Local campaign sign thief needed boost for his business.

Byline: CITY BEAT/SPRINGFIELD By Bob Keefer The Register-Guard

Lawn sign vandalism is always a problem at election time. But the no-utility-tax campaign behind Ballot Measure 20-104 got a surprise this week when residents caught a man stealing campaign signs not for political reasons but to use them for his private business.

Fred Simmons, who's heading the anti-tax campaign for the May 17 election, says the thief - whom he declined to identify - was caught Thursday morning on High Banks Road when a witness wrote down the license plate number of a man stealing lawn signs.

Police tracked down the miscreant, Simmons said, and found he was covering the signs with his own advertisements and putting them back out on the street.

"It was a cheap way to get his ad out on the street," Simmons said.

The campaign declined to press charges.

"We just want him to stop what he's doing," Simmons said. "He admitted the error of his ways. I don't think he'll do it again."

Vandals spray graffiti

on Wildish Theater wall

Vandals broke into the Wildish Theater on Main Street last weekend and painted graffiti on the rear stage wall, creating a cleanup job for the Springfield Renaissance Development Corp.

Tom Draggoo, president of SRDC, said he discovered Sunday night that someone had broken into the building. He called police, who checked and secured the theater, and it wasn't until Monday that he saw the graffiti, which consisted of "swear words and anatomical figures."

The graffiti has been removed, he said. "We're more aggravated than anything else," he added. "I guess it was just our turn."

The former movie house at 630 Main St. has been taken over by SRDC, which gutted the building and is building a venue for community theater. At last count, the project still needed to raise $800,000 to complete construction.

Bob Keefer can be reached at 338-2325 or bkeefer@guard net.com.