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Sign vandals are at it again

Youths - some believe they're skateboarders with no place to roll - are stealing letters off neighborhood signs.

By EMILY NIPPS
Published May 14, 2006

"I slammed on my brakes, much to the amazement of the guy behind me," Wilson said. She pulled up, got out of her car and the kids ran off, she said. They dropped the letter in the grass.

Stealing letters from signs has been a hot topic among the Tampa Palms Community Development District for the last few years, but board members have yet to come up with a simple solution to the problem. They've written about it in the neighborhood newsletter, they've alerted police and they've pleaded with parents to keep an eye on their kids.

So it was no surprise that Wilson, the CDD's consultant, is now confronting the vandals herself. A few months ago, she confronted a couple of boys standing in front of the Asbury sign, attempting to steal the letter "A," which has been stolen eight times, Wilson said. She pretended to take their photo with her camera cell phone which had an empty battery at the time, argued with the boys and watched them flee.

"I haven't lost a letter 'A' since," she said.

The monument sign letters can be expensive to replace, some costing as much as $500 apiece. It appears that New Tampa teenagers are the most common culprits, and some have suggested that the area's lack of skate parks and recreational centers add to the problem. The CDD is hoping to add more parks to the area soon.

In the meantime, Wilson is driving around with the "H" in the back seat of her car, planning to re-affix it to the Wyndham neighborhood sign soon. She's keeping an eye out for more would-be thieves.

Emily Nipps can be reached at (813) 269-5313 or nipps@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 14, 2006, 10:49:55]