Mayor Eric Skinner of Harbour Breton said that he is very frustrated with the vandalism carried out on Town signs and property this summer.
A fire engine warning sign at the community’s entrance was recently taped over while another sign was sprayed with neon paint.
There has also been damage done to town signs/property in other areas of the community over the summer. According to Mayor Skinner, the damage is happening on a frequent basis.
He said, “These signs being painted near the entrance to our community certainly does not give visitors a good impression of the Town.
This person or persons going around defacing Town property doesn’t make our community look very good, and it shows a very disrespectful attitude towards the community’s residents.
The taping over of the fire engine warning sign is a serious safety issue as our fire hall is near the Town’s entrance and visitors need to be aware of that in case of any emergency as they’re entering the community.
“These signs are expensive and are hard to replace. The person/persons doing this need to realize that our council operates on a very tight budget and any unnecessary extra expense like replacing signs or getting rid of distasteful graffiti hits us where it hurts the most.
“The extra cost all comes from taxpayers’ dollars in the end. Another issue is that the time it takes for employees to repair the damage or to replace a sign could be better utilized at some other task required by the council.
“I am offering a reward to anyone who can supply us with information that will lead to a conviction.”
Cst. Dwayne Doyle of the RCMP said that the members of the Harbour Breton detachment would be doing their best to address the situation.
“We will not tolerate this type of activity.” Cst. Doyle said. “Anyone with information which can lead to a conviction should contact our detachment or Crime Stoppers. The person or persons responsible for this vandalism will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
