The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Mayor George Fontaine is urging police officers, parents and everyday citizens to help tackle an obscene problem. For years now, mischievous residents have been rearranging the neon letters on the roadside advertising signs lining the main artery through Flin Flon. Often the reworked signs display obscene words and messages potentially seen by hundreds of passing motorists and pedestrians. 'It's offensive to the community,' Mayor Fontaine said when asked about the matter at Tuesday's city council meeting. Mayor Fontaine said the private owner of the signs makes every effort to undo the lewd messages whenever they pop up. He said neither the owner nor city council appreciates the vandalism. 'Certainly we would encourage...the police to take every opportunity, when they catch the little miscreants that are doing that kind of behaviour (to), you know, push them hard, make them feel uncomfortable,' the mayor said. 'And parents, if you know your kids are doing this kind of thing and think it's funny, it's not.' Mayor Fontaine said everyday citizens can help remedy the problem if they happen to be passing a sign bearing inappropriate words. 'Walk by and take a couple of letters off so it doesn't say that word or those words,' he said. 'People can do vandalism (but) good people can walk up and just say, 'That's not right' and just move (the letters).' Wire barrier In some other communities, Coun. Ken Pawlachuk noted, these types of advertising signs are made vandal-proof with a chicken-wire barrier. But Mayor Fontaine said council has not considered such a rule for Flin Flon. 'We could talk about it, but it's not something, prior to this question, that we've been asked or that we've discussed,' he said. 'I mean, I could talk to the owner and say, 'What can you do and what's reasonable?' but I think the owner has probably tried a fair number of things. 'If there's an economical way that that can be done, then we will talk to the owner about it.' For Coun. Colleen McKee, the vandalism is emblematic of 'an attitude.' 'I mean, it's no different than people writing obscenities on the rocks (with paint),' she said. 'I mean, you can't really control that because it happens in the middle of the night and it's in areas where it's not being policed. But I mean, (the solution is) about taking pride in the community.' Coun. McKee said a tourist told her the rearranged letters and rock graffiti make Flin Flon 'look terrible.' 'But I mean, it's your community. We're only city council,' she said. Coun. McKee said a rule that would require a vandal-proof barrier for the signs could have the effect of higher costs for the advertisers who use them. 'So again, let's just use some common sense and take some pride in our community and just not do it, challenge people just to stop,' she said.
