Some residents in Stoughton were scratching their heads after the water tower got a new coat of paint.
The new paint job spelled the town name as “STOUGHON” without a T rather than “STOUGHTON” with a T.
Thanks to a spelling slip, the new water tower in Stoughton features a colossal typo that can be seen for miles. Residents started noticing the error around 11 a.m. Thursday, WISC-TV reported.
Signs for Stoughton are scattered all over southeast of Madison, but none are quite like the one that towers above the rest.
“My wife called me on the way home and said, ‘You’ve got to take a look at the water tower. It’s spelled wrong,” said Chris Nygaard, who lives nearby.
As residents reacted to the typo on the tank, officials looked to the painting crews, who they said didn’t just forget to cross their Ts, they forgot the second T altogether.
“A customer came in and told us about it, so we had to go look,” said Krystal Hurckman, who works at a nearby Kwik Trip.
At the gas station and all along the street, people said they were in disbelief — even those with the water utility.
“We actually thought they were pulling our leg about the misspelling on the tower, but sure enough, we went out there and it was wrong,” said Kim Jennings, the finance manager for Stoughton Utilities.
Jennings said the contractor hired to paint the $1.2-million tower will be back on the job to fix the error at no cost to the city.
“They accepted responsibility for it and they know it needs to be fixed,” she said.
Painters from Neumann Co. in Romeoville, Ill., said they forgot as they were doing the job Thursday morning. Painter Mike Sandmire said it was the first time he had made such an error, but it would be easily repainted.
Some Stoughton residents said they didn’t notice the typo initially because they see the word so often.
“I just glanced at it, and I figured it would be saying the right thing,” said Paul Kegler.
“I’ve been in Madison,” said Barb Maynard. “When you said it, I looked up and sure enough, the T is gone.”
Still, officials said most who took notice have kept a good attitude about the error.
“I mean, you have to laugh at it,” said Nygaard. “What else can you do? It is kind of funny.”
The repainting process could begin as early as Saturday, but the crews must wait until the initial coat of paint is dry.
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