Vandals destroy flag at Gold Bar City Hall

GOLD BAR — The graffiti was bad enough, but vandals in Gold Bar did more than deface buildings.

Someone apparently used a crude Molotov cocktail to destroy the American flag that flew in front of city hall.

“Oh my goodness, I’m stunned,” said Dorothy Corshaw, a member of the Martin-Osterholtz Veterans of Foreign Wars post in town. “I’m totally stunned. It just hurts my heart.”

Corshaw, whose brother was a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, said it is hard to understand why someone would do such a thing.

A deputy from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office was called to City Hall early Tuesday morning to investigate the red, white, blue and black remnants.

He found parts of the flag melted to a rock in a fountain in front of City Hall, according to a sheriff’s office report.

“The rock was covered in soot from the burned flag and had two smaller rocks on top of it, which were holding the flag down,” the report said.

The deputy then inspected the area around the flag and found pieces of a broken and burned beer bottle.

The neck of the bottle was partially melted on landscaping stones around the fountain. It was wrapped with tape and had a burned rag sticking out of it, the deputy wrote.

A City Hall employee reported the vandalism early Tuesday morning.

He first discovered graffiti on the town’s marquee and at City Hall.

One bit of graffiti said “ALL RISE” in black spray paint with a picture similar to a smiley face with a straight mouth and eyes that looked like musical notes.

Similar scrawl was found on a city park gazebo and at Gold Bar Elementary School.

After the deputy took photographs and collected evidence, volunteers scrubbed away the graffiti.

“One of the first rules about graffiti is you clean it up quickly,” Gold Bar Mayor Joe Beavers said.

The mayor said the destruction of the American flag was particularly troubling.

“That has irritated a lot of people in town,” Beavers said. “We have a lot of retired and ex-military living around here.”

Anyone with information about the vandalism spree is asked to call the sheriff’s office tipline at 425-388-3845.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.