Pranksters who unscrew stop signs and move them to different places in Merrillville, take heed: Charges are waiting for you, Police Chief Kosta Nuses vowed.
The Streets Department got a call this month from a resident in the neighborhood at West 91st Avenue and Noble Street that the stop signs at that intersection had been removed, Street Department Director Steve King told the Town Council at its Tuesday night meeting. The resident had been doing yardwork one morning and saw that people were stopping at the stop sign as they usually do but then came out the next day and saw that they weren’t, he said.
King called Nuses, and they found the stop signs posted at the bike trail, King said.
“This isn’t a joke,” King said. “That could’ve been fatal for someone to pull out onto 91st when they expected to stop. It’s not acceptable and could’ve cost someone their lives.
“We got them right back up, but it’s heartbreaking that someone thinks that’s a joke.”
Nuses said King “took the words out of his mouth.”
“We’re going to find out who did this, and I’m going to hammer you with any charges I can find that’ll fit,” he said.
In other business, Council Vice President Rhonda Neal, D-1, announced the town will open registration for its annual Christmas Decorating Contest for residents on December 6. Residents will have from December 9 to December 20 to deck out their houses in their holiday finest; winners will be announced in January. As well, the town invited residents to come to its annual Christmas Tree Lighting from 5:30 to 7:30 December 6 at the Dean and Barbara White Center, 6400 Broadway.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
