HALLOWELL -- The appearance of "KKK" written in block letters in dozens of locations along the Kennebec River Rail Trail has police investigating and a civil rights activist calling the act cowardly.

Litchfield resident Steve Wessler, executive director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence in Portland, came across numerous signs that had been defaced, apparently by marker, with the letters "KKK" while out riding his bicycle Saturday on the rail trail in Hallowell and Farmingdale.

Wessler said the writing of the letters "KKK" -- generally an acronym for the Ku Klux Klan -- is part of a disturbing trend of racist incidents he has seen since the election of President-elect Barack Obama.

"It's cowardly," Wessler said of the graffiti. "I've been dealing with an increase in racist incidents ever since the election. It's just sickened me. We need to speak up and say this is not what Maine is about."

Other incidents Wessler cited included a sign found in a Standish store about a pool urging people to bet on when Obama would be assassinated, cardboard cutout effigies of black men hanging on Mount Desert Island, and a student at Gray New-Gloucester High School allegedly yelling racist slurs the day after the election.

Hallowell Police Officer Lanee Barnes confirmed Saturday that 15 to 20 KKKs were left in 6- to 8-inch block letters -- some in red, some in black -- on the Hallowell portion of the rail trail alone.

"It's under investigation. I'm taking pictures and looking for clues," Barnes said.

Wessler, who recently participated in a rally against hate crimes in Portland, was so upset by the incident that he is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever committed the act.

Wessler said he notified the state Attorney General's Office -- where he previously worked -- about the incident.

Wessler noted that such racist incidents have occurred recently elsewhere in the country. He said the perpetrators of such incidents are a small minority of the population.

"For these people mired, wallowing, in the mud of racism, this is scary to them," Wessler said of the election of the nation's first black president. "Their actions stem from fear -- fear of the loss of control, control by white people. It's sad; and, typical of these incidents, it's cowardly."

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com