Page 19 - IAV Digital Magazine #589

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Washington Road Sign Hacked To Warn of 'Angry Raccoons Ahead'
By Ben Hooper
Feb. 29 (UPI) -
- The owner of an electronic road sign in Washington said a message warn- ing drivers about "Angry Raccoons Ahead" was the work of pranksters.
The sign at the side of Spokane's Northwest Boulevard, near Audubon
Park, displayed the perplexing message during the Wednesday morning com- mute, and city Public Works Department offi- cials said they had no informa- tion on the sign -- or of any angry raccoon activity in
the area.
Mike Beggs, co- owner of Spokane Traffic Control, which was con- tracted by Public Works to provide the sign for a con- struction project, said the sign was hacked by unknown pranksters.
Beggs said some- one twisted the lock on the back of the sign open and was able to access its con- trols to change the displayed message.
"That's the first time that's hap- pened that I can remember," Beggs told the Spokesman- Review newspa-
per "Somebody had to know what they're doing."
Beggs said he was relieved the message was something inof- fensively humor- ous.
"We are fortunate that it wasn't rated R," he said.
Workers at the nearby Little Garden Cafe said multiple cus- tomers had men- tioned the sign. They said Audubon Park is infamous for its squirrel popula- tion, but they were not aware of any reports of raccoon-related incidents.
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