OAKLEY, Utah - For months, toilet paper was a sign of frustration for one Summit County family, but now it's a sign of hope.
"It continued, night after night, weekend after weekend," said Matthew Deane, of Oakley. "Oh I don't know. 10, 12, 13 rolls at a time, usually a pack of kids eight to twelve kids at a time.”
Deane is referring the harassment his family received between August and December of this year. He said it started with toilet papering the trees, but escalated into so much worse.
"Make noise, pound on windows, ring doorbells and run away, drive by real slow honking their horn hollering," said Deane. "It was really frustrating because we didn't know everyone involved, we didn't know why.”
Deane said it got so bad his 15-year-old daughter decided she no longer wanted to attend South Summit High School. She is now home-schooled.
"They felt invincible and we felt very vulnerable," said Deane.
Then in early December, a few of the culprits were caught by a Summit County Sheriff's Deputy. However, instead of pressing charges, the Deane family made a surprising decision.
"It sort of came to me that I should ask these people to bring toilet paper to our house and bring it into the house and come to know us,” said Deane.
The harassment came to an end, and instead of winding up in the trees, the toilet paper will be donated to the Kamas Food Bank. The idea quickly blossomed into a fundraiser over social media.
"One man has driven up from Salt Lake twice with toilet paper," said Deane. "We had a really crappy situation and we took it and turned it into something nice and happy and beneficial and of service."
So far the Deane family has accumulated more than 1,000 rolls of toilet paper. They plan to keep accepting donations until the first of the year.
For more information on how to donate go to www.frogsdontweartights.com.
