By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
HILL CITY — A sign that was posted in a bar in Hill City sparked vandalism at the business and resulted in the local chamber of commerce moving its annual banquet.
The owner of the Cowboy Junction in Hill City posted a sign in the bar that said "No Coon Tunes."
Someone took a photo of the sign and posted it on Facebook. The post appeared on "The State of Kansas," a satirical Facebook page. It went viral from there. Facebook removed the image from "The State of Kansas" Facebook page.
Following the Facebook post, someone spray-painted the message "KKK Club" on the outdoor sign for the club.
Graham County Sheriff Cole Presley said Thursday the department had no suspects in the vandalism case, but the case is still under investigation.
"It's concerning, and we don't want to see anything escalate," Presley said.
He added, "I want to reassure the public that we are investigating what has occurred here because we fear an escalation. I don't want anyone to think we are ignoring this case at all. We're not."
Kathie Hildebrand, wife of owner Ralph Hildebrand, said the offending sign has been removed, and the spray paint has been removed from their vandalized sign.
However, she said she has been receiving unwanted messages on Facebook and has been receiving "nasty phone calls" since the photo of the sign in the bar was posted on social media.
Hildebrand called the whole situation a disaster.
She said Cowboy Junction is a county music bar. Most of its regular clients are older and like to dance to country music, Hildebrand said.
Recently some younger white females came into the bar and played non-country music that owner Ralph Hildebrand did not feel was consistent with the theme of the bar, Kathie said. That is when he posted the sign.
Although Ralph Hildebrand's wife spoke to the Hays Post, but she said she did not think Ralph would respond for comment.
Kathie said the issue with the unwanted music could have been addressed better.
"Everybody takes it wrong," she said.
"We aren't really racist," she said.
She said the establishment has welcomed customers of color for a variety of events.
She said she hoped to move on from the incident.
"I'm trying to get rid of it," she said. "I'm trying to get away from it."
The director of the Hill City Chamber of Commerce said the chamber made the decision to move its annual banquet, which had been scheduled for the Cowboy Junction, to the Graham County Fairgrounds.
She said she did not want to comment further on the issue.