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Vandalism is latest problem for restaurant's hog as fiberglass swine gets unwanted paint job. Date published: 12/10/2005 By MEGHANN COTTER Someone apparently thought the black and white Virginia Barbeque Co. pig in North Stafford would look pretty in pink.
Restaurant owners Frank and Louise Sopko discovered last week that someone had covered their 41/2-foot-tall statue with the rosy-colored paint. Sopko said the incident was reported to the Sheriff's Office because a new paint job will probably not cost more than a few hundred dollars. But he is concerned that it happened less than a month after the Board of Supervisors election, in which the pig was a campaign issue in the Aquia District race. The fiberglass Hampshire hog has been in trouble with code administration officials several times since Virginia Barbeque opened in late 2003. Its owners have tried to hoist it to a permanent home on top of the roof--which is currently prohibited by Stafford's sign ordinance. Sopko said the public has been more passionate about getting the pig back on the roof than he has. "As long as we can put the pig on the property, I'm happy," he said. For several years, however, he and other local business owners have lobbied the county government for a change in the law. Supervisors have not taken any action. And the county staff has rejected their applications to be exempt from the ordinance. But Aquia District Supervisor Kandy Hilliard, who represents the stretch of U.S. 1 where the eatery is located, caught the most heat over the issue. She has argued that allowing one business to put an object on its roof would open the door for many others to do the same. "The sign ordinance is about a whole lot more than just the pig," Hilliard said by phone this week. "It is about improving the way Stafford County looks." Hilliard even held a school fundraiser with Virginia Barbeque to show that she had nothing personal against the restaurant. "Stafford needs to be talking about things way beyond that pig," she said. But the issue still came up for debate during the November election, when Sopko threw his support to Hilliard's challenger, Paul Milde. Milde roasted Hilliard over her views on the sign and pledged to change the ordinance during his term. He won the election. Milde said this week he has already asked the county attorney to help him come up with a new sign ordinance proposal. "I have a feeling it would pass if we got it in front of the Board of Supervisors," he said. In the meantime, Sopko said the pig will probably stay pink for a while. He is working on opening a third restaurant and said he doesn't have the time or money to fix the pig immediately. To reach MEGHANN COTTER:
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