Ortonville- The village’s historic treasure, the Old Mill Museum was defaced this week with a Nazi phrase coupled with the name of the village council president.
‘Seig Heil! Wayne Wills? was printed in roughly 2-inch high letters using what appeared to be a black permanent marker on the Old Mill underneath a museum sign. The German words ‘Seig Heil? mean ‘hail to victory? and was a Nazi salute.
Wills, the village council president, as well as council members Liz Waters and Courtney McClerren, were informed of the vandalism and viewed it themselves following a contentious March 23 council meeting at which many residents expressed opposition to a proposed sewer system.
Waters reported the crime to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and stated she believes the vandalism may be in retaliation for the sewer proposal.
‘That is no way to voice your opinions one way or the other regarding sewers,? said OCSO Sgt. Greg Glover, Brandon substation commander. ‘You don’t deface buildings because you’re unhappy? (discontent) should be handled through meetings and elections. That building is dear to a lot of people. We are going to pursue this to criminal charges and formally present this to the prosecutor if we find out who did this.?