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Advocates ramp up campaign for Thornhill recognition

Redone “Welcome to Thornhill” sign unveiled this week
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That’s Bob Erb on the left with former Thornhill regional district director Ted Ramsay at the July 13 unveiling of a refurbished ‘Welcome to Thornhill’ sign on the eastern entrance to the community. (Rod Link/Terrace Standard)

Thornhill resident Bob Erb continued his campaign to have his home community properly recognized with highway directional signs by hosting an unveiling of a refurbished “Welcome to Thornhill” sign at the eastern entrance to the community on Wednesday, July 13.

It’s a familiar spot to Erb because he paid for the installation of the original sign just over five years ago.

Back then Erb spent $10,000 and now another $14,000 in the refurbishment.

Erb hired JJ Jung from JJ’s Woodart to carve out the wooden part of the sign and the Eichorst family-owned Skeena Concrete to build the cement and rock foundation and brought both back this time for the refurbishment.

“We also replaced the shingle roof with a new metal one and raised it eight inches so “Welcome to Thornhill” wouldn’t be lost in the shadows,” said Erb.

Erb also took the occasion to collect signatures on his continuing petition to have the provincial transportation and highways ministry add Thornhill to its road directional signs along Hwy16.

Opening a blue binder, Erb displayed photos and other information gathered from a recent trip east on Hwy16 and then south.

They prove, he said, that every other community, even ones with far fewer people in them than Thornhill, is named on provincial signs.

Erb also refuted the ministry response to date that motorists might find it confusing to have Thornhill and Terrace mentioned because of their close proximity.

“I’d like to have someone explain that to me,” said Erb. “I stop at the Petrocan [in Thornhill] and the employees there say every week, every day, people ask them where Thornhill is.”

“Everyone, and I mean everyone I talked to on my trip; I stopped at town halls, RCMP detachments… said signs can only be helpful.”

Former Kitimat-Stikine regional district director Ted Ramsey was one of those on hand today in support of Erb.

He recalled a regional district meeting where directors agreed to a directional sign for the Iskut/Telegraph Creek area north on Hwy37 North, leading him to ask about Thornhill.

“I then went home to have lunch and Bob phoned and said ‘I want to put up a sign and I’ll pay for it’,” Ramsey said.

Today’s unveiling of the sign was accompanied by lunches, paid for by Erb, supplied by the Beyond Burgers mobile food truck.

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