Update: A 57-year-old Greenwich man was arrested just before 10 p.m. on July 28 for taking three No Farms, No Food signs and throwing them in a nearby ditch.
He was given a court date in October.
BY KIRK STARRATT
Kings County Advertiser/Register
A group lobbying to save farmland thinks their signs were stolen off lawns and dumped in the Cornwallis River in an act of sabotage. No Farms No Food spokesperson Marilyn Cameron said signs were stolen from Main Street and Starr’s Point Road early July 24. Signs posted along Belcher Street were still standing.
Cameron says there were 25 to 30 signs stolen. At a $10 to $12 each, this represents a loss of several hundred dollars to No Farms No Food. She says she hopes an RCMP investigation results in charges being laid and some of the missing signs can be retrieved.
However, it looks like there is little chance of that as a number of signs were dumped into the river near the Port Williams’ wharf.
“It’s one thing to disagree but it’s another thing to sabotage freedom of speech,” Cameron says. “We do consider it a sabotage of our campaign.”
Stealing signs off the lawns of landowners is no different than stealing other property, she says. The group posted about 60 signs July 23 in anticipation of the Ridge Fest concert in Starr’s Point the next day. Signs along the route to Ridgefest went missing. More signs have since been posted along the Highway 101 connector road and throughout Greenwich.
Port Williams resident Ken Bezanson says community members determined signs went missing between 1 and 6:30 a.m. July 24. The sign swiping includes acts of trespassing, vandalism, theft and littering, he adds.
A lady from Church Street walking her dog Saturday morning was the first to notice the in the river, but the tide had come and gone before No Farms No Food was alerted. More signs were later spotted in the mud in other locations; others may have washed away. Bezanson said more signs were stolen early the following week. He noticed at least five missing from various locations July 28. He says he thinks someone is selectively targeting locations.
Protesting to preserve
No Farms No Food aims to raise awareness among members of the general public about a “crisis to our farmland resources.” The citizen’s group wants county bylaws preserving agricultural land upheld and provincial interest in preserving farmland for the benefit and use of future generations strengthened.
A media release from the group states the sign campaign protests Kings County council’s recent adoption of the Port Williams secondary planning strategy: “rezoning of 167.5 acres of prime agricultural lands for the purposes of residential development despite an overwhelming majority of residents speaking in opposition to the proposal versus those in favour at a recent public hearing.”
No Farms No Food is concerned also with the proposed development of farmland in Greenwich and other agricultural land matters.
Group members say they feel people who would like to see farmland developed to create “more unnecessary urban sprawl” have good reason to fear No Farms No Food mounting support in Kings County and beyond. The group’s online petition to save farmland has already collected nearly 2,000 signatures and new members are joining the group’s support network daily.
kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca
