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Government removes memorial crosses on Highway 6

The provincial government acted swiftly after a group of Warren-area residents placed 21 memorial crosses on Highway 6 Monday night – taking them down over the lunch hour today.

The residents said highway officials told them the crosses and a large sign were a distraction to motorists.

"We put the crosses and sign up to warn motorists that this highway is dangerous and the province takes them down," Lee Garfinkel, spokeswoman for Highway 6 Concerned Citizens Coalition, said this afternoon. "There is no free speech for citizens when it comes to this department of the government."

The group erected the 21 crosses during a roadside ceremony Monday night to honour the 21 people killed in traffic fatalities over the years in that area. The residents also erected a large sign.

Garfinkel said the crosses and sign were placed on private property, yet highways officials acted quickly to take them down.

"It’s very discouraging and disheartening," Garfinkel said. "It’s also disrespectful to the families of people whose lives were lost on this highway."

Garfinkel said the provincial government refuses to consider any proposals to make the highway safer, adding it seems to blindly waste millions of dollars on road resurfacing projects when the curves on the highway are responsible for several deaths every year.

The crosses and sign were moved to a highways office nearby, she said, adding a group member is trying to retrieve them.

Garfinkel said the group will meet soon to consider their next step, adding they are committed to forcing the province to take action to make the highway safer.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

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