A crime was committed in front of The Gazette office at 1024 Main St., Stevens Point.
The victim – a virgin Portage County Gazette sandwich board sign.
The crime – the sign was signnapped from the sidewalk while making its debut performance.
The perpetrator – most likely some college student who thought it would be cool to have a Gazette sandwich board sign decorating his room, although at this time police officers have no official leads.
After The Gazette moved from Church Street to Main Street last summer, we’ve had a number of people ask us “Where exactly on Main Street are you located?” Although a large sign on the front of the building says “The Portage County Gazette,” many people still couldn’t find us, calling us from their cell phones and asking what businesses we were next to on Main Street.
Realizing it must be difficult for many people to read the big sign, we decided to get a white sandwich board sign with our name and logo on it. By the time we received it last fall, though, people had figured out where we were and it was no longer needed.
So it sat in our lobby at 1024 Main St. throughout the fall, winter and most of the spring.
Last Thursday, when some staff members were cleaning the lobby, they decided the sign needed to be used for its original purpose. Plus, they thought, the weather was finally nice and maybe it would like to catch some of it.
So they put it outside on the sidewalk.
Since bringing the sign back in at the end of the day wasn’t a normal part of the daily routine, it remained there after all the staff members left for the day.
It most likely will never see the lobby again, as some time between 5 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. Friday it disappeared.
When a Gazette staffer realized it had been left outside Friday morning, he went to check on it, discovering the signnapping.
After a search through the Gazette offices, as well as with the hair salon next door, it dawned on us that the sign was probably now some college kid’s trophy, decorating his or her dorm room much like a dead deer head might decorate some hunter’s garage.
We could be wrong with our theory, but that seems like the most logical explanation. Even the police officer who took our report said we’re probably right. I just hope he doesn’t spend any more time investigating the sign’s disappearance, as pretty much every crime that’s ever been committed deserves more attention than this one.
But that won’t stop me from writing about it, as maybe a few words in this column about it might inspire someone who has seen the sign as a trophy to call us, letting us know who the perpetrator is and where it can be found. Or maybe the perpetrator will read this, realize he or she has stepped onto an ugly criminal path that could lead to bad things down the road, and will anonymously return it to our front sidewalk.
Perhaps, a reward may be offered for its return, such as a case of beer for those 21 or older, or a case of Ramen noodles for those who aren’t. Either one are probably way more valuable than a sign that holds worth for only one business in the entire world.
Even if we don’t get it back, The Gazette has learned a valuable lesson. If we need to get rid of something, all we need to do is put a Gazette logo on it and set it out on our front sidewalk. Maybe we can finally say goodbye to the broken newsstand box in our backroom holding a Gazette dated Aug. 4, 2000.
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Originally published in The Portage County Gazette on Friday, May 20, 2011.
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