Village Police receive special gift from some little friends

Carl Horn, owner and artist at Eclipse Signs on Fort Salonga Road, recently shared with the public a request he had for Northport Village board members: he wanted to donate a sign to the Northport Village Police Department because of the guidance officers provided when some baby ducks were caught in a dangerous situation last summer.

His donation was approved at the November 15 Village board meeting.

In June 2021, Mr. Horn explained at the meeting, a female duck was going from one storm drain to another on 25A. The duck seemed concerned as she looked into the storm drain on the corner of Woodbine Avenue, where Mr. Horn’s sign shop is located. When he peered inside the drain, he saw eight baby ducklings.

“We called the police to ask if they could help us,” he said.

Sergeant Alan Bakker and officers Erik Jansen and Justin Solof responded to the scene; they stopped traffic, opened the storm drain, and helped get the ducklings out safely. The babies were then ushered into the woods across the busy road and reunited with their worried mother.

“As a token, I figured it’d be cute to donate a sign from ‘The Mallards,’ as if the little kids got their little seeds and bought a sign for them,” Mr. Horn said.

While the gift was supposed to be a secret, Mr. Horn was put on the spot at the Village meeting, like a duck out of water, to tell his story. And the public loved it.