FILE Seymour High School
The sign — about the size of an average street sign — was perched atop a stop sign at the entrance to the school on Botsford Road.
Several town officials and residents noticed the sign was missing Thursday morning.
“It’s shameful,” Seymour Deputy First Selectman Nicole Klarides-Ditria said.
First Selectman Kurt Miller sent out a Tweet and a Facebook message Thursday about the theft, which likely happened sometime Wednesday.
“I would like to personally thank who ever it was that stole the Wildcat Way sign from the High School driveway,” Miller wrote. “I hope you enjoy it hanging in your room or garage. Since we won’t be buying another, the whole town suffers because of one person’s stupidity.”
The sign was installed just before the June 19 graduation ceremony for the high school.
The town also painted large gold paw prints along the walkway to the school, in an effort to boost school pride.
The effort to name the road Wildcat Way was pushed by Klarides-Ditria, Board of Education member Jay Hatfield and former Seymour football coach Paul Sponheimer.
Klarides-Ditria did not know the cost of the project. A message seeking comment was left with Seymour’s Public Works Director Dennis Rozum.
Klarides-Ditria said the sign had been installed with extra bolts to prevent a theft.
“It took them some time to get that off there,” she said.
Klarides-Ditria reported the theft to the police Thursday morning.
“I think whoever it is should get prosecuted,” Klarides-Ditria said. “It’s sad that someone that lives in this town and loves this town would want to vandalize it like that.”
The community reacted on Twitter Thursday.
[View the story “Wildcat Way Sign Stolen” on Storify]