Residents and elected officials denounced Thursday an “Obama shotgun pool” at the Oak Hill General Store in Standish, which has made national news as an example of acts of racism around the country following the election of President-elect Barack Obama.

Other residents, however, defended the owner of the store, Steve Collins, who didn’t attend the special Standish Town Council meeting Thursday afternoon. Residents who know Collins and his business said he was a generous man and the alleged sign may have been a joke in poor taste that was blown out of proportion since it was spotted by an Associated Press reporter.

“I am against racism, but I do like Steve,” said Mary Hicks, 80, after the meeting. Hicks owns the building where the general store operates and said Collins has been a good tenant for the more than 15 years he has operated there. She said the news of the incident has made her a nervous wreck.

Reports of the existence of the pool predicting violence against Obama have prompted condemnation from public officials. Local legislators are planning to sponsor a state resolution denouncing acts of hate against any person. It was one of several local reported acts of racism that has lead local organizations, including the Maine Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to organize a rally against hate crimes Friday in Portland.

Thursday’s Special Town Council meeting was held to pass a resolve condemning the alleged act.

“We want to go on record to express our condemnation of this despicable act,” said Wayne Newbegin, town council chairman.

A student at St. Joseph’s College, who created a Facebook page titled “Stop the Hate at Oak Hill General Store,” said more than 400 people have joined the group from all over the country.

Kaitlyn Cunningham, 21, said she was discouraged to hear the news of the sign. “As a student, I see the future of our country,” Cunningham said. “Our country should be moving forward, not backward.”

But regular customer of the Oak Hill General Store Stacy Bulgajewski said Collins was a giving and personable man.

“I think we’re totally crucifying him,” Bulgajewski said. “I believe it’s a joke in poor taste.” Neither Bulgajewski nor her partner Steve Westman had seen the sign, though they regularly visit the store.

“I think this is being blown way out of proportion,” Westman said after the meeting, adding that the store has been closed for at least four days. “He needs to make a living too.”

Standish resident Pamela Smith said the town has become notorious around the world and it was incumbent upon the citizens to speak against the incident.

“Freedom of speech is one thing, but I don’t think provoking violence is protected,” Smith said.

Representatives from the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also attended the meeting, as well as Sheriff Mark Dion and state legislators.

“We feel the best way to respond to this incident is to speak out loudly and clearly, and we hope you will do the same,” Newbegin said.

As a regular customer of the Oak Hill General Store, Stacy Bulgajewski spoke at Special Town Council meeting in Standish Thursday defending the owner of the store, Steve Collins. It has been widely-reported that there was a sign in the store advertising a pool to bet on when President-elect Obama would be attacked. Bulgajewski said she thought Collins was being prosecuted without real evidence.At a Special Town Council meeting in Standish, resident Pamela Smith spoke against the alleged sign advertising an “Obama shotgun pool” at Oak Hill General Store.In a widely-reported AP story that has been mentioned in hundreds of stories nationally and internationally, reporters claimed seeing a sign at the Oak Hill General Store in Standish advertising a lottery to predict violence against President-elect Barack Obama.