Thief Steals Smokey Bear Sign

MANORVILLE, NY — Someone swiped a Smokey Bear sign from Manorville, officials said. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is asking for the public's assistance regarding the destruction and theft of a sign erected at Otis Pike Preserve-West at the intersection of Line Road and Grumman Road in Manorville.

The sign was installed Aug. 9 to honor Smokey Bear's 75th anniversary as the nation's forest fire prevention symbol. The sign was apparently cut down this week, officials said.

The sign was on a 20-acre grassland field east of Line Road and just south of Grumman Road in Manorville. The field has long been used by DEC forest rangers and volunteers to teach about wildfire control efforts, such as prescribed fires, officials said.

Anyone with information on the culprit is asked to call the DEC's Office of Public Protection at 518-408-5858.