- Hub staff

In the 1920s, Allan G. Odell came up with the idea of putting six red and white signs 100 feet apart on a Minnesota highway to boost the sales of his father's shaving cream.  The Burma Shave signs became an iconic ad campaign that lasted almost 40 years. Look it up if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

Over the years, signs of all kinds have popped up for information, education and just to try to make a buck. They have been constrained by civic rules for the sake of aesthetics, waste, and safety. In Owen Sound there are  by-laws about signs, and permit fees for some.  Generally H-frame signs (the kind contractors, politicians and real estate agents use)  are on private property, there are no issues. This would apply also to the signs supporting a cause, like the police ones - or leading to a community event, like the salmon tour.

But more and more we are beginning to see signs stuck randomly on street corners and road verges that are misleading, misplaced and most likely contravene our by-laws.  They'll get knocked down and become trash, they may lead our neighbours into a scam and they are not put there by local businesses who pay taxes and often sign permit fees in our community.

OwenSoundHub.org got the yellow one by the library  taken down today by By-law Enforcement --only to discover the $3075 a month one on the way to Georgian College.

Let the City know about these - 519-376-4440 ext. 1269 or ext. 1270 or  [email protected]  if you use the email, you can send pictures.  Not only will they know where to go to remove them, but the people who put them up have conveniently provided their contact information.

Ah yes - and who wants to give you $3075 a month? "Trillium Health Systems" out of London. Their business? Selling vaccuum cleaners. And the home equity loan? Sorry, that call cannot be completed as dialed. Last known user of that number was a contractor for a road project in Wayzata, Minnesota. We could not make this stuff up!