Editor,

The early afternoon of Saturday, March 3, I witnessed a Pennsylvania State Police car stop on Route 93, right near the intersection of I-80 and I-81. At first I didn’t know why he was stopping, but then I saw him get out of his car, walk into the middle of Route 93, and retrieve a sign put out by a local furniture store that had blown into traffic.

Up to this point, I had never liked seeing so many of those signs cluttering up the local roadways, but figured the economy is tight and businesses will do whatever they do to draw people. But this put things in a whole new perspective. That policeman literally had to stop on a busy road to walk out and pick that sign up so none of the passing motorists would possibly be endangered by it blowing up across their windshield or something. And within a few yards of him, there must have been at least a dozen more of those signs.

Is this necessary? I know businesses need to adver ise, but back to back signs placed a few feet apart all down a highway are not only unnecessary, they are a distraction, a possible danger, as well as an eyesore. We all know March can be windy around here. We all know our recent summers have been bringing more violent thunderstorms and heavy rains.

More of these signs will continue to blow away in coming weeks. Are they worth someone’s life? I do understand the necessity of advertising, but I would like to put out a challenge right now to local businesses to not advertise in this manner. There’s got to be a better way.

Julia Deren,

Hazleton