This swastika-painted sign is along Cloverdale Road in Igo. The Igo Store was also sprayed with hate tags, all of which have been painted over by the store’s owner, Tom Schlenker. Photo by Barbara Rice of Igo.
Sometime after 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, a person or persons spray-painted hate words on the front of the Igo Store at 6490 Placer Road.
By the time a neighbor saw it as they were leaving for work at 4:30 a.m. on Monday, March 4, store owner Tom Schlenker was already aware of it. Schlenker said swastikas and other hate tags were sprayed on street signs along Cloverdale Road.
Neighborhood Watch chair Jim Wilson condemned the actions. “This is a violation of Federal, State and local laws and charges very probably will be pressed. There are pictures of the culprit(s) and they will be turned in to the authorities,” Wilson said in a newsletter to local residents.
“Tom and the Igo Store have done a lot of things for our communities. Always ready to help, always ready to not complain if a booth or other business is set up that cuts into his business, always ready to say, ‘Does it benefit the community?’ ”
Schlenker expressed optimism that the person(s) responsible would be identified. He said the Shasta County Sheriff’s office called the graffiti a hate crime.
Webcam recordings from multiple sources are currently being reviewed.
Anyone with any information is encouraged to call the Igo Store at 396-2292 or the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office at 245-6165.
Barbara Rice is a native Igonian and periodically writes an anewscafe.com column, “A Cheap Broad’s Travel Tips”.
