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Signs
From Page A1
to stand.
One of the signs that was burned Sunday evening was less than 50 feet from Clabert Smoot’s house. The 92-year-old said he and his wife, Helen, were just about to go to sleep when he heard the sirens and saw the lights of a fire engine approaching his home.
Smoot was concerned about the danger the act of vandalism posed to him and his bedridden, 83-year-old wife. He stood outside his home Monday morning, pointing to the dry leaves scattered about his lawn and his historic wooden farmhouse that could have been inflamed had the fire burned out of control.
“My wife can’t walk,” he said. “What would have happened if the house had caught on fire?”
But Smoot said he would still be willing to display another Williams signs on his lawn to replace the one that was ruined.
Sherertz, who is planning to retire after his current term in office expires, did not mince words about the incidents.
“This is unconscionable, criminal and reckless,” he said. “This goes beyond vandalism.”
Sherertz said burning the signs was not only hazardous but also wasted the time and resources of the county’s volunteer firefighters. If the perpetrators are found, the sheriff said he will support prosecution against them. The Virginia State Police are investigating the incidents.
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