Florist Overcomes Vandalism with Positive Messages

A local business has turned a small act of vandalism into a big push for positivity. 

Abbey Shelton, owner of Rose Garden Florist, said she found Sunday that someone had written, "Paducah is Trash," on the side of the building. 

Video surveillance shows a man and woman paused for a moment in front of the business on Sunday, with the man scribbling the words on the brick wall before the pair went across the street to a church. Shelton was relieved when she learned that the vandalism was written in chalk instead of something more permanent. 

"When it was in chalk, we decided to just have a little fun with it and try to change some minds," Shelton said.

She posted a photo of the vandalism on the business Facebook page and asked people to stop by the florist to write something positive about Paducah on the building.

The post said, "Let’s show love instead of hate. Be thankful and forgiving. We have lots of room to write so help us out."

Since then, Shelton said she's blown away with the response, which has been stronger than she expected. 

She said, "I think that just shows a lot about our community and how people feel about our community and the support that we show each other. So, it's been very uplifting for me all week."

Shelton said she doesn't intend to file a police report, even though she has video evidence.

"I really wanted to just focus on the positive. If it would have cost us a lot of money in damages then we might have, but we were able to remove it easily." Shelton said. "I think we definitely got the better end of the deal. There's so many positive message on the wall that you can just sit out there and read them and get inspired and uplifted for the day."