A Shocking Lesson For Kid Stealing McCain Sign

Since many of us have had our political signs stolen lately, might I suggest protecting them with an electric fence.

CHAPEL HILL - After Shawn Turschak saw two sets of McCain-Palin signs disappear from his yard within hours of being planted, he took steps to protect the latest pair.

On Monday, he ran wires from his house and hooked the signs into a power source for an electric pet fence. Then he mounted a surveillance camera in a nearby tree and wired it to a digital recorder.

Tuesday afternoon, the camera saw this: A neighbor trotting up with an Obama-Biden sign, grabbing a handful of volts, then fleeing at top 9-year-old boy speed.

A few minutes later, the boy's father, Andrew Noble, was at Turschak's door, demanding an explanation from Turschak's 13-year-old daughter, who called her parents on the phone to say a man was yelling at her. Both families agree on one aspect of the exchange, that Noble chastised her for "electrocuting" his son, then left.

The Turschaks hurried home and received another visitor: an Orange County sheriff's deputy.

Campaign signs are vandalized or stolen so often that many people don't report it, and, when they do, law officers often don't investigate.

This time was different.

The corner of the Turschak's yard where the signs are posted is a prominent point in the Oak Crest subdivision just south of Chapel Hill, so the homeowners association maintains it.

It's far enough from the Turschaks' home that it's not obviously part of their yard, and the boy's mother, Johanna Gisladottir, said she and many neighbors thought it was community property. They were troubled, she said, that someone had apparently claimed the corner on behalf of the Republican Party.

Her son, whom she declined to name, took the Obama sign to the corner on his own, she said, after being inspired by a discussion she had with a neighbor about adding one to the mix.

"I don't know what his intention was when he ran out, or I would not have allowed him to leave," Gisladottir said. "I honestly don't think he had a concrete plan."

Noble told an investigator that the boy had been trying to pull up the McCain sign so that he could see how it was constructed, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department said Wednesday.

The video, Turschak said, makes clear that the boy was planning to switch the signs, which are essentially sheathes that slip over metal framework. The boy had only brought the Democratic sheath, not the legs.

Not all the thefts, Turschak said, could have been caused by a misunderstanding about the land. One sign had been beside his driveway, and a next-door neighbor lost a McCain sign, too.

Turschak, who has a degree in electrical engineering, said he tested the shock on himself while wiring the signs, and did so again while a reporter watched Wednesday, touching both signs repeatedly without flinching. Under each was a yellow sign warning that they were electrified.

Turschak , it turns out, isn't a member of Orange County's perennially embattled Republicans, who are outnumbered nearly 3 to 1 by Democrats. He's registered as an unaffiliated voter and said he doesn't agree fully with either party.

"This isn't about politics," he said. "This is about my right to protect my property and my ability to display my beliefs."

Capt. James Nida of the Sheriff's Department talked to both families Wednesday. Nida, who as a child experienced the charms of electric fences, didn't feel the need to test Turschak's signs.

"Been there, done that," he said.

Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass said he doesn't plan to file charges. The deputy who investigated Tuesday said the pet-fence setup probably was legal, Turschak said, but perhaps more trouble than it was worth. Turschak said Wednesday morning that he would pull the plug on the signs. The camera, though, stayed.

And Wednesday afternoon while the Turschaks were at a daughter's soccer game, it captured an angry-looking woman striding up.

"We got home and both signs were gone," he said. "Broad daylight."

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• gotcha!

[ruckelz74]

Hahaha that little fuck got what he deserved!

[falcondriver100]

@cgord31 LMAO! We didn't lose any of those wars. Vietnam, we pulled out due to political pressure of idiots like YOU! Iraq, wiped out Saddams entire military in 9 days(look up "highway of death"). Iraq 2, overtook the Country in 2 weeks, its been a law enforcement excersice since. Afganistan, same. We did in Afganistan in one month what the Soviet Union couldn't do in 10 years. LMAO! Stupid much?

You should be embarrassed, you're not only uninformed, but a cowardly/petty person on top of it.

[fl3162]

little critter ... step that voltage up

[irish89055]

@zacthebold Dude..... A draw, hmmmm, you mean like in the War of 1812-15? Korea and that one were victories. Just look at the two Koreas today and see who won and who is still there holding the line... We could have easily nuked N.Korea and China, something I think we should have done. I think Gen Jackson actually settled the tie in the War of 1812. Vietnam had a treaty, a withdrawal and then a betrayal by Democratically controlled congress...Nixon would have sent in the B-52's if not in ...

[irish89055]

@falcondriver100 just saw this vid, wasn't even going to click on it... but YES, thank you for noting the continuing insult to Vietnam veterans by the liberal media. There never was a military loss, political yes, after we had left the country and libs cut off aid.. they love to show the helicopters evacuating, something we do anytime we have an embassy and others in danger.. we should have left trip wire forces in Vietnam as in Korea...will continue below as i bounce this clown..

[littleteethkeith]

Now how do you assholes feel about McCain?

[iamcrazylikecrazy]

hahaha ok i am more a liberal and Canadian but this is funny, i am having problem with kids being disrespectful of my property, steal shit off my porch! Bad Parenting skills are bad no matter if they are liberal or Conservative.

[zacthebold]

@falcondriver100 Dude, take off the red white and blue goggles. If you do you will see that:

Korea was a draw, neither side won.

Vietnam was a total failure, even though we did kill 20x more NVA and Kong. They kept coming and we couldn't stop them.

Iraq 1 we did win, because it was a conventional war. We fought and got the hell out of there.

Afghanistan is still controlled by the taliban for the most part.

Iraq 2 we may win, if they can stabilize. But it has bankrupted us so it wasn't worth it.

[zacthebold]

@ocerinland So if you let your child out of your sight and he steals cheap signs as a prank he should be ripped away from his home and placed in the hands of those who house kids for money? Yes, cause we all know foster kids turn out to be such productive members of society. What a ingenious and progressive idea you have!

[zbor41]

Change we can believe in HA HA HA !!!!

[labartic]

@falcondriver100 youtube search WTC 7

[ocerinland]

That boy was sent there by his white trash parents. I bet he has three other siblings, all with different last names.

Nice to see that his so-called parents are instilling in him values to respect others' private property. Not.

Children Protective Services should step in and take that child because his parents are obviously incapable of raising him.