Flanders Big Duck sign damaged, then fixed

What does a duck sign have to do to stay upright in this town? 

For the second time in two years, someone has run over or stolen the “Welcome to Flanders” Big Duck sign at corner of Pleasure Drive and County Road 105 in Flanders. 

The sign cost $5,000 and was paid for by the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association.

But this time, there’s also a mystery about who fixed the duck sign.

On Jan. 23, Southampton Town police responded to a report of a damage to the sign. Last year, around Feb. 9th or 10th, someone stole the entire sign from that intersection. 

But last year, a company that’s familiar with duck signs — Aflac — heard about the theft and stepped forward to pay the cost of replacing it.

“It’s a sad day,” said Angela Huneault, president of FRNCA on Monday. She said on Monday, adding that she hasn’t yet told Aflac what happened to the sign it paid for. 

The street sign for “Pleasure Drive” was also removed from its post, according to police. 

It’s believed this damage and the theft of the street sign occurred within the past few days, police said. 

But then, by Jan. 22, someone had repaired the duck, using glue. Ms. Huneault said FRNCA didn’t commission the repair and she didn’t know who did.

Southampton Town detectives were looking for assistance in identifying the person or persons responsible. 

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the Detective Division at 631-702-2230 or the Southampton police tips hotline at 631-728-3454 or email [email protected].