Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Co. Road Signs Disappearing

BY JOHN MILLER

Signs marking county roads for the 9-1-1 emergency telephone service are being stolen in the area.

Doyle Sharp, with the Kansas Volunteer Fire Department, said a sign marking Vaden Road was stolen which caused a serious problem Saturday, Jan. 8.

According to Sharp, around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, an ambulance was called concerning a reported cardiac case. However, the signs marking the road to the victim's home were missing and the ambulance had trouble finding the house.

This resulted in a life-threatening delay for the victim.

Sharp said the Kansas VFD works to keep signs on the roads in the area, but they keep getting stolen.

Clark County Judge Floyd "Buddy" Manning, agreed, adding the problem is county wide, and not just in the Gurdon area.

"We're constantly putting signs up," Manning said, "but they get taken down almost as fast as we get them up."

To try and combat the problem somewhat, he said, the county road crew will be painting grader blades white, with reflecting paint used for the road name.

Hopefully, he said, the grader blades won't be stolen.

Manning has talked with the municipal judge and will talk to the circuit judge about the problem and see what can be done.

Clark County Sheriff Troy Tucker said the taking of these signs is considered theft of property. This charge carries a penalty of up to a year in jail with a fine up to $1,000.

"This is no different than going into a business and shoplifting," he said.

"But it's not just here. Signs are being stolen all over. Where they go up, people steal them."

At one time the signs were made of aluminum. These were stolen, melted down and sold for their metal content.

However, the new signs are made of fiberglass and have no resale value.

Tucker said four Gurdon area youths were arrested, charged and taken before the juvenile judge concerning the Jan. 8, incident.

Those arrested, he said, had an assortment of all kinds of signs. These included road signs, 9-1-1 signs and traffic signs.

Tucker said the juveniles could be charged on individual counts for each sign in their possession.

Sharp said people in the Kansas-Vaden area have been panicked because of the stolen signs, in case another emergency occurs.

At one point, a sign was put on a 14-foot pole, with the pole greased to slow the thieves down. It didn't, he said, as the sign still wound up missing.