Monday, February 2, 2004
Oxford Eagle

Pageant Headquarters Defaced Night of Murder

By KELLY SHACKLETON
Staff Writer

As if to add insult to the injury of murder, during the same night Ms. Barbara Dubois was killed, vandals spray-painted the Yoknapatawpha County Literature Festival Pageant office and hung pictures of maimed animals in the stage room, both located at the Yoknapatawpha County Convention Center.

"Nothing like this has ever happened here before," says Bob Niwachee, manager of the convention center. "It's important for people to remember, however, that the attack was aimed not at the YCCC but at the pageant itself. No guest rooms were in any way disturbed."

The pageant has been under sharp criticism from both those who would rather not see a beauty pageant aligned with the literary festival and those who fault the planners for allowing Lamar Cosmetics to sponsor the event.

Lamar Cosmetics, owned by Allie Lamar, has been accused by animal rights activists of conducting unnecessary product tests. The pictures hung in the stage room were captioned as evidence of this type of animal abuse.

According to a paper on domestic terrorism presented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in February 2002, the animal rights groups Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front have been responsible for more than six hundred similar crimes causing more than $43 million in damages since 1996. Neither organization has claimed credit for this recent attack.

As yet, the police have no suspects in custody, but promise that they are investigating the vandalism.

YCCC lounge bartender Nick Avanuthar noticed nothing out of the ordinary last night. "The mood was festive and the tips good. As best as I can recall, I didn't serve anybody wearing a ski mask."

Pictures of the pageant office reveal that at least three spray cans were used since swirls of black, green, and red paint cover bulletin boards, computer equipment, and papers spread across the desk. Norm Resol, custodial engineer at the YCCC, said that no paint supplies were missing from the maintenance room. "And I didn't see nuthin'," Resol said.

Lamar said that the show will go on. "We can not allow violence to dictate our actions. We must bring the pageant to its conclusion, if only to honor the memory of Barbara Dubois."

Police refuse to speculate whether the vandalism is linked to the murder of Barbara Dubois, the pageant finalist whose body was discovered at the Yoknapatawpha County Convention Center early Saturday morning.