This was only a matter of time...
Mass. Highway Dept. orders signs on overpasses removed.The 80 crisscrossed American flags on a bridge above Route 213 in Methuen remind Ramon "Andy" Jimenez that he is not alone as he prays for the return of his son, Alex, a US Army specialist kidnapped in Iraq.
But under orders from the Massachusetts Highway Department, the display and hundreds of others hanging over highways across the state must be taken down by week's end. State officials said they are concerned the flags and signs could fall on drivers, causing a crash.
The crackdown comes a year after the state's last attempt to regulate the overhead displays. At the time, under pressure from military families and their advocates, highway officials said signs would be allowed if positioned behind fences, but now they are saying even these must go.
...
State highway crews have recently been noticing a proliferation of not just flags and other military tributes, but also political messages, family birthday greetings, and even real estate advertisements, Paiewonsky said.
She sympathizes with the patriotic sentiment but says state government cannot get into the business of regulating which messages can stay.
"These are on interstate highways and the bridges and they are big and they're exposed to a lot of weather and wind. And there are thousands of vehicles passing under them every day," she said.
Paiewonsky met with Wareing last week and showed him poster-size signs that Mass Highway created to put at highway rest stops. The words "Welcome home troops! Thank you for your service!" are accompanied by the seals of the five military branches superimposed on an American flag.
Note: all signs and displays have to come down but Government-approved "Welcome Home Troops" signs get put up with my tax money.
Damn. Isn't it time for the chocolate ration to be increased again?
But under orders from the Massachusetts Highway Department, the display and hundreds of others hanging over highways across the state must be taken down by week's end. State officials said they are concerned the flags and signs could fall on drivers, causing a crash.
The crackdown comes a year after the state's last attempt to regulate the overhead displays. At the time, under pressure from military families and their advocates, highway officials said signs would be allowed if positioned behind fences, but now they are saying even these must go.
...
State highway crews have recently been noticing a proliferation of not just flags and other military tributes, but also political messages, family birthday greetings, and even real estate advertisements, Paiewonsky said.
She sympathizes with the patriotic sentiment but says state government cannot get into the business of regulating which messages can stay.
"These are on interstate highways and the bridges and they are big and they're exposed to a lot of weather and wind. And there are thousands of vehicles passing under them every day," she said.
Paiewonsky met with Wareing last week and showed him poster-size signs that Mass Highway created to put at highway rest stops. The words "Welcome home troops! Thank you for your service!" are accompanied by the seals of the five military branches superimposed on an American flag.
Note: all signs and displays have to come down but Government-approved "Welcome Home Troops" signs get put up with my tax money.
Damn. Isn't it time for the chocolate ration to be increased again?