Garage sales are a great way for residents to clear their homes of unused and unwanted items that clearly could become someone else's treasure. Along with the obvious benefit of cleaning out the house a bit, the money raised by the sale could go a long way toward taking that long sought-after vacation, or even to help spruce up your home.

People seem to flock from all over town to attend garage sales. They are not only a great way to find a special item, but also a terrific way to spend a few hours on a beautiful summer day, and perhaps make a few new friends in the process.

While most of the reasons for having or attending a garage sale are good, there is one aspect that requires residents' attention. Those unsightly, usually handwritten signs that proliferate in the neighborhood near the site of the sale, used to advertise its date and location, are not only an eyesore, they are illegal.

By being a good neighbor and observing the town's building zone ordinance, I know you will cooperate by not attaching signs to fences, trees, utility poles or similar supporting devices, or to vacant or unoccupied structures. Please take extra caution to see to it that they are not affixed in such a manner as to obstruct the vision of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or create a hazard or disturbance, which might impact on the health and welfare of others.

We, in town government, want you to enjoy your garage sale. I know that a great deal of work went into its preparation and set up. But it is extremely important that the advertising of these events be done by some means other than the hanging of posters and signs in the community. Inexpensive ads in the local newspaper and word of mouth are excellent ways to inform your neighbors of the impending garage sale.

Please enjoy your sale, and I hope it is a huge success for you. By the same token, please remember not to place signs on trees, poles, and other structures as prescribed by law, and don't place signs in such a way that motorists may be distracted as they drive by. Keeping our neighborhoods safe and clean is an objective to which we should all strive.