“Bainbridge Island has a lot of writers. Every now and then, it needs a good eraser, and Bruce Wallace is it.But Wallace doesn’t go around expunging the works of the local literati. His target is graffiti.I’m an avid walker, Wallace said, and I get tired of looking at graffiti. So just like I pick up trash, I started removing it.Years ago, there was an active anti-graffiti patrol on the island. But it faded away, and Wallace stepped into the breach. For the last two years, the city has assisted him with a $2,000 grant funded by the city’s hotel-motel tax, levied on patrons of local overnight establishments. Armed with his graffiti bucket – spray-on solvents, sponges, sandpaper and a rotary grinder – Wallace patrols Bainbridge and tries to stay just a short step behind the taggers.The graffiti phenomenon is confined principally to the downtown area, Wallace said, with the ferry terminal area and Waterfront Park being the hardest hit. The back walls of the Village shopping center buildings and the Pavilion are also frequent targets. And the metallic boxes covering electric-company transformers and telephone switching gear are enduringly popular spots, Wallace said.He said graffiti activity appears to be increasing on the island. He removed some 900 samples last year, which was way up from the two previous years, and he said this year’s activity is running ahead of last.Wallace photographs each graffiti display before removing it. Based on the fact that the graffiti consist of a few marks that appear repeatedly, Wallace believes that a relatively small handful of people are involved.The removal methods Wallace uses are simple. He sometimes sprays commercially available solvents on the spot and wipes it off. Other times, he will use a sander to grind the mark off the surface. Other times, the simplest solution is to paint over the mark, he said.Wallace said he appreciates the city financial support, but would like to have more company on graffiti patrol.The grant pays for supplies, he said, but isn’t much compensation for my time. I’m happy to do this as a volunteer, but when I have other work to do, it takes priority.To lure other volunteers, Wallace has offered to make up graffiti-busting buckets and sell them at cost.It would be a great thing for a retired person to do, he said.* * * * *The city last week announced the recipients of over $50,000 in hotel-motel tax money. Besides Wallace, recipients are:* Arts and Humanities Council, $2,000 to continue distributing the Arts News publication on the ferries;* Bainbridge Island Historical Society, $11,500 in three grants for design and installation of exhibit lighting; for professional services to help plan the move to the downtown pet store property; and for a historical-preservation program;* Bainbridge Studio Tour, $1,750 to promote the summer tour of artist studios;* Chamber of Commerce, $14,000 for management of visitor information centers;* Friends of Farms, $800 to design and produce a brochure of local farm locations and products;* Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau, $10,000 for tourism-promotion efforts;* Molnaire Enterprises, $7,000 for a brochure featuring Bainbridge bed-and-breakfasts;* Park district, $2,000 to hire musicians for summer outdoor festivals;* Community Land Trust, $2,000 for development of a policy and management plan, * Bainbridge Economic Council, $1,500 to develop a telecommunications survey.Grants are awarded for three purposes, city administrative assistant Lita Myers said – promoting tourism, historical preservation and general civic betterment.Liz Murray, chair of the city council’s community relations committee, said there were more applicants for the grants than money available, so some difficult choices had to be made.We looked at how much the proposal relates to bringing people into the community and putting them into hotels and bed and breakfasts, because that’s where the money comes from.She was pleased that money was available for Wallace and his graffiti-removal effort.He is spending money out of his own pocket, and what he does makes the island look better, she said. “