By Mary Drier
Staff Writer
MAYVILLE — As the new year begins, the Tuscola County Sheriff’s Department hopes to soon be able to close one criminal case file.
On December 15, a racially intimidating sign saying “KKK picnic” was placed on a vacant lot at the main entrance to the Shay Lake Subdivision in Dayton Township. The letters were painted red against a white background on a sign approximately three feet by four feet.
It’s not just the trespassing to place the sign that is an issue. It’s where the sign was placed that makes it a legal issue – one of “ethnic intimidation,” which is a crime.
Although the ethnicity is more diversified now, the Shay Lake area was developed in the 1960s and 1970s by African-Americans mostly from the Detroit as a summer getaway area.
See KKK A6
“It was deliberately placed in an area where we do have a population of African Americans,” explained Tuscola County Undersheriff Glen Skrent noting that some feel the term “KKK picnic” is a reference to the era when the white supremacist groups did lynchings.
“A little information has come in and we are investigating.”
The Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark Reene and the sheriff’s department are taking the matter seriously, and so are Shay Lake area residents.
The Shay Lake Community Neighborhood Watch held a meeting to brainstorm, suggest ways to combat the criminal racist act, assist in bringing the suspects to justice, and preventing such future activity in our community, said Shay Lake Neighborhood Watch Co-Chair Henry Harris.
“Our neighborhood is a multi-racial harmonious community, and we stand united in our efforts to vanquish these kinds of criminal, insensitive, and threatening acts,” said Harris noting the watch is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.
According to Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark Reene, the sign’s placement was an offensive and threatening act, and done in an area to have the most impact… ethnic intimation, and his office is taking the issue seriously.
As the investigation continues and leads are followed, there could be other possible criminal charges against whomever put the sign up.
The neighborhood watch group also decided to request improved patrols by law enforcement agencies, and for area residents to be more vigilant of suspicious activities.
Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.