Vandals deface chicken-coop bus decorated by kids – The Denver Post

2021-12-30 04:33:35 By : Ms. Philip Li

A bus painted by children and donated by Cherry Creek schools to Grant Family Farms to be used as a mobile chicken coop received an unwelcome addition sometime last week — sprayed-on swastikas and anti-gay messages.

In August, more than 100 children left their mark on the bus at a painting party at the Aurora Public Library. Sometime between Sept. 7 at 9 p.m. and Sept. 11 at 11 a.m., vandals entered the farm in Wellington, passing through clearly marked private land, and defaced three buses, said Angela Simon, chef for Grant Family Farms and representative for Boulder Community Supported Agriculture.

Two of the buses are used for tours around the farm, and the one the children painted is one of 11, soon to be 13, mobile coops.

Simon said she was shocked someone would vandalize the buses, which “started as so sweet and innocent.”

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the vandalism and trespassing as a crime of bias because of the nature of the graffiti, executive officer Nick Christensen said.

“Vandalism is pretty routine,” Christensen said. “But it’s more rare to see it targeted to a specific group like this.”

The all-organic farm fosters an open community with a diverse staff, she said. The colorful buses add an element of mobile art — with messages of peace and love — to the utility they serve as a chicken coop.

Every few weeks, the buses are taken to different areas on the more than 2,000-acre farm to allow the chickens to roam free and help with fertilizing and weed control.

The chicken buses are decorated at painting parties hosted at the farm. On Saturday, there will be a painting party open to the public to cover up the vandalism and to paint two new coops.

Simon said she hopes they will have a gracious donor provide paint for the party, which will start at 9 a.m.

“It will take some work to cover it up,” Simon said. “We will do the best we can.”

And although she is looking forward to seeing the graffiti gone, she said, “this isn’t a message you just cover up with paint.”

Caitlin Gibbons: 303-954-1638 or cgibbons@denverpost.com

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