On Voting Day (Oct. 19) Vanderhoof residents woke up to the only rainbow crosswalk in town, defaced with messages of 'speak truth' and 'save the kids'.
The incident took place right by the polling station on Victoria Street. The RCMP are investigating the incident.
Vanderhoof Mayor Kevin Moutray condemned the incident on social media. "There aren’t words to describe my sadness and disgust with the hate crime at the rainbow crosswalk overnight," Moutray said in the post. "This is targeted hate and does not represent who we are as a community. We are welcoming, inclusive, diverse and curious about others. If there is a truth, that’s it!"
This is not the first time the crosswalk was vandalized. In June a large burnout was found across the crosswalk. Similarly the police are also investigating another vandalism incidents from June when several 'Share the Love' banners – a campaign organized by the queer alliance group of Nechako Valley Senior Secondary–were vandalized.
