Supporters of the Uncle Sam Billboard in Napavine gather after the sign was vandalized and then quickly cleaned up overnight.
Supporters of the Uncle Sam Billboard in Napavine gather after the sign was vandalized and then quickly cleaned up overnight.
Chehalis' "Uncle Sam" sign was vandalized Tuesday night with red paint.
By The Chronicle
Once again, vandals targeted the Hamilton “Uncle Sam” billboard Tuesday night, covering it in red paint. But before the vandalism had the chance to see the light of day, a group of individuals cleaned up the paint.
The sign looked brand new by dawn.
The Napavine Police Department responded to reports of the Hamilton sign being vandalized at approximately 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Judy Godbey wrote in an email, who is an administrative assistant for the department.
Godbey added that the investigation is still pending and at this time they have no suspects.
Heaven Salvatore and Gunner Alber, a mother and son that live in East Lewis County, were back at the sign Wednesday just before noon after they came out early Wednesday morning when the clean up was underway.
“Last night at around 9 o’clock I saw a post on Facebook that the Hamilton sign so I went to my mom’s room and said we need to get down there,” Alber said, adding that he and his mother were by the sign for two to three hours.
Salvatore said the cleanup effort was championed by one woman, though Salvatore didn’t feel comfortable identifying her without her knowledge of it, who worked throughout the night to clean it up.
On Facebook, Cary David Snyder posted at 10:07 p.m. on Tuesday, “Someone defaced ‘Our Hamilton Sign’! We will let the owners know we’re behind them and won’t let it happen again. More news coming…”
Just after midnight, Snyder went back to Facebook again and posted a video which depicts at least one person cleaning up the red paint with others in the vicinity with the caption “LIVE Clean Up at ‘Our Hamilton Sign’!”
Snyder did not immediately respond to The Chronicle’s request for comment.
If anyone has more information regarding the vandalism to the Hamilton sign, the Napavine Police Department would like you to contact their office or Lewis County 911.
