Oxford, Wisconsin.
A stolen Feingold Senate Committee barn sign and three six foot long rail steel t-posts used to support it were found in the Village of Oxford yard of the Marquette County G.O.P. Chairman early Friday morning. The four foot by eight foot campaign sign had been posted on private property west of Oxford along Highway 82.
A Feingold Committee volunteer from the Township of Oxford responsible for the sign discovered it in the Chairman's yard after asking a business which had G.O.P. campaign signs posted on it's property near the Feingold sign about who would have picked up those signs. The signs had all been seen in place at 4p.m. Tuesday, and all were found to be gone by 3p.m. Wednesday when the volunteer arrived to remove the Feingold sign. The plastic ties and a rope used to support the sign had been cut, and the stakes, which had been pulled out of the ground, were missing as well. The theft was reported to the Marquette County Sheriff's Department later Wednesday afternoon.
The County G.O.P. Chairman claims to have found the missing Feingold sign and three posts at about midnight following Tuesday's election in a neighbor's yard near where it had been posted for a month. He didn't say exactly why he picked up the Feingold campaign property other than he thought he shouldn't leave it lying there, nor did he say what he intended to do with it. According to one of the business's owners, he was recovering used campaign materials for re-cycling in future G.O.P. campaigns. Homeowners on the property where the sign and posts were alleged to be found did not see or hear anything unusual that evening.
Though the Republican Chairman claims that for well over two days prior to their discovery by the volunteer he had been in possession of what was clearly a Democratic Senate Committee's property, there had been no report of their finding made to Oxford Village Police, the Marquette County Sheriff's Department, the Marquette County Democratic Chair, or to the Feingold Senate Committee which was identified on the sign.
The G.O.P. County Chairman, who was just re-elected to another term as Marquette County Coroner and serves on the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce, surrendered the sign and posts to the volunteer immediately upon their discovery in his yard.
Photos confirm the discovery.
UPDATE: It took a full week after my discovery to get the Deputy to update his original theft report with my findings. Having left two messages for him indicating the top County Republican had possession of the stolen Democratic property, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by his "oversight".
After firing off an email to the Sheriff's office expressing my "disappointment", copied to the County Executive, a mid-level official of the Department called to apologize, and sent the Deputy to complete his report, to include an interview with the Marquette County Republican Chair himself.
Funny how none of these folks had need to ask me for the address of that Chairperson. All involved must be acquainted - by some coincidence. But there I go with my wild speculations again.