Local woman performs good deed: It’s not often you hear about the good deeds of people, but they do happen. Linda Schultz did her good deed for the day, on Thursday, when she happened to be walking through the Canadian Tire Store parking lot and discovered $2,000 dollars on the pavement.

“I was walking with my three-year-old daughter and I reached down to take her hand and that is when I noticed a large sum of money on the ground,” Schultz said.

She went into the store and asked one of the cashiers if anyone had reported losing any money.

“I left the money with the cashiers just in case the person who lost the money returned to the store,” said Schultz.

She later called the police from her home near Shawville. The police did not know anything about the lost money, but said they would look into it.

Francis Murdock, the owner of the $2,000 returned to the store not long after Linda and her daughter were there.

“I was at the gas station and when I reached down to get my money I noticed that it was gone,” said Murdock. “I am very thankful that she (Linda) returned the money because most people would have just taken the money and not say anything about it.”

A sign of the times: Beer, wine and liquor, easily recognized words, even if they are in English. But the loyal language police of Quebec find them incomprehensible and offensive — so they have to be removed.

This was the case for restauranteur Brenda Smith of Shawville who was notified by mail on Dec. 22, that her exterior sign had to be removed. B’s Place, owned by Smith is located on Main Street and has been a favourite dining spot in Shawville for more than 30 years.

“The sign has been up for more than 30 years,” said Smith, referring to the original owner Ivery Newton. Smith’s brother Bob bought the business from Newton in 1975 and Brenda from her brother in 1992.

Demanding that her sign be removed by Jan. 22, 2001, Smith engaged Robert Lacourse and Barney Richardson to remove the “offensive” sign on Tuesday, Jan. 16 to comply with the notification.

“The sign contained words that the language police just didn’t like — beer, wine, liquor, restaurant, home cooking, full course meals, take out orders and phone,” said Smith. “Apparently the Office de la Langue Française received a complaint about my sign,” continued Smith. In mid-December Smith received a visit from an inspector detailing to her the many infractions her sign contained.

The notification, in French, threatened Smith with fines if she did not comply with its request. Fines ranging from $250 to $7,000 were enough for Smith to have her sign removed.

Will there be a new sign? “Only with pictures on it, like a hamburger, or a drink,” said Smith. And as far as the apostrophe in B’s Place is concerned, Smith plans on dropping the apostrophe and posting just B S “because there is lots of that” joked Smith.