First it was her flowerbeds that were ruined.

No big deal to Rita Ostrager. She dealt with it and moved on. Then, it was beer bottles strewn about her Monroe Township property, followed by paintball attacks. Still, she shrugged it off.

But when she found a swastika on her vehicle last month, she just had to do something about it.

"The previous incidents, I never said anything to the authorities," Ostrager said. "But once I saw that swastika, it went right to my heart. The other incidents were nothing compared to that."

Ostrager, who has been a member of the township's Board of Education since last April, freely admits that she says what's on her mind at board meetings, and that this may be the bane of her problems. She says community members have told her to "slow down," but that she doesn't want to.

"My whole motivation in joining the board was to do better for the kids in this town and try to open things up around here," Ostrager said. "I had no idea it would lead to my minivan having a swastika placed upon it."

Following a July 18 Board of Education meeting, Ostrager found the swastika, made out of mustard, on her Ford Windstar minivan. Ostrager feels that this incident, and the others, may have been the work of the same person or people, she said.

But the vandalism wasn't limited to only her minivan. Brian Hackett, a college student who ran for the Board of Education In 2006, also found his car and cars belonging to his family defaced.

"What happened to Rita is much worse than what happened to me. My car was smeared with mustard and crap like that," Hackett told The Jewish State.

This is not, he said, the first time something like this has happened -- to him or to Ostrager. "I've always had my suspicions as to who is doing these things to Rita and myself but there really is no concrete evidence. My home was egged over the winter but I didn't do anything about it," he said.

Hackett was a former student liason to the Board, and he still remains active by attending meetings. He also publicly supports Ostrager.

"Rita is an outspoken member of the Board of Education in Monroe and some people apparently don't like her being that way. To say the least, it is a contentious state of affairs lately," he said. "I defend her, and that seems to be a problem around here. I have feeling that some fellow board members may not like her very much. I may be the only one that supports her at the meetings."

Even through all of the problems that she has endured, Ostrager says she has no intention of leaving the board, although the thought did cross her mind at one point.

"I feel like now it's very important to take a stand and show that I'm not a quitter and that I am a tough person," Ostrager said. "I almost feel like after this, all of these problems may stop. People will now see that I'm not going anywhere. If I was them [the perpetrators], I'd be very weary now."

As for the future, Ostrager did acknowledge that her children, ages 13 and 11, are a bit nervous, but that she wants to show them that backing down will not be an option.

"My kids know what a swastika is and what it means. But I also want them to know what it is to stand up for yourself and to have a tough skin," Ostrager said. "Plenty of people now realize what I put up with."

Ostrager noted that, since reporting this latest incident to the police, she has not been made aware of any leads or clues.

"This will stop when Rita stops, and knowing her, she won't stop anytime soon and that's fine. She will continue to stand up for what she believes in, and so will I," Hackett said.

Anyone with information regarding the vandalism is urged to contact Detective Sgt. Lawrence Linke of the Monroe Township Police Department at (732) 521-0222, ext. 178, or Sgt. John Rodriguez of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at (732) 745-3739.