A local family is sending out a plea for the return of their speed-alert sign they affectionately named “Green JD.” The family alleges the sign was taken from the property sometime during the early hours of Aug. 12.
Resident Judy Hiller bought the Step2 Kid Alert Visual Warning for her son’s family when she grew concerned about the speed of cars driving past their home in Elmira.
“That road is just so wild with traffic and speed. We’ve been asking the township to lower the speed there, but we all know where that goes. We just decided, well, somehow maybe we can draw attention to slowing it down – you could actually see him for quite a distance even coming down the hill,” said Hiller of Green JD.
Hiller’s grandchildren really took to the sign, she added.
“Our four-year-old grandson loves John Deere and the green reminded him of that, so Green JD became part of the family,” Hiller said.
While there is little information known as to the circumstances surrounding Green JD’s disappearance, Hiller believes it was stolen.
“Since his legs don’t move and he is loaded down with sand, we know he hasn’t wandered off or at least not far,” she said.
[My son] is pretty sure he knows when it happened because he heard a lot of voices and stuff in the middle of the night one night when the windows were open. Some people were out on the road at that time, then he noticed the next day it was gone,” she explained.
The sign’s disappearance is troubling, Hiller said.
“We were really disappointed with that. I don’t want to put everybody in the same box. I still believe we live in an honest area, but it was disappointing.
“We like to believe we live in an honest area. I’ve lived there all my life and people put things at the end of their road and expect honesty and in how much money they give for a basket of beets [for example]. It’s the honor system. You just expect people to be honest.
If Green JD does not return, Hiller hopes he is still getting used for his intended purpose.
“My husband actually drove down the road looking in the ditches to see if they just picked it up and threw it in the ditch but we couldn’t find it on the road either. So maybe somebody else has it that needs it more than we did,” she added.
Hiller has yet to file a report, instead choosing to wait for a chance at Green JD’s return. If that does happen there will be no hard feelings or questions asked, she said.
“They can just return it in the middle of the night. If it disappeared in the middle of the night, they could return it in the middle of the night and I wouldn’t know who brought it.”
