John Miller at welcome sign: Community activist John Miller stands next to the new Lehigh Acres Welcomes You sign on Alabama Rd. It is seen as motorists turn off of SR 82. Photo by Mel Toadvine

John Miller says he’s pleased that more and more people are beginning to notice the five welcome to Lehigh Acres, signs that have been erected at sites leading into the community.

“It’s good for the community, gives us an identity that this is Lehigh and we’re proud of our community. We want those coming to Lehigh to know they are welcome and some of the signs even thank them for visiting Lehigh on their way out.

The sign to motorists reads: “Lehigh Acres Welcomes You.” The signs are small replicas of the giant cookie welcome sign in downtown Lehigh Acres.

Miller, who has been active over the years in cleaning up the roadways from litter and trying to instill a feeling of pride in the community, said that even though they have five sites with signs, the group promoting the erection of welcome signs would like to find sponsors to pay for two or three more signs at sites that Miller believes are good locations.

Currently the new signs, which have been put up over the last several weeks are at the following locations:

A welcome sign is shown in a median strip.

Lee Blvd. coming from Fort Myers. A sign is also there thanking people for visiting Lehigh. The County DOT would not allow the group to put the sign in the same location where a sign that stood there for a couple of years suddenly disappeared one afternoon or night. (Actually the county department of transportation removed it for lack of care and didn’t tell anyone.) The new sign is about 500 feet away from the original site.

Gunnery Rd. South. There is also a sign here, according to Miller, that thanking motorists for visiting Lehigh.

Gunnery Rd. North as you enter Lehigh.

Sunshine Blvd. and SR 82.

Joel Blvd. as motorists drive from Alva. It is just located north of Greenbriar.

Each of the welcome signs have “tags” with the names of the sponsors who paid for the signs. Most have two sponsors on each sign and according to Miller, each sign cost about $800. They were built by Steve Hunt of Lehigh Acres whose business, Artype, is in Fort Myers.

Miller said the whole concept to put signs at the main entrances into Lehigh came about when Dr. Hubert Loyke, a retired physician, a few years back notified Oliver Conover, the then executive director of the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce that the sign on Lee Blvd. was gone.

That was three years ago. Not only was the retired physician angry, but Conover was even more angry.

Conover couldn’t believe someone would steal a big sign like the one in the median strip as motorists enter Lehigh. But indeed the sign had disappeared and nobody had notified the Chamber, which has asked for the sign to be put up. The county had landscaped the median strip with shrubs and flowers and Conover didn’t know why anyone would take it down.

At the time, he said he discovered that the county’s Department of Transportation has removed it for some reason and when Conover tried to find out what they had done with it, nobody would tell him. What happened is that it was discovered is that the County DOT has taken the sign to either the landfill or to the Waste Management facilities for disposal.

Conover didn’t keep his anger silent.

A discussion began with those like Miller who were active in getting help to clean up Lehigh from the county and after a long while, the new signs that motorists see today are a direct result.

“We’re supposed to keep the grass and weeds cut around the signs,” Miller said. “And I take my lawn mower out to one of the signs I am responsible for just for that reason.”

Miller said however that he believe when county grass cutters groom areas where the signs are located, they are mowing around them.

“From what I see, the grass is being taken care of,” Miller said.

If there’s anything that Miller and the others would have done differently with the signs, he said they would have made them larger.

“It’s funny when you’re seeing the sign on a table or on the ground up close, it looks pretty large, but when it is erected along the roads, it looks smaller when you’re driving. In fact, a recent poll on LehighacresCitizen.com Internet readers showed that most people who responded to the unscientific poll said they were not aware of the new signs.

“I think that’s because there are smaller four feet by four feet square, some people may not at first notice them, but I am being told they are being seen now.

The “tags” that are attached to the bottom show the sponsors or who purchased the sign.

“It’s a bit of free publicity, too, to see their names. The names of the companies or donors hang off the bottom of the sign, Miller said.

Some of those in the community who stepped up to the plate to help pay for the signs include the First National Bank of the Gulf Coast (formerly Panther Bank), the Majestic Golf Club, State Farm Insurance Agent Mike Arcentales, CenturyLink, formerly Embarq, AIM Engineering and Survey Inc., the Kiwanis Foundation and the Rotary Club of Lehigh Acres. There may have been others who helped financially.

We do need a few more signs, two or three. They should be at locations such as Homestead and SR 82, at Buckingham and Alvin Ave., and maybe at Bell Blvd. at SR 82.

A couple of businesses, club and organizations or even individuals can sponsor the signs.

Anyone who is interested should contact Joe Whalen if they want to help put more Lehigh Acres Welcomes You signs up. Whalen is the president and CEO of the Chamber, who is also delighted to have welcome signs up.

Miller said it seems to give a sense of dignity to the community to have such signs.

“It shows people that they are in Lehigh Acres and we are glad to have them here and are glad to thank them for coming,” Miller said.

The signs carry the image of what some call the big cookie sign that is in downtown Lehigh at the Lee Blvd. and Homestead Rd. intersection.

Miller said that Lehigh Regional Medical Center maintains the landscaping around the big Welcome to Lehigh cookie sign and he thinks the county maintains the big circular sign.

“The green in the palm tree needs to be painted. It has begun to fade. We really need to call on the county to refurbish the cookie sign with some paint,” Miller said. Some residents have called the big circular sign, which is has a facade of form stone, a “giant nickel.” It has been there for a number of years and may have been erected by the old Lehigh Corp.

Miller, a former airplane pilot before retirement, has been active in Lehigh inasmuch as getting people together to clean up blighted areas.

The signs are made out of aluminum and have a protective covering.

“The aluminum won’t rust the signs should last a long time and so far, we have had not any of them hit or knocked down. We’re very happy to have the sponsors pay for having them made and erected, but we do need to have a few more at other entrances into Lehigh,” Miller said.