ADAMS (AP) - A teenager who found racial and sexual slurs on a highway near her home says the vandals don't speak for her community.

"The general consensus is that I'm 100 percent accepted by my community and that the majority of people do not feel how they feel," Adrienne Thomas said.

Thomas thinks she may be the only black person within 50 miles of her home in Adams, in Walsh County.

She found the offensive graffiti painted on the road in front of her house Monday, after she got back from the Junior Olympics in Omaha, Neb.

"I was just shocked," Thomas said. "I couldn't believe it."

The Walsh County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

Thomas's mother, Katy Kadlec, said the vandals probably were jealous of what Adrienne has accomplished. She has a number of sports awards and a scholarship to the University of Minnesota.

Sheriff Lauren Wild said his department has been talking to people in the area to see if anyone has any information that might help catch the vandals.

"It might not be easy, but it's not something we're going to write off," he said.

Thomas said she's not allowing the slurs on the highway get her down.

"I think if any positives come out of it, it's just to reaffirm (the vandals) are the minority," she said. "I am much more dignified than this situation. I won't let simple words hurt me."