HANTSPORT, N.S. — The 14 missing red and white lawn signs urging government action that once dotted Highway 1 leading into Hantsport have been found.
In fact, the ‘Save Our Aboiteau’ signs were located within a few metres of where they first went missing a few weeks ago.
The Hantsport Aboiteau Action Group noticed the signs were taken at the end of March. After putting a call out to the community asking for help to find them, they noted that the chairwoman was going to contact the RCMP to file an official report.
“I don’t know who took them and I don’t know who put them where I found them,” said Tom Thompson, a member of the Hantsport Aboiteau Action Group who was notified late last week that the signs were spotted near the former tourist bureau.
On his way home from the city, Thompson stopped at the entrance to Hantsport to check out the tip. Sure enough, after walking a short distance into the woods towards a blue lawn chair, Thompson discovered the signs.
“The signs were there and the wooden posts were basically laying on the top to keep the signs from blowing away. They looked like they had been there a while,” said Thompson, noting they had some debris on them. He retrieved them and notified the group.
The action committee is planning to keep the signs in case the work being done at the Halfway River doesn’t fix the ongoing erosion problems that the community has been experiencing since the aboiteau failed in the fall of 2017.
“I think that we’re going to hang onto them in case this doesn’t pan out the way the Department of Transportation says it’s going to work,” said Thompson.
“Everybody is kind of concerned about the fact that they’re not putting an aboiteau in. They’re basically putting open culverts in. Everybody is still a little antsy about that.”
When the aboiteau failed and issues began to arise from allowing the free flow of saltwater into the Halfway River, Thompson added his voice to the growing concerns in the community. His home is at risk of damage due to the eroding riverbank, which is caused by the ravishing saltwater tides. He also helped bring attention to what may occur at the Riverbank Cemetery if steps are not taken to ensure the gravesites are safe from erosion.
“A lot of people that I talk to are now sort of resigned to just letting it unfold and keeping an eye on the results,” said Thompson of the repairs, noting he’s speaking on behalf of himself and not the committee.
“I’m kind of wondering how it’s going to work out. We just have to wait and see and hope for the best,” he said.
“I’m really pleased that they’re working on it – and they’ve done a lot of work. We just hope it works as well as they say it’s going to.”
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