OXFORD — A local grassroots campaign formed in opposition to the November ballot question asking for a casino in Oxford says its homemade signs have come under increasing attack.

Over the weekend two large 4-foot by 8-foot campaign signs were knocked down at locations along Route 26, and organizers say they know it was done intentionally because of eye-witness accounts.

Yes on 1 campaign signs were also left as calling cards, according to Scott Vlaun of Otisfield, an organizer with the Oxford Hills No On 1 campaign.

At one house two elderly women were home when the late-night vandalism occurred and the sounds of the signs being taken down and the “hooting and hollering” was frightening to the women, he said.

The signs urging a “no” vote on the ballot question have been reinstalled but the vandalism is only a sign of things to come if the casino question passes, Vlaun said.

Other smaller signs had been run down with vehicles, he said.

His group opposes the casino because it won’t create the kind of economic development and jobs supporters have promised, Vlaun said.

“All this is going to do is suck money out of the economy,” he said.

Vlaun said his small group of local people are fighting passionately against the blitz of a $4 million marketing campaign being mounted by Maine Taxpayers Taking Charge  — a group financed by the principal owners of Black Bear Entertainment, the company hoping to own and operate the casino in Oxford, if it’s approved by Maine voters.

But one of those owners, Jim Boldebook of Biddeford, said Monday the vandalism is not a practice they support.

“We absolutely do not condone or encourage this type of action on either side,” Boldebook said. “It’s just not good sportsmanship, it’s just not the right thing to do.”

Boldebook said like in every political campaign there is a small segment beyond the control of any campaign.

Vlaun said one of the signs taken down late Friday night was on a property where two elderly widows live and they were frightened by the vandals.

Oxford police Chief Jon Tibbetts said Monday that campaign sign vandalism is fairly common during “big election years” or on big issues. He said that the damage was reported and police are investigating but it’s the kind of case that’s hard to crack if the culprits aren’t caught red-handed.

“Unless somebody sees something there’s not a lot we can do,” Tibbetts said Monday. He did say tampering or destroying campaign signs carries a $250 fine and is a civil violation.

Tibbetts urged people to report any suspicious activity around signs and his department would respond. “We follow up on all complaints,” he said.

Oxford’s Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Michael Chammings have been openly supportive of the casino, but that doesn’t matter when it comes to this kind of illicit activity, Tibbetts said.

“Regretfully there are people who have strong feelings and who act inappropriately,” Tibbetts said.

Jeff Polland of Oxford, a casino opponent and supporter of Oxford Hills No on 1, said he helped install and re-install the group’s signs after they were knocked down. He said it was clearly an act of vandalism because he installed the signs on 6-foot steel posts driven 2 feet into the ground. “This was not the wind,” Polland said. Besides, the signs were laying flat against the wind, he added.

Polland said he’s seen this kind of behavior before in the last casino ballot question vote for Oxford in 2008 and he warned Oxford Hills No On 1 organizers that their signs would be vandalized, especially closer to voting day.

“We’ve been subjected to all kinds of abuse as well as a lot of encouragement,” Polland said. That encouragement far outweighed any abuse, he said.

“It reminds us we do not stand alone,” Polland said. “We refuse to give in, we will not give in. This is a cause we are passionate about, we are passionate about our community. I’ve encountered many more opponents to the casino. I know we are not alone and that’s what keeps me from running out of gas.”

sthistle@sunjournal.com

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