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Campaign signs dumped in Nags Head Woods
Some of the recovered signs (submitted photo).
A reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for stealing hundreds of campaign signs from roadsides in several northern beach towns.
The rash of stolen signs was first noticed on Saturday, Oct. 13.
By early Sunday, virtually all signs for President Barack Obama along U.S. 158 had been removed from Nags Head to milepost 2.5 in Kitty Hawk.
Most of the missing signs were along the east side of the highway, but many west side signs for the President were also gone.
According to a Kill Devil Hills Police Department news release, more signs from a variety of candidates were taken during the early morning hours Wednesday from the traffic circle adjacent to the First Flight football stadium, and along Veterans’s Drive between Colington Road and Baum Street.
A police officer located the signs later that morning scattered along Lake Ridge Court in Nags Head Woods.
The recovered signs belonged to candidates from all political parties and included national, state, and local candidates.
Signs were also missing from other sections of Colington Road, but campaign supporters were trying to determine if they had been removed by crews cutting grass along the shoulder of the road.
The release stated many of the signs have been returned to representatives of the candidate’s campaigns, while the rest are being kept safe at the department’s storage building and will be returned to any candidate or campaign upon request.
In an act of good sportsmanship, Dare County commissioner candidate and Kill Devil Hills town commissioner Bob Woodard delivered opponent Bob Muller’s recovered signs to his headquarters.
Muller, in a phone call with The Voice, expressed appreciation for the help from Woodard.
None of the signs were defaced or vandalized, however during transport and dumping some of the signs may have been slightly damaged, according to the statement.
Along with signs being stolen, stacking of signs in front of opposing candidates in some races has also been taking place.
The removal of a political campaign sign is a violation of N.C. General Statute 136-32 and is a class 3 misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a $200 fine, plus court costs of approximately $173, community service, probation, and possible incarceration up to 20 days.
Anyone with information on the thefts can contact the Kill Devil Hills Police Department at 252-449-5337, leave an anonymous tip with Dare Community Crime Line at 252-473-3111, or visit DareCommunityCrimeLine.org.
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Al DeMatteo says:
I find it disturbing that the regulations for signs for businesses and other establishments are inherently strict, yet we have these political signs littering our highways and roads and flying everywhere. It’s a disgrace and there should be restrictions on the amount of signs to be displayed and their locations too! What a joke!It’s another obvious exception given to people with political clout while the rest of us are held to different standards.
Mark says:
Glad someone removed them! Come to Manteo and please clean them up here as well. Hundreds littered from Pirates Cove to the Manteo/Wanchese intersection! It looks really trashy!
Val says:
I personally can’t wait till the election is over….. so that the road side can be cleared up!!! ~ ~ ~ Talk about Distractive Driving!! ~ ~ ~ Placing them at intersection is one thing but all the way down the Causeway on both sides of the road from Pirates Cove to Manteo intersection is a bit much!!
Good Luck catching “The Clean Up Crew”…. Hope they are brought to justice or not!
Nags head bob says:
I was glad to see them gone from in ftont of first flight elementary school. Even if was only for a few days…..
Russ Lay says:
Somehow, I expected these type of responses
Nags head bob says:
How about the Obama sign nailed to a state owned speed limit sign on Colington Road? Isn’t that illegal? Would I be arested for removing it?
Nags head bob says:
How about a sign tax. A dollar a sign if placed on a state right of way.
Jeff says:
While I certainly don’t condone this kind of behavior I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to see some of the signs removed. Several of this year’s candidates have really trashed up our communities with their randomly placed campaign signs. The money some have spent on signs shows their desperation to win and their lust for spending, which is not what we need in any public office right now.
Harold says:
Gee…I thought they were a symbol of one of the great things about this country…free, open legitimate elections.
We’re one of the very few countries where we get to choose our own government, regularly.
cjs says:
I think it is kind of exciting to see all of the passion about the elections, on both sides. It would be kind of sad to see no signs or fewer signs…. certainly don’t agree with removing signs, though. Just get out there and put more signs up for your candidate…. maybe some more going to Manteo on the causway, that would be funny. But, I am wierd like that.
craig says:
well put Al!!!! Agree with ya 100%
Transplant from WI says:
What is the pupore of the signs? Like a sign is going to change my mind on who I vote for.
Dingle says:
I’d like to offer a reward to whomever removed the signs. I never remember this many of them in previous elections. Let’s start a legal defense fund for the sign thief!
kdh says:
I’m wondering if the metal frames that were left will be properly removed and disposed of?
Deborah Glasgow says:
Signs are littering the sides of the road a month before elections. They are an eyesore and Colington Road looks much better with the signs gone. Maybe the candidates can get together and pool the money they spend on signs and help the needy in our communittee.
MTOCOKEGAL says:
REALLY?? This is wrong on many levels…someone removes a sign because it doesn’t look good or they don’t like a candidate…WOW! It’s a short period of time and it is part of our FREEDOM and the political process. It would be interesting to know of those complaining – how many will actually vote?
The basic bottom line here is …if something does not belong to you, is not on your property then it is not your business to remove or move. Do you want people coming on your personal property one day and digging up your flowers because “they don’t like them?” Certainly this is longshot but the basic premise is the same.
If you live to be 80 and for 45 days a year you encounter signs you don’t like – then look at the rest of the time you have that is sign-free!
Tim says:
Think of all the trees that must be destroyed to make these worthless signs. The business sign laws are so strict you can’t do this or that and they allow this crap for 1-2 months – can you say hypocrisy?
JAK says:
When you look at the economy and you consider what is being spent; where is the money comming from? I think a limit on the number of signs would be nice. I can’t say I would miss the removal of all the signs…We are more intelligent than to vote based on a sign….
Joe says:
I love it how the Liberal minded writer of this article made it seem like the only signs that were taken were Obama signs. Doesn’t surprise me! Seems like there’s more white guilt on the OBX than anywhere I’ve ever seen!
Sam Walker says:
Thanks for your comment, Joe.
However, please note that we made the observation personally that signs of a particular candidate were the first to disappear along the bypass earlier in the week, which we feel is relevant to the overall story. I’m sure there were signs for the Republican POTUS candidates that have been taken and defaced in the same area, but it appeared at the time those signs were still in place at the relatively same locations.
Several references are made that signs for candidates in a VARIETY of races, from a VARIETY of affiliations, were taken in the mass theft on Wednesday.
Again, thanks for reading and commenting.
Joe says:
So why not retract the article instead of misleading readers?
Sam Walker says:
How exactly was this story misleading?
The first observation was reported to us by several people, both Republican and Democrat, and then verified visually by both Russ and myself, was of campaign signs being stolen for one particular candidate along the bypass, followed just a few days later by the mass theft.
There is no basis for an accusation of bias against one party or another in this story.
Thanks again for your comments.
Lisa says:
The Obama signs were not the first to be removed. Sam, did you call the Republican Party and ask when the first Romney signs were removed? Did you ask how many people have been caught removing Romney signs? People have been caught red-handed taking the signs of the Republican candidates but the witnesses have not sworn out warrants. Call the Sheriff’s office. Find out how many warrants are sitting there waiting for the witness to come and swear them out.
It is a state law that signs can be put out 30 days before the election. People on this board who don’t like the looks of them, too bad. It’s called free speech. Stealing them is breaking the law. I am so not surprised by the comments on this story, though. People here love to ban things that they don’t like.
Sam Walker says:
Thanks Lisa…great idea for a follow up story…we had that in mind when this first broke.
KDH Rezident Evil says:
Political speech is THE most protected category of speech, and rightfully so for reasons too obvious to merit explanation. I strongly disagree with the posts about limiting (or eliminating) the number of signs candidates can put out, or any limitations on political expression.
Kudos to Mr. Woodard for demonstrating good sportsmanship and to the sharp-eyed cops for quickly finding these signs and getting them back to the owners.
matt says:
Thanks for being a rebel and removing this trash off the side of the road. Political signs are ridiculous just like politics. Put a bumper sticker on your car, put a sign in YOUR yard, but do not disgrace public land with these signs. Especially when most politicians disgrace this land with their political agenda’s.
JUMPIN says:
hopefully the people have the same energy to remove after the election
Nags head bob says:
Could you please place the Obama signs closer to the road. There is too much damage being done to the grass in KDH with people having to drive so far into the right of way………
susan says:
If candidates want to put out signs, fine. However if they don’t come back to pick them all up – that’s littering. And personally if I ran things I would fine every candidate from any party with the clean-up of their authorized signs. Heck, I’d do the same for Yard Sales. If your signs are still littering my neighborhood on Monday morning, I’d use the address on the sign to find the person responsible and charge them with littering. It is such a gross mess after the election to see all of these signs end up on the sides of the roads and in corners of parking lots.
localguy says:
yes, let’s offer a reward for the sign thieves !
what a great idea !
who the heck is worried about such crap ?
where are your priorities people ?
personally, I think it should be illegal to put the signs up in the first place. what purpose do they serve ?
Browny says:
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jje says:
Please read carefully not to misunderstand:
It is our right to freedom of speech and everyone has a good point on both sides. I am asking everyone not to be so negative. Ask yourself this do the signs affect you physically no, are the signs abusive no? maybe the candidates could just place the signs on street corners that have traffic lights so when people stop they can read the signs (not all the way done the highway). Just a thought. Please lets pull together as a community, lets worry about the welfare of our family, neighbors and friends. These are hard times for everyone.
Lemonshirt says:
I agree with many of the commenters that the display of campaign signs on public property and right-of-way is distateful. I’d favor banning it, restricting it, or otherwise regulating it. But I encourage everyone to proudly back their candidates of choice by displaying campaign signs on your own private property. Few other citizens of the world are so fortunate as to be able to do so.
Civility on OBV Please says:
I offer this premise for discussion:
To me the signs represent an attempt by candidate supporters to establish name recognition for the voters who do not otherwise pay attention/research their candidates running for office.
I would say that with a more educated electorate, the need for signs would diminish; as their usefulness declines, so would their presence. Perhaps if we took a solid look in the mirror we would see that we are as often as not the cause for something we don’t like about our surroundings.
Mr Bojangles says:
Has anyone ever been motivated to vote, or better yet swayed to change how/whom they were voting for by street side/yard signs?
These political roadside/yard signs have to be the biggest waste of $$$ ever. The signs, along with all of the mass direct mailing that I’ve been getting (overwhelmingly from GOP groups this election season), just strike me as not being a particularly fiscally conservative way to spend campaign funds by either party. There has to be better, more effective ways for these parties to spend their contributors monies.
K says:
The paragraph that bothers me the most in this entire story is; “The release stated many of the signs have been returned to representatives of the candidate’s campaign, while the rest are being kept safe at the department’s storage building and will be returned to any candidate or campaign upon request.” To me that is the real story here. I would like to know why some were returned and others kept. Were the ones returned requested by the candidate/campaign? On Saturday I drove about 12 miles down 158 and the only signs I didn’t see were Obama/Biden. Very sad state of affairs if this has been done on purpose. I truly hope not.
Sue says:
It’s bound to look better now.
Miss Faith says:
Come on, folks. Let’s face it. The whole campaign sign situation has gotten completely out of hand. Those of us that want to know, know who the candidates are and those that don’t, aren’t going to get their minds changed by seeing another sign every thirty grains of sand apart! The only ones that benefit from the damned things are the enterprising individuals that recognize the opportunity in “stupid” and manufacture and sell them. Last week on my way east on the Manteo Causeway, I was incensed by the lack of COMMON COURTESY seeing that groups were putting their signs no more than two inches, directly in front of their opposition’s. If this is the quality of candidate intellect and integrity we have to choose from, we are all screwed!
VooDoo says:
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs, Blocking off the scenery, Breaking my mind…Vote this, Dont vote that can you read the signs? Wow If even 1/2 of the signs were replaced with a pot of mums. I would look forward to my drive to work along 158/12.
Sue says:
@VooDoo LOL!
MTOCOKEGAL says:
I AGREE WITH LISA….it’s a freedom…so many of you complainers on here probably do not vote at all…you’re like the man in my neighborhood that sits in his house all day long but rides out once a day to find people who are doing “wrong” according to his pinched up standards…who hasn’t mowed their yard in a timely manner….who has straw sitting on the edge of the road…who has a broken down vehicle that hasn’t been moved in one week….who uses christmas lights after the time he deems they should be down and on and on!
I look at the signs and then come back and look up candidates records….and often a slogan catches my attention to draw me to do the same research! I love our free country!
KHer says:
When I see the clutter of signs I am reminded I live in a wonderful country where any citizen has the right to vote, proclaim their favored candidate(s) and even to run for election.
May free speech continue! Put up your signs. Just remember to take the down on Nov. 7.
VooDoo says:
My post was not about the signs More about the amount of them. I do vote thank you as I hope all that can will, However I dont need the same sign posted in 1 spot 3 times then another 15 yards down the road posted 3 times again.I guess because we can….We do!
VooDoo says:
And where are all the signs now???? Yup littering the roads after the storm!!!