DAMASCUS, PA — Following a conditional-use public hearing for a cell phone tower, the Damascus Township Board of Supervisors on June 15 turned their attention to the worrisome problem of street signs of all kinds that have been disappearing from township roads. Operations manager Steve Adams reported that five stop signs had gone missing in one week alone.

Noting that the road crew had placed a new sign at the intersection of Schnackenberg Road and Duck Harbor Road late one afternoon and found it gone the following morning, Adams said, “This is not a harmless prank, and it’s the worst time of year for this kind of theft. Summer residents and visitors less familiar with our roads and intersections are at risk of more than just getting lost. They’re at risk of having serious accidents.”

Worse, the absence of road signs hampers fire and ambulance response times, jeopardizing lives. Adams said that aggressive efforts will be made to detect, apprehend and prosecute perpetrators.

If perpetrators think they will be treated as pranksters and get off with a slap on the wrist, they’re wrong. Pennsylvania’s tough laws regarding sign vandalism and theft carry serious charges ranging from third-degree misdemeanor to felony, punishable by fines of up to $15,000 and seven years in prison.

And, if a missing sign is shown to be the cause of an accident that results in injuries or death, the perpetrator may also be liable for civil damages that could total millions of dollars. (For more information on charges and penalties for Pennsylvania sign vandalism and theft, visit www.ask.com/government-politics/penalty-stealing-street-sign-f78557d08551c61c#.)

Earlier in the evening, a lighter note prevailed as people who thought they knew Joe Canfield fairly well were surprised, shocked even, to see a different side of the plain-talking man of few words. In the 55-minute pause between the conditional use public hearing and the regular monthly municipal government meeting, Canfield’s talent as jokester and raconteur were on full display.

It was one of those rare, intimate moments when politicians drop the mask of formality and let the public see the private person beneath it. Like Bill Clinton playing saxophone on late-night television or President Obama breaking into song at a fundraising event, Canfield’s performance was not intended to be a demonstration of virtuosity. It was just a little spontaneous fun with friends and neighbors.

Had a vaudevillian hook been at hand, it would have been used on Canfield. Still, he had a signature delivery style that most Catskill comic legends would envy. And with polishing at future board meetings, he might one day take his show on the road with the likes of Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. A regular at board meetings whispered, “There must have been signs, but I never saw them.”

For complete meeting minutes and full text of resolutions, see damascustwp.org/roadclose.html.