Well everyone, stay tuned for more selective enforcement coming to your neighborhood. Halloween is here and the "tombstones" are back on Mill Road.Centerville City Hall likes to refer to them as "signs" but we believe they are more like Halloween decorations - considering they are only on the lawn during the month of Halloween. Of course, if these are considered "signs" the city can tell you how many you can have on your lawn, but decorations are another thing... I wonder which media outlets will enjoy the coverage this year?
Unfortunately this has been an issue for years. If someone complains, your decorations conveniently become signs which coincidentally is an ordinance violation. Headless bloody corpses are far more tasteful, right? Does government have the right to legislate taste?
Racy Tombstones Replaced by Others
Eyewitness News
10/28/2005
Halloween tombstones offend neighbors (Oct. 25) Although a Centerville woman has agreed to remove several suggestive Halloween tombstones, the controversy is far from over. The tombstones each have names that double as puns, such as I.P. Freely and Ben Dover. Some of the names, however, are offensive to Heather Pranke’s neighbors and some passers by. Pranke agreed to remove three of the most offensive tombstones, but those are being replaced by six more.
As Pranke was installing the additional signs, a driver yelled out “They’re disgusting!” Robert Nelson, her neighbor two doors down, thinks the humor is not appropriate for such a public display. “Some things are better for a bar than a front yard,” said Nelson. “There were some that rhyme with duck.” Pranke hopes her neighbors are less offended with the new signs, which include such names as ‘Mia Butreaks’ and ‘Ilene Dover.’ “I just want everyone to enjoy my sense of humor as much as I do,” says Pranke.
12 comments:
This is getting old! Those clowns up there need to start paying attention to more important stuff like managing our money!
This could almost be a first amendment issue.
The government DOES NOT have the right to decide what is tasteful!!
The silly thing about the signs is, unless you stop to read them nothing offensive stands out! Let it go already!
This City government is a joke! Leave these people alone and stop selective ordinance enforcement. This is the United States of America, not Nazi Germany!
We will see what changes they make to the decoration/sign ordinance. The City Attorney is paid $95 per hour to handle cases referred to his office. Nonsense like this should NEVER be allowed!
I think the signs are funny!
We appreciate all the support from a majority of our neighbors with a sense of humor. I'm tired of everyone being offended and I'm offended that your offended. Halloween has been a tradition in this country longer than the complainers have been here. I don't care that you are offended. It's my yard and I have the right to decorate it anyway I want. I have been in contact with the ACLU and they are prepared to support and back us as soon as a single citation is handed out. This year we have not been bothered by the police, city or any other complainers, yet. The police that I have talked to have been great, most think it's funny and say there is nothing they can do because there are no swear words. I do feel we were discriminated against because there were several other people in violation of this same ordinance and none of them received a letter from the city attorney last year or a copy of the revised ordinance the year before. Which was a waste of our tax dollars. Thank you for that once again, seems to be the trend these days.
I would like to thank the person who brought back my sign the other night. I'm not sure if it was the thieves themselves or if it was dumped in someone's yard, but thanks for bringing it back. Happy Halloween!!!
"several other people in violation of this same ordinance and none of them received a letter from the city attorney last year or a copy of the revised ordinance the year before."
It seems that the current council likes to spend money having the City Attorney send out letters to the residents. At $95 an hour this could add up quickly!
The city only enforces the ordinances they choose. If they don't like something, they make a revision and attack! So much for representing the people.
Vote for Laura Powers! She will stop the insanity!
I recently heard (has not been confirmed) that there is an active "investigation" by the police for our decorations. Like I said in my earlier post, I have not been informed of 1 single complaint this year, so what's the point of an investigation? Waste some more of our money!
Word on the street is that the City Clerk turned this in. Does she live in Centerville?
Dang lunch-break walks...
How about if we just let it go! I didn't budge the first 4 years they (the city) tried to get to me and I'm not budging now. As far as we thought, the issue was dead.
WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST WITH THIS LATE BREAKING NEWS: Nobody cares about our stupid decorations anymore! There's no need for action, just continue minding your own business.
Post a Comment