NORWEGIAN TOWNSHIP -- It is not something you see every day, especially when it comes to local elections: a rat trap pinning a campaign sign to the ground.
Joseph Kowalchick is running for township supervisor in Norwegian Township. He put out 50 campaign signs but noticed a lot were stolen.
"Well, I'm losing out of advertisement for my campaign, so I thought, how could I spin that into getting advertisement?" Kowalchick said.
Kowalchick decided to make the best out of a bad situation. By building the "rat" trap, he is sending the message to stop. He says he is not the only victim of it. Two other candidates he is running against also found missing signs.
"The candidates, I presume, that are saying their signs are stolen, are on the Republican ticket. The signs of the Democrat ticket, none of the signs that I know of have ever been taken," Township Supervisor Chairman Stanley Petchulis said.
Kowalchik says all of his neighbors and their kids know this isn't actually a rat trap and nothing will happen if you do go up to it. But it is serving its purpose because, at about 250 pounds, no one should be able to steal this sign.
"It's meant to be a little funny. It's meant to prove a point that we're actually fed up with it," Kowalchick explained.
He does not know who is stealing the signs or why. He says he did not report the crime to police but instead decided to send this message.