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Father defends county
Fire 'doesn't represent the community'
Racial Burn 1 es
Graffiti found at the site of a Lanier Drive house fire suggests the homeowner may have been targeted because of her support for President Barack Obama. If true, the homeowner's father said, the incident "doesn't represent the community." - photo by Emily Saunders
Investigation into suspicious fire continues.

William Morrow is still in disbelief, struggling to come to grips with the suspicious fire that destroyed his daughter's house Sunday morning.

Perhaps most troubling was racist graffiti found at the site, hinting that the fire was deliberate and Pam Graf may have been targeted because she supports President Barack Obama.

The incident, Morrow said, "doesn't represent the community."

"It doesn't represent Forsyth County," he said. "And I just can't believe this is what's happening."

Marie Anderson, chairwoman of the Forsyth County Democratic Party, agreed. In a statement released Monday night she said the group "condemns hate crimes of any nature."

"Should the allegations prove to be true, we as residents of Forsyth County, whether Republican or Democrat, Obama supporter or not, should be shocked and appalled that this type of incident would happen here in our county," she said.

"It is our hope that those who committed this crime be brought to justice as quickly as possible. We are very thankful that nobody was physically injured as a result of the fire."

Investigation is ongoing into the fire, which occurred while Graf was in Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration.

Lanier Drive winds along a heavily wooded peninsula dotted with homes that juts out into Lake Lanier. Crime scene tape wraps around the charred remains of the house.

A basketball goal, go-kart and some outdoor furniture were just a few of the items belonging to Graf and her three children that were not scorched by the flames.

The foundation and what appears to have been part of the front of the house are all that's left of the structure.

Forsyth Fire Capt. Jason Shivers said the house was "beyond fully involved" in flames when firefighters got there and it "had already experienced some structural collapse."

Stones with Bible verses etched on them line the path to what used to be the front door.

One of the stones quotes the book of Isaiah, "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."