Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIENNA LENGTH: Short
Jeff Ludin says something just came over him earlier this month when he decided to pull off Virginia 123 near his home in Vienna, walk to the median and pull up a sign.
It felt so good that he pulled up a second. And a third. Ludin worked his way west for a mile or so until his van was filled with 300 signs and his anger sated.
``I had wanted to do it for years,'' said Ludin, 36, who runs a computer business. ``The police say they can't do anything about it. So I just did it.''
Other Northern Virginia residents also have taken it upon themselves to rid roadways of the signs.
Robert Lyon and Joseph Maio have become almost cult heroes in Loudoun County for their efforts to enforce that county's sign law.
The vigilantes have scooped up signs placed by candidates - and by real-estate agents and yard-sale hosts - near Mount Vernon mansion. They have harvested piles of placards on Virginia 7 near Falls Church and splintered signs anywhere they find them in large numbers.
``It's not an organization. It's totally individual,'' Ludin said.
Virginia Department of Transportation crews remove signs in medians, particularly when they restrict motorists' vision, spokeswoman Joan Morris said. But it's not their highest priority, she added.
Ludin said he's careful to remove every sign he sees on a median, so that no one can claim he is acting with malice toward a particular candidate or party.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB