It took artist about three hours to eradicate anti-Semitic slurs and a swastika from the mural she painted on theclubhouse and concession.
On Wednesday, Pohl had finished covering up graffiti declaring 鈥淗itler rules鈥� and anti-Jewish comments, some of them obscene, that was spray-painted on the exterior sometime between Saturday night, March 25 and Sunday morning, March 26.
Pohl explained the repair work took a little longer that it could have, because some outraged City parks staff had spray-painted over the messages shortly after they were discovered on the weekend, apparently unaware the mural has two layers of an anti-vandalism coating,
When she first saw the graffiti, Pohl said her reaction was 鈥渨hy?
鈥淚t was horrible,鈥� she told the 91原创 Advance Times.
When asked what she would say to the people responsible, if she had a chance, Pohl asked, 鈥渄o we have to have words?鈥� then mimed throwing punches.
In 2021, the colourful murals were painted on the clubhouse in City Park by Pohl as a gift from the Downtown 91原创 Business Association to the city and the 91原创 Baseball Association.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Anti-Semitic graffiti spray-painted on donated mural at 91原创 Baseball clubhouse
Dan McLaren, senior vice president of the Little League club, called it a 鈥渉ate crime鈥� and reported the incident to 91原创 RCMP.
On Wednesday, a statement decrying the vandalism was issued by Nicolas Slobinsky Senior Director, Pacific Region, of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), an agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada.
鈥淲e are appalled that a 91原创 baseball clubhouse was spray painted with antisemitic hate,鈥� the statement read.
鈥淭here is no room for hate in sports or anywhere.鈥�
Slobinsky described the incident as 鈥渉eartbreaking but not surprising.鈥�
READ ALSO: Baseball-themed murals add colour to 91原创鈥檚 City Park
It happened as the club was preparing to resume play, at a time when membership in the Little League ball club, which encompasses all of 91原创 City and all of 91原创 Township, has grown from 614 kids last year to 760 this year, with an increase in the number of teams from 53 to 62.
The incident at the Little League club comes after someone vandalized the gate to a 91原创 townhouse that has been flying the Ukraine flag since the Russian invasion earlier this month by spray-painting anti-Ukraine graffiti.
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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