Damage to Political Sign Offends in Great Falls
My wife and I are longtime residents of Great Falls who are building a new home there.
On Oct. 10, we installed an 8-by-4-foot painted canvas sign that said "BUSH/CHENEY" prominently on our property where the new home is under construction. The next evening, a neighbor called us to say that our sign had been taken down and was on the ground. We went over at 8 p.m. and discovered that someone -- clearly not a deer -- had pulled the stakes out of the ground and thrown our sign onto the ground.
We put the sign back up, only to receive a call Oct. 12 that the sign was back down. We went over to put it back up.
But this time we discovered that someone had not only torn the sign back down, they had cut it up with a knife or scissors, leaving only the perimeter of the sign attached to the frame, and had taken the sign itself away.
This was a substantial sign, for which we paid $180. It had a strong frame around the entire perimeter, strong poles into the ground to hold it up, and nylon guy lines to provide it strength and stability. Now all that is left is the frame, with three inches of the political banner attached to the perimeter.
Interestingly, both events, as nearly as we can tell, took place during daylight. The sign was up and noted at 2 p.m. on Oct. 11, then down at 7 p.m. that night. We put the sign up again, but it was down by 9:30 a.m. the next day. That particular corner is used by "moms" from the Potomac Forest area for dropping their kids off for the school bus in the morning and waiting for the kids to come home from school.
We have no idea who destroyed the sign, but it is clear that a parent dropping off or waiting for their child 30 feet away certainly had the proximity.
Why do I write this? We love Great Falls. It is a wonderful community in which to live. We have numerous wonderful friends in the area. We are absolutely shocked and saddened that one of our neighbors is the most likely perpetrator of these acts. It should make no difference which candidates' names are on the sign. I thought we all had the right to express our own political preference.
We reported this act of vandalism to the police, of course, but there is little chance of identifying the actor(s). Further, we tried to buy another sign to replace it, but they are all sold out. Thus, one of our neighbors seems to have denied us our rights to express our political opinions.
Larry and Mary Wright
Great Falls
Editor's note: A similar incident occurred near the Wrights on Oct. 10. Patricia C. O'Connor, who lives on Baron Cameron Avenue in Reston, told county police that someone removed a large "Kerry-Edwards" sign from the front yard of her two-story Colonial porch-style house, which dates to 1900.
Orange Line Crowding Needs Realistic Solutions
Overcrowding on Metro's Orange Line is worsening faster than portrayed in the article "Headed for More Congestion" [Fairfax Extra, Oct. 7].
Recently I attended a presentation by Fairfax County officials about the Nov. 2 bond referendum, at a meeting of the Providence District Council. A portion of the transportation bonds will go toward the "Metro Matters" program, which includes purchasing more rail cars.
