone message touting itself, in part, as the best cemetery in Butler County.

To North Side Cemetery officials' credit, their plan is to address the weekend vandalism quickly. A cemetery monument company representative was to inspect the damaged gravestones to determine how best to remove the paint.

Merle Ealy, who has been in charge of tending to the cemetery grounds for 40 years, said if a cleaning solution cannot be found to remove the paint, the stones might have to be sandblasted.

"That could run into a lot of money," Ealy said, noting that bigger stones were targeted by the vandals.

The painting incident was believed to be the first in the 100-year-old cemetery's history; however, in the past there have been instances when stones were toppled.

"I was disgusted," Ealy said, recalling his reaction upon seeing the desecrated tombstones. All other Butler residents should be just as disgusted, whether or not they have relatives or friends buried in North Side.

According to Gary Garman, Butler Township police chief, authorities had no suspects. But it's not out of the question that by now someone besides the vandals knows the identity of those who spray-painted the tombstones.

Immature people who no doubt are proud of such "accomplishments" oftentimes can't keep their pride to themselves — or their mouths shut.

Hopefully someone with that knowledge, if it does exist, will provide township police with a tip, even if it's done anonymously. What's important is that the vandals are caught.

Those responsible for the Rose Hill damage probably never will be caught; too many years have passed. Such need not happen regarding North Side's incident.

Those who regard the places where family and friends are interred as sacred ground have no patience for a day when such cowardly, immature vandals gain a better perspective of the world around them and other people's feelings.

That's why, in such circumstances, it is important that the courts play a role in that growth process.